Eating—More To Chew On Than Just Food (Part 1)
Hello Tribe! Lately, I’ve shared several writings on supplementation and other topics with the intention of helping you determine the best options and implementation for your unique health goals. Though they’ve been informative and useful, I feel it’s time to write about a topic that’s very personal and extremely meaningful to me…and that is eating.
To me, eating is a holistic experience that does so much more than merely satisfying hunger—it embodies love, pleasure, intimacy, care, and honor that I anticipate and immensely enjoy with every meal!
Today, we will start with the most important one—Love…
Love—To Show Love Is To Know Love
Every kind of love comes from within myself and it’s an expression of the unique person I am. But, I cannot show love without freely giving love, and I cannot give something I don’t have—to know and have love starts with loving myself first!
When you love yourself, you’re able to give so much more to everyone who is blessed by knowing you! Loving yourself does not drop out of the sky and automatically happen—you have to see yourself worthy, and realize there has never been nor ever will be any person like you! So, it is up to you to invest in yourself and not rob the world of the unique awesomeness that only you can bring!
An essential way I invest in myself is to stay healthy, and eating is a huge part of that. My goal is to optimally fuel my body so I feel energized and free of any constraints that can prevent me from doing what I love, and more important from fulfilling my wonderful purpose. Here are principles I use to do just that:
Don’t rush!—With so much hustle and bustle in our world, I look for every opportunity to slow life down. One way I do this is I intentionally block out sufficient time to go grocery shopping. I have several places I like to shop, each with their own vibe where I appreciate their unique surroundings, staff, and products. I take time to scan for new products/services that might be offered because I am a curious little creature that really gets excited trying out the potential for new things. I take time to touch, smell, and inspect the food so I can select the freshest and most flavorful ones. I ask questions and engage with staff and even other shoppers to make it a friendly experience too.
Eat high-quality food—I look for as close to how-nature-intended as I can get. Food in its natural state, i.e. grown without chemicals, unprocessed, raised in its natural environment, is not only more nutrient-dense but does not contain toxins and anti-agents that batter our body and can bring about severe damage and diseases. High-quality sourced food like a free-range chicken, or organic blueberries may not be the biggest ones in the store, but they offer more satiety, so you won’t eat as much, and they taste so much better than the alternative!
Prepare food carefully—When I’m preparing and cooking my meals, I’m careful about what utensils and cookware I use. Non-stick or aluminum cookware can leach hormone-disrupting chemicals and heavy metals into food. Healthier cookware options are: cast iron, stoneware, glass or Corningware, and stainless steel. I really like cast iron, but it requires special handling to maintain a cured state in order to prevent rusting. Also, I like to store food in glass containers or stoneware rather than plastic as plastic also leaches harmful contaminants into food that have been tied to all types of serious ailments.
Great love starts from a pure heart and a heart of joy and gratitude for the unique person I am and the wonder for the life given me. When we have that love for our self, we’re able share great love with those brought into our life. I find so much joy and pleasure when I have people over and I’m able show my appreciation for them by cooking an amazing meal! Not only is it an enjoyable time to be with my friends and family, but it’s also a very personal and meaningful way that I can express, in my own way, their importance to me. Here are a few ways I do that:
Cook the best—Just as I give my body the highest-quality food, I give the best to others. I want them to realize that they're important to me and for them to enjoy our being together by sharing the best I have to offer, and that includes delicious and healthy food!
Consider my guest(s)—Each food item is selected and served with the person who will be eating it in mind. I want to respect their food choices because I respect them as a unique person and wouldn’t intentionally serve a food I like that could potentially be offensive to their beliefs, or allergic or sensitive to.
Make it memorable—Time spent is time gone, never to get back, it's the most valuable thing we have. Mealtime is a special time for me to be fully present with my family/friends—I want them to feel welcomed and relaxed in my home and for them to know I am grateful they are in my life, so I will break the time up by bringing out “layers” of food and drink rather than serving everything all at once so that we have a lot of conversation and bonding time. I also weave in my unusual style to make the presentation of the food appealing and create a setting that enhances a desired mood. I am such an eclectic for style and don’t think I could ever have too many unusual dishes and such. I love using them and I’m always scouting for a dining thing that catches my eye!
Conclusion
To me, eating is a creative and meaningful expression of love for myself and those in my life. I look at it this way, we have to eat to live, no way around it, so I choose to make the experience more than a “have-to for survival”—eating is an extension of the unique person I am and an amazing way I can make a positive impact on those I’m blessed to know.
Next week, I’ll discuss how I make pleasure and intimacy components of my eating experience.
I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to respond to this blog with your comments, or contact me with questions or feedback. Until next Sunday, be well and live awesome!