2/28/11

My Food Philosophy

I am going to go ahead and make a bold statement;

I believe that the majority of healthy folks (like us) spend way more time thinking about food than the majority of less-than-healthy folks.

Ok there, I said it, and I even made it bold.

Now I'll explain it:

I believe that health conscious people think about food and issues related to food so much, due in most, to the fact that it is quite difficult to be healthy and NOT think about food. Healthy requires a balanced diet, which means we must be aware of what we eat, how much of it that we eat, how often we eat, and what else we should be eating (or not eating as the case may be).

Is is obsessive? NO! Not at all. At least not when done correctly. All it means is that we are mindful of what we put into our bodies so that we can get the most out of the bodies we have been given. We are respecting our bodies and ourselves through nutrition, which we know is a HUGE component in overall wellness. Its essential and we are acknowledging that necessity.

My approach to food (also known as my Food Truths) is this:

Eat what you love and love what you eat

Remember when you were a kid and your mom wanted you to finish your lima beans so you plugged you nose chomped twice and swallowed those little beans before they were sufficiently chewed? Yeah, don't do that any more.

Instead learn to love the healthy food that you use to fuel your body. That means trying new things and creative ways to cook them. Learn to enjoy different flavors and spices. Step outside your comfort zone and you might be surprised how much you enjoy the good stuff.

Truth be told, I never force myself to eat anything. I eat salads because I love them, much the same as I eat ice cream because I love it. I just try to make the former more of a habit then the latter.



Hint: Make salads this delicious and you'll be thinking, ice cream who??




















Nothing is off limits

Ok, let me re-phrase that. Don't limit it because its "bad for you". I don't eat red meat but not because of calories, fat, cholesterol. I just don't. Otherwise there is nothing thing that I don't eat, because "off limits" can quickly become a "fear food" and a list of "fear foods" can grow and that can become a lot more unhealthy and restrictive then the occasional piece of pizza.

Instead have an idea of your "Eat Always" and "Eat Sometimes" foods. Stick with column A 80% of the time and it's all good! Moderation is another way to look at it but carefully define what moderate means (ie: a big bowl of steamed veggies daily is awesome! Same bowl of french fries? Not so much!)






















Eat the rainbow

No, not Skittles....I said eat, not taste! Ok fine, Skittles too but let's not get too out of control alright? The other rainbow is a variety of brightly colored fruits, vegetables and grains. Make green a priority in as many meals as you can. Trust me on this one, Popeye and that Jolly Giant are on my side anyway.





















Mix it up a little (or a lot)

Enjoy a variety of foods. I said it before but I'll say it again, try new things! I never knew I liked beets until I threw them in some salad and ta-da! A healthy new salad fixin' was born! Sometimes its easy to eat the few things you know are healthy but guess what? You are probably going to get bored and stop eating them. And then what? Doritos city baby!

While I eat the same breakfast and lunch on work days I make a variety of things for dinner so I don't get the "Oh... you again" blahs and turn to the phone book for fried chicken in a bucket delivered to my doorstep.




















Embrace food for what it can do for you

Good wholesome food gives you energy. It helps ward off pesky colds and flus. It makes you stronger and faster and fitter. It nourishes you, body, mind and soul. Food in general is absolutely essential to life and healthy food is almost as crucial.

If you are what you eat I'd rather be a Green Monster then a Double Down, that's for damn sure!!





















Treat yourself and love it!

All things considered if I follow the other truths most of the time then you'd better believe I am going to enjoy something cheesey or chocolatey from time to time. It's my life and I want to live it to the fullest. And a full life, in my definition, means chocolate chips!!



















Now that's the truth!



So tell me, what's one of your Food Truths?

26 comments:

  1. Really great post! It's a philosophy that I really need to work on and embrace. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Amen! Yes, we think about food too much. We write about it too much and we talk about it too much, but you're right - it can be done in a non-obsessive way (except me and bacon, thats obsessive!). I really really love your point about mixing it up. When I first started changing my diet I had the same (boring) salad every single night and you can bet that I was running towards Wendy's that weekend.

    Awesome post!

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  3. What a great post!
    I'm all about eating lots of colours, its a great way to increase my veggie and fruit intake, every meal except breakfast usually has some green :)

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  4. I second that amen! Great post and I agree nothing is off limits. :)

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  5. You are right that health-conscious people inevitably think about food more. And you're also right that this isn't an automatically bad thing. It's good to stop and think about what you're eating!

    But lately I personally have been working on enjoying food and leaving it there. I think I had been obsessing about food too much recently, even with good intentions.

    Love this post!

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  6. You have an awesome attitude! I definitely agree with your philosophy.

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  7. Great list!

    I honestly have the biggest problems with the nothing is off limits part. Mostly, because I don't trust myself to not overindulge.

    So I ban things. But we all know what that leads to.

    I won't lie . . . it's an everyday struggle to have a healthy relationship with food.

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  8. I have trigger foods that just create a whole downward spiral for me. Like graham crackers with frosting or those Goldfish grahams. Once I start eating that stuff, I want to eat ALL OTHER sweet things in the house. So, a lot of times I avoid it altogether.
    I also eat a lot of the same things everyday, and don't mix it up much. But I like all the stuff I eat. I never eat something that I think tastes like crap just because it's healthy for me. (I just discovered I love beets too! Soooo good. I could eat a salad of just lettuce and beets. :-))

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  9. Oh man. What's in that salad!? I have to know. I see spinach and strawberries and almonds, but I'm always looking for more things to add to spinach strawberry salad, since it's the only green I eat.

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  10. Awesome post! I agree with a lot of the things you said. My goal at all times is balance. I want to eat healthy, but I also want to enjoy the food that I'm eating. Most of the time I enjoy healthy food, but sometimes you have to dig into the overly cheesy, or chocolatey things. Variety is also key.

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  11. I couldn't agree more! I think about food more now than I ever did (and believe me, I thought about it a LOT before!). I will admit though that I still think/obsess about it in some unhealthy ways. While I'm busy thinking of what healthy meals we can try this week, I'm also thinking about how good (and easy) it would be to just sink my teeth into a quarter pounder and fries chased by a huge slice of chocolate cake! Granted, I'm only one year into this journey, so I think I struggle more now than I will in the future.

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  12. I totally agree with you... when I first was "getting healthy" I was so obsessive about calories and fat content and it was crazy. Now I feel like I never obsess, eat what I want, and am healthier than I was when I was being so meticulous. I hope people realize you don't have to obsess to be healthy!

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  13. well said!! I honestly believe in everything you said! variety is the spice of life! Eat from the rainbow! Healthy and whole and as least processed as possible are my strongest beliefs!

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  14. awesome post!! love it! I honestly, eat what I want too. But I LOVE fruits and veggies and WANT to eat more of them. I feel better after I have eaten an apple vs. french fries. My body craves it!

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  15. Awesome post! I definitely have found that I need to mix up my healthy foods... after eating grilled chicken & hummus with carrots for a couple months at work, I found myself wanting to eat out do get rid of the boredom. Now I've been concocting quinoa or pasta salads & love it :)

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  16. I love your "nothing is off limits" one :)

    Mine is "listen to your body" coupled with "give in to cravings". After being a salt-hog all my life and trying to stay away from it I found out that I have a sodium deficiency and I actually need more salt than the average bear! Taught me that my body (and its cravings) know best!

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  17. another great post. I love that initial point and debate it with many clients. Can we eat healthfully and not think about food? Where is the line between obsessive and organized? I agree with you that healthy eating takes forethought. I would just hate to think that thinking about other things is marginalized because I'll making a shopping list. Ooh you have my wheels turning.

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  18. Such a great post girl! I'm really at the point where I'm trying to catch this balance.

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  19. I love your Food Truths! I share a similar philosophy. For me, I like to look at food more as fuel which means I try hard to stay away from things that potentially steal good health.

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  20. You are totally right!
    Fantastic post, its all about balance, i work at it every day and i want to reach through the screen and eat that salad, yummm

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  21. Loved this. One of my food truths is being unapologetic about my food choices (that doesn't mean I'm not sweet & kind about, but just that i stick to my guns).

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  22. Such a positive food philosophy! I just wrote a post about how my food philosophy was shaped out of fear and not being educated - now it has grown, but initially I was scared because of what I found out went into foods that parade around as healthy foods! Now I eat well and love what I eat :) I love this post!

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