Isn’t Scent Enough?

This morning as I was running to the track, I took my usual three mile loop to get there, during which I stay in a completely residential area.

Being that it was just past six in the morning, people and their families were just beginning to stir as evidenced by the lovely smells of coffee wafting through the air…and bacon…and French Toast?

Yes, I still drink coffee and yes, sometimes eat pastured, uncured bacon but French Toast is neither something I miss eating nor think about, ever, until this morning.

For my entire childhood, breakfast was always hearty, and actually served in two courses.  I suppose that’s because my Dad always cooked breakfast (Mom did dinner), and since he worked as a contractor, prepared a beefy breakfast for all of us, similar to what he’d eat.   In the summer, we’d start with granola & milk; in the winter, steel cut oats with maple syrup, and then follow both with some permutation of eggs, bacon and sausage.

Told you it was hearty!

Anyway, once in a while, he’d make French Toast, or pancakes.

Even years before I figured out I had an intolerance to gluten, I’d realized even as a kid that when I ate those things, along with the cereals I mentioned, I’d get strangely sleepy shortly thereafter.

Add that to the fact that those items all cause horrible gastric distress for me, and the idea of consuming any is about as appealing as eating a pencil.

But this morning, nonetheless, I will admit that the smell of French Toast elicited a wee bit of nostalgia for me.   Which got me thinking…since all of our senses are engaged in eating, for those of you who ‘stress out and eat comfort food’ or choose food that reminds you of home when you’re missing your family, I have a proposition.

Why don’t you try just smelling it?

Seriously!

No harm done and it’s quite effective at bringing back those happy memories without the dire consequences.

There’s actually research that’s been done on this very subject…

Worth trying, no?