Yeah, potions are pretty useless since there is no chance in hell they'll last for even a full encounter, let alone drinking a potion before starting the engagement.
Food is even more useless, where I have to ask myself why food even grant bonuses. They're only good for healing between battles, and it's very odd to even suggest "Hey, eat a cheese wheel" in the middle of combat. It was odd in Skyrim, and it's even more odd in a game that's turn-based.
Potions need to have their durations increased, but food needs to have their durations increased by a factor of 10, at the very least, spreading their healing (or similar) effect out over the entire duration.
