Ideally, I would like to have my party eat to gain a buff once per play session (so a buff that lasts an hour, maybe?). For me, making sure to eat a little every time I logged on would increase immersion and keep me crafting recipes because I would feel there's an impactful gain. Eating immediately before every battle, though, is a chore and does not seem like a "natural" relationship with consumables. We don't eat as real people only right before we do a task to gain some immediate benefit, we eat habitually to remain in top condition. The game could even balance buffs and debuffs based on the "healthiness" of the food. So maybe meat adds a (relative) lot to strength while debuffing finesse, whereas an apple gives a small boost to intelligence alone, or health regen, or whatever.
