The Blessing - Offering Food to God

In Sanskrit the Gita verses used before food are:

Brahmaarpanam, brahma havir,
Brahmaagnau brahmanaa hutam,
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam,
Brahma karma samaadhinaha.

Aham vaishvaanaro bhutvaa,
Praaninaam dehamaashritaha,
Praanaapaana samaa yuktaha,
Pachaamy annam chatur vidham.

which mean:

The offering is God, the act of offering is God,
Offered by God in the sacred fire which is God.
He alone attains God
Who in all his actions is fully absorbed in God.

I am the all-pervading cosmic energy,
Lodged in the bodies of living beings.
United with their ingoing and outgoing life-breaths,
I consume all the various foods.

This prayer before eating removes all the defects and flaws in the vessels and in the articles of food, as well as removing any negative influence acquired during the cooking process. Before offering the prayer the food is merely food; but once you offer it to the Lord it becomes consecrated food.