bunnyfish adventures

So far I’ve just been posting drawing stuff, but this really isn’t the focus of my semester (I wish).  For my Domestic Appliances class I’m working in a group of four to design something for Philips that lets people pamper themselves and eat healthfully.  Basically we’ve been trying to figure out what “healthy” is, how people go about being it, and how that relates to food.

Our hypothesis from our initial questionnaire is that planning is essential to healthy eating.  Time management is needed to some extent to incorporate sleep, exercise, food, etc.  And what you have available to cook when you get back from work is whatever you got at the grocery store beforehand, and while there are staples you always get, you tend to plan your meals to some extent before buying food.  Or you can look at it from the food preparation perspective and see that when you know what you’re doing, the time it takes to cook isn’t that long.

We’re frantically trying to get a focus group prepared, the act being deceptively involved, but I’m curious to know what others feel they need.  What I’ve found so far is that people rely on their gut when it comes to deciding whether something is healthy or not (for instance, picking food in a grocery store or believing family recipes over a scientific study).  And while healthiness can be measured scientifically, positive feelings both emotionally and physically are involved.

There’s a lot of tip-giving media (websites, books, TV shows), but do they get to the core of the problem?  Does a kitchen appliance like a vegetable chopper effect healthier eating?