We should not eat like the goyim. Our eating should be more elevated.
The Zohar (Eikev 272.) calls the time we eat מלחמה שעת a time of war. If you eat properly, you win the battle and become elevated. If you don't eat properly, you lose the war, and the food will draw you down.
Eating properly is essential to succeeding in both worlds. We don't realize how much we suffer from eating improperly. One's ability to have good middos, make wise decisions, understand Torah, and be focused in tefillah all depend on having a clear mind. If a person eats food that is harmful to him, it confuses his mind, and he will find himself failing in these important areas.
Likewise, if a person gobbles up food inhumanely and improperly, it will also draw him down, drawing him toward negative behaviors. He is harming himself for no good reason.
The Pachad Yitzchak of Boyan zt'l taught סעודה במקום אלא קידוש אין, which can mean that the primary way one becomes holy is when he eats his meals properly. That is when one rises, or chas v'shalom, falls.
One Friday night, chassidim sat together at a zits (chassidic gathering), discussing the importance of eating with kedushah. The following morning, there was a kiddush in shul, and hot kugel was served. Reb Aharon, the Rav of Zhitomir zt’l, had attended the Friday night zits and was inspired to eat with holiness. He decided to wait a few moments before eating to weaken the grip of the yetzer hara. Meanwhile, he used his fork to cut his portion of kugel into small pieces. That's when he found a needle in his kugel. Reb Aharon would say, "Since then, I make sure to attend every Friday night zits because the zits saved my life. Had I eaten quickly, I might have swallowed that needle."
Rebbe Zev of Zhitomir zt'l once looked out his window and said, "I see a cheese blintz running down the street." The chassidim looked out the window, wondering what their Rebbe was referring to, but all they saw was a yungerman running down the street with his tallis and tefillin tucked under his arm. The Rebbe explained, "This man's mother-in-law made cheese blintzes this morning and told him to daven quickly so he could eat them while they’re hot. The Baal Shem Tov zt'l teaches that a person is where his thoughts are. Therefore, since this yungerman so was excited for the cheese blintzes, that's how he appeared to me."
Reb Hillel Kolemaia zt'l was visiting Rebbe Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura zt'l. When Reb Hillel was preparing to leave, the Sadigura Rebbe said, "Reb Hillel, you are renowned for your mussar lessons. Please give me some mussar." Reb Hillel Kolemeia said, "Why doesn’t the Rebbe give mussar to his chassidim?" The Rebbe replied, "I teach my chassidim to eat properly. If they do that, their deeds will automatically be good."
