While I agree with you that limiting our choices in how we play the game is a bad thing, I think that food does exactly that IMO.

The abundance food in the game and healing strength it provides is being used in two situations:
1. In combat, whenever you are missing health and have a free bonus action (not many classes have a consistent use of bonus action every turn that is not on a limited resource) then you eat some food to heal
2. Outside of combat you can eat as much food as you want to heal back to full

This actually affects many aspects of the game, and allows us to use food instead of some of the following limited resources:
1. Class healing like was already pointed out, but not just Cleric. This also reduces the viability of Bard, Druid, Paladin, Ranger. They each get healing in their kit, but less need to use them because everyone has a food as a BA
2. Scrolls with healing spells.
3. Bonus action healing from limited resources (Fighter Second Wind, Healing Potions)
4. Damage reduction/resistant spells (temp HP, resistances, potions...). Why use an action, BA or reaction to limit damage to you or a PC when you can use them instead to damage the enemy and Bonus Action to heal with food.
5. Short Rests! They become more pointless (already are becomes you can LR whenever) because you don't need to spend "hit dice", you can just eat 20 potatoes.

The only place food can't be used (AFAIK, didn't try) is to get fallen PCs up. But then the issue with the help action arises, you can keep your limited resources (potion and spells), use an action to help the PC to 1HP and then just use food if they don't go down again.

A common gripe with the game is that enemies seem to have unlimited spell slots (constantly casting sleep, or heals) and special arrows (fire arrows at your grouped PCs. Now imagine if the enemies could also abuse food the way PCs can:
- Regular melee/ranged Goblin has 12 health
- You hit him for 6.
- He uses his action to try and hit you, eats one of his unlimited potatoes and heals for 4.

You can see how this would become a nightmare, and that is currently how easily a PC can abuse food.