Did you know that your attitude to food could reveal your attitude to love as well?

If food were love…

A friend’s husband is so stiff in his food habits that he could eat a cucumber sandwich every morning for the rest of his life and not complain. Of course, the cucumber has to be cut in a certain way, the bread toasted to the exact shade of brown, salt and pepper to be equally distributed on each piece of cucumber and the butter should be just enough so as not to leave the bread dry. He calls himself non-vegetarian, but eats only chicken. And even if his life depended on it, he wouldn’t try anything new food-wise.

I asked my friend if this habit bothered her. She replied, “The day he starts eating seafood instead of chicken, I would know he’s cheating on me.” That got me thinking on how closely food and love relationships are associated.

The way we look at food

For instance, if you like to have the same kind of food every day, then you are looking for a comfort zone in your relationship. You don’t mind trying out new dishes and new people once in a while, but what you really want is to go back to that cucumber sandwich, however boring it may be.

And if you love variety in your food, then that’s exactly what you crave in your relationships. It doesn’t mean that you are a cheater, because you could have variety even with one person or else you satisfy your sexual cravings through food.

Then there is a type of person who doesn’t care much about the food he/she eats and that reflects in the relationships. If you eat whatever you get, then you may be eating the world’s best coq au vin (Google it, I did) and not know it enough to even appreciate it.

Related reading: 6 signs you’ve married a foodie

Food, and love, use all our senses

Food is not just about taste. You use all your senses to experience food, just like sex or even love.

You use all your senses to experience food, just like sex or even love.

If you are the kind who goes deep into food, including its history and origins, then well, first you must think of becoming a food critic, and second you must be really nitpicky in your relationships, down to the last detail.

A friend of mine loves the food rituals and the ambience of the place she eats at. “I know the newest, best place to eat in town.” And she does. But the food doesn’t interest her much. Her choices of partners reflect the same. She loves the paraphernalia of dating, wooing and external appearances matter to her, but solidity and substance of that partner is almost always questionable.

And if you have divided food into groups of proteins, carbs and calories then maybe you are on a path of relationship with yourself. You are examining your body needs and desires and when you emerge at the other end of this, you will realise that your needs from a relationship have changed irreversibly.

Then there are people who eat healthy in public but when left alone, they hog greedily. They may want to examine their secret sexual desires. Of course, there are some who love to eat, but are always conscious of the portions. A case of measured love, perhaps?

Don’t count the calories, or the boundaries of love

Just as food should not be counted in calories, love too should be experienced with abandon.

Most women I know are emotional eaters. Heaven save the person who crosses my path when I am hungry. My four-year-old likes a word ‘hangry’ that sums up exactly how I feel when I am starving. If you want to make love without feeding me, then I may become like the female praying mantis that devours her mate’s head right after copulation. Now that’s a thought I could chew on…

Grandmoms of the world couldn’t have been more wrong when they said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Ahem! I think it’s truer for a woman. No wonder women are attracted to men who cook. Someone who loves to feed you may also be a big giver in all other departments.

Someone who loves to feed you may also be a big giver in all other departments.

So next time you are craving chocolate, make sure it’s just the right amount to get you in the perfect mood and then work it out with a romp in the bedroom. What say?