8-month old M&M's...?

I just ate two 8-month old M&M's (I know exactly how old they are because I got them on Christmas Day), and they actually taste alright..except for the fact that they're 8 months old. Why am I telling you this? Because lately I've been thinking about what I consider to be Man's (first) best friend, which is food...You may think that my mentioning of the 8-year old M&M's was pointless because you could think that M&M's shouldn't be considered a food; but I guess since my name translates to "sweet" in Farsi, and since I've had an obsession with sweets pretty much my whole life, I'd like to consider those M&M's a food. :)When I think food, I first think of the movie Ratatouille. In other words, I think about how food can be artistic as well as appetizing; visually pleasing to the eye as well as pleasing to the mouth; and pleasing to the soul as well as pleasing to the body. I have to admit that Ratatouille comes to my mind not only because of how well it portrays this perception of food, but also because I've seen the movie so many times that it just comes into my head without thinking every now and then :P. But still I admire their portrayal of food, which is that it should be embraced by its ability to nourish one's body and spirit at the same time.
But then I start to think about how food can not only be appetizing, but also weight-gain-causing (that doesn't sound right but oh well). It may be so appetizing and fulfilling that one could lose control and eat too much of the food, and then they may feel guilty afterwards-no matter if the food is rarely available to us or available all the time (okay I think now I'm referring too much to myself, but I think many other people go through the same dilemma). Personally, this perception of food causes me to distance myself (or at least try to distance myself) from nutella, Pumpkin Spice Lattés, the TV screen if it's showing Ratatouille, and other delicious elements of life.But then again, not all food is horrible to eat a lot of, except when it's not as satisfying as the ones we like to eat a lot of (nutella, Pumpkin Spice Lattés...shall I go on?). So I guess it all depends on what foods you care to surround yourself with, and which ones you choose to avoid.For me, I choose to mostly surround myself with healthy foods, despite that they don't complete me as much as the foods I would occassionally approach (actually that's an understatement if I'm talking about Starbucks, but in this case I'm talking in general).
How about you?What do you think when you hear/see the word "food"?
If you were at a restaurant and were served a bowl of spaghetti, would you only think about how quickly you're going to eat it after waiting so long for the waiter to bring it, or about how nicely the noodles were laid out and how well the colors of the sauce and noodles go together?Personally, I might see it the second way, and maybe that's because I have an artistic perspective (from taking art classes, etc.), but I'll never know.