Do you “honor” your food? That might be a baffling question, but if it causes you to ponder what it might mean, please read on.
Despite the cost of food these days, we do live in an age of food abundance. We are a culture of “grazers”, maybe not eating meals but nibbling through the day. Our children are grazers. We like big portions. We like our food fast. We are forever “dieting” to lose weight. Our health suffers. Consider steps to “honoring” your food to help you better nourish yourself and family.
Ponder the following for a new perspective on food and eating. Changing habits and routines takes thought and motivation. The “thought” part comes from intentionally deciding to rethink and redo old habits and then mindfully, thoughtfully making new choices. Become more aware of how food tastes, looks, smells. Are you hungry or just have an overactive appetite? Staying with effort to change habits takes intention to follow through. First think “why” you want to make changes. Knowing your “why” strengthens motivation and success.
Family Meals
Gathering the family for a meal, especially with children, provides time in the day to share experiences, laugh, and nourish ourselves. Research shows families who eat together tend to have children who do better in school and have positive relationships. Ann Fishel, a family therapist, feels she might go out of business if families learned to communicate around a meal. Her book Eat, Laugh, Talk: The Family Dinner Playbook is a great guide for making meals more meaningful. It’s a beautiful way to honor each other and the food we eat.
Grocery List
Go with a list. You have more intentional control over what you buy. Honor your list and stick to it. This strategy keeps you from buying high calorie snacks with little nutritional value. If snacks tend to “jump” into the cart, ask yourself “why” you need it. Put them back. You want the list to be part of planning meals and building a “healthy” pantry and refrigerator.
Breakfast
Breakfast is often the “lost meal.” Some of us just don’t want to eat when we wake up. Research suggests that breakfast supports your metabolism and energy to start the day while other research indicates breakfast may not be as necessary as once thought. Your guide should be to satisfy hunger with healthy food to start the day. Studies do show that children need to eat breakfast especially to fuel the brain and body for learning and behavior. By the way, breakfast can be any healthy food, not just cereal, eggs, and toast.
Distracted Eating
Honor what you eat by paying mindful attention to what you are eating. Distracted eating while watching television, texting, reading, working can cause you to eat more than you need or eat unhealthy food. Distracted eating can cause weight gain. Paying attention to your meal is linked to eating less later. Intentionally plan what you are going to eat. Mindfully slow down and savor your food. Eating fast can cause you to eat more. If you are trying to lose weight or manage diabetes, distracted eating can negatively challenge your effort to manage calories and blood sugar. Put your cell phone away.
Dining Out
Restaurant and fast-food meals are generally higher in calories than you think. Portions can be big and are often high in fat and salt. Fortunately, we are becoming better at asking for a leftover “box” and asking for salad dressing “on the side”. Restaurants with more than 20 locations are required by law to provide calorie and nutrition information. Are you intentionally looking at the calorie levels noted on the menu? By carefully choosing, you are honoring your health with a healthy choice. Choose fast-food restaurants with a focus on soups, salads, and lean menu choices.
Finally, always eat with a sense of gratitude. Gratitude helps embrace the gift of having something to eat.
Recipe: Grilled Fresh Peaches
Peaches make me feel giddy with their end of summer sweet lusciousness. I know they will soon be replaced with a luscious crop of apples. That always tempers my peach farewell!
For a quick treat cut a peach in half; remove the pit. Place in a skillet over medium heat with 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Let the cut side brown slightly. Serve each warm peach half with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Garnish with a few red raspberries. Bon Appetit!
Servings: 2
Written by: Mimi Cunningham, MA, RDN, CDCES
About the Author: Mimi is a registered dietitian-nutritionist and diabetes care specialist helping people learn to manage their diabetes and achieve good health. She believes food definitely is good culinary medicine.