How often did the little you hear “don’t play with your food”?
Especially if you were a sneaky/picky kid, hiding your greens under a mountain of mashed potatoes. (Mom definitely won’t see that!) 😉
I bet you also remember the fun of baking cupcakes for your elementary school class.
Or the awesomeness of placing the pepperoni in just the right smiley face configuration on a homemade pizza.
Or the giggles when Mom let you lick the beaters from the brownie mix bowl. Or crack the egg into the pan on Saturday morning. Or make a PB&J by yourself for the first time.
For kids, food – like pretty much everything in life – is a joyful exploration of the world. It feeds their curiosity, brings endless surprises, and creates opportunities to try new things. And to fail without serious consequence.
As adults, we’ve traded joy and exploration around food for stress, perfectionism, and self-reproach.
No WONDER eating healthy feels like a chore?!
According to a recent survey, nearly 28% of Americans say they don’t know how to cook. Add that to our time-starved modern lifestyles, and home cooked meals are no fun anymore.
Which sucks. Because preparing our own food is the single best way to eat things that help us look and feel our best.
Here’s a (possibly revolutionary) thought…
What if being playful about food could help you be healthier, stronger, more vibrant, more joyful, more alive?
And what if cooking at home could be a stress reliever instead of stress inducer? Artful instead of drudgery?
[ctt title=”Playing with your food is the fastest way to get healthier.” tweet=”Playing with your food is the fastest way to get healthier. via @laradalch http://ctt.ec/ujbaO+” coverup=”ujbaO”]
From a health perspective, there are good reasons to cook at home at least a couple times a week.
When you cook at home, you’re in control of what goes into your food (and into your body). Salt, sugar, oil – YOU decide how much to use. And unpronounceable preservatives, trans fats, or ingredients made in a lab? Do you have those in your pantry? Probably not.
And portion sizes. Well, you and I both know that restaurant portions are enough for three people, but that doesn’t always stop us from cleaning our plates. At home, use a salad plate for your dinner – there’a actual research showing that using smaller plates makes us eat less.
Here’s a fun challenge for you, especially if you hate cooking.
Pick one of these three ways to have fun with your food again, try it for a week, and get back to me in the comments. Deal?
- Conduct a Breakfast Experiment. Most of us get stuck in a rut with food sometimes. You eat the same things, day in and day out, even if you have a vague sense that they’re not your best options health-wise. Get curious about what foods work best for your body for a week! Try something different for breakfast – or for lunch if you’re not a breakfast eater – for at least five days. (Check out my Power Breakfasts to Go if you need ideas.) Make note of how you feel just after you eat and again two hours later. Your body might guide you to some unexpected choices… AND experiments are fun!
- Mess up in the kitchen. Do you have “Kitchen Failure Phobia”? If so, you’re not alone – so do a lot of my clients when they come to me. These are smarty pants, accomplished women, but ask them to cook up a pot of quinoa and they run for the hills. 😉 I’m exaggerating a little (not much), but cooking – like anything new to you – can feel daunting at first. Give yourself permission to mess up. Sometimes your favorite dishes come out of cooking “failures.” Once you ban perfection from the kitchen, cooking becomes a creative outlet and actually relaxing! And remember: if it’s inedible, there’s always take out.
- Make meals mindful. Just for a week, make an effort to slow down and notice the color, texture, taste, smell, and sound of your food as you eat. Think of it as a mini-meditation, in fact. Eating can be joyful and sensuous if you let it… which makes prepping meals and eating feel much less like a chore.
Since finding time to grocery shop can be a challenge, too, here are a couple of tips for making the grocery thing happen. (I want you to actually HAVE food to experiment with!)
- Save time at the store by keeping a running list in an app like Evernote, rather than making the entire list just before you go. (Talk about a chore!)
- Put your shopping trip on your calendar or it will never happen. In fact, put your meal
prepplay time on your calendar too, just like any other appointment.
And – once every month or two – make grocery shopping like play, too, by doing what I call a “free form shop.” No list. No time limit. No agenda. Just a leisurely stroll through the store, exploring what’s there and picking up a couple things you’d like to try.
Worst case scenario: There are lots of companies out there capitalizing on our time-starved lives. If using Blue Apron’s pre-packaged ingredients gets you to play in the kitchen a little, I’m all for it! At least the food is fresh and you control what goes into it.
Keep me posted on your “having fun with food experiments” in the comments below. 🙂
P.S. Helping busy ladies shop for and cook healthy meals – without turning their lives upside down – is a big part of my coaching programs.
“Working with Lara changed the way I look at food – I not only feel better and healthier, but I also enjoy going to the grocery store and putting meals together using ingredients I previously overlooked.”
-Kastyn Reid | New York, NY
“Working with Lara helped me become more aware of the types of food I’m eating and the results of eating ‘bad’ food. I’m more committed to my goals, more aware of the tools out there to help, a better grocery shopper and meal picker-outer!”
-Dana Day | Kenmore, WA
Find out if working with me could help you actually start eating healthy (instead of just talking about it 😉 – so you can be your most vibrant you again, too. Apply for a free “Taste” call with me here.
xo,
