We celebrate Thanksgiving later this month. It’s the day that reminds us to express gratitude for the people in our lives and all the things we’ve been blessed with. It’s about tradition and a longing for a past that our forbears may or may not have had. It’s about the harvest, our connection with nature and its bounty, and of course, food.

Many of us will be double minded about this latter topic. We’ll feel the need to be connected to the source of our wellbeing while opening cans of cranberries, cellophane bags of stuffing, plastic bags of vegetables, or boxes holding store bought pumpkin pies. Many hosts will set a beautiful table that includes the symbols of the season. Fall leaves, pumpkins and other gourds, multicolored corn. But there is also likely to be artificially scented candles, polyester tablecloths, and paper napkins. Dinners including large groups might have paper plates and plastic utensils. It’s not unlikely that some dishes will be served from aluminum foil pans.

We have clearly lost something in our culture. Eating is among the most fundamental things we do; food is what our physical bodies live on. Yet we eat packaged meals and drive thru fast food while on the run to things we perceive to be more important.

What could be more important than food? We are here because we’ve managed to eat up ’til now; we can’t get by too long without it. Yet we give very little thought to what we eat. Commercials tell us that taste and convenience are all that matter. They often appeal to our sense of nostalgia by telling us it’s just like Mom or Grandma used to make. We rarely question where our food comes from, how it’s produced, or its impact on those who produce it. Our diets are flooded with products containing strange fats, artificial flavors, and fake colors. Many of us are more concerned about what’s in our pets’ food than we are in our own. Thankfully it’s a big water time, but we also consume huge amounts of diet sodas, energy drinks, and high fructose corn syrup laden beverages. We’re so out of touch that we’ve begun putting vitamins in our flavored water.

How can we live authentic lives if we’re so detached from that which fuels us? Artists capture the beauty of food in still-lifes showing bowls overflowing with fruit and vegetables, or bottles of wine with cheese and grapes. We yearn for meaning when we see pictures of Tuscan hillsides and feel more connected when strolling through farmers markets. What does it for you? Is it running your hands through rice or the smell of onions, green pepper and garlic cooking? I’ve always felt one with untold generations of women when kneading bread. So many of our senses are caught up in the idea of food, but we settle for so little in our day to day lives.

Getting back to Thanksgiving, I doubt many families would welcome a change in the usual Thanksgiving traditions. Let’s not give anyone an excuse for misbehavior. But let’s take some time during this harvest season to make a meal with real food that takes some time and effort to prepare. Buy the best ingredients and invite your favorite people for dinner. Bake some bread, make some soup, roast something, use garnishes and make it look pretty. Light a fire in the fireplace. Cover your table with natural fiber cloth with a centerpiece of real flowers or objects from nature and use unscented candles. Use your best dishes and break out those serving pieces you love but never seem to use. Turn off the TV and don’t answer the phone. Savor the meal you’ve prepared and the company of those who are sharing it with you. There are so many things to be thankful for, let’s make the gift that is food one of them.