How We View Nourishing Ourselves and Family

It is easy to mentally sweep meals into our long list of annoying, daily to-dos. One more task that gets in the way of more important, more inspiring, seemingly more urgent work that we would rather be getting on with. I know I certainly sometimes do!

Preparing food for ourselves and our families can be inconvenient, time-consuming, messy, and sometimes downright discouraging when the food we prepare doesn’t turn out as we hoped or is not received gratefully and graciously by our families. When we carry this attitude regarding food and meals, we:

• Skip meals and fall behind in nourishing ourselves, leading to mindless snacking or fast food runs just to get through the day…not to mention what ends up in our shopping cart when we grocery shop in this state!
• Haphazardly piece together meals that just don’t reflect a lot of joy or creativity, or are missing foods that would better nourish us but just take too much time to prepare.
• Rely more heavily on processed foods that expose us to more chemicals, preservatives, and additives, sweeteners, and lower quality ingredients.
• Communicate to ourselves and our loved ones that taking care of our bodies is just not a priority.

Of course, there are ways to logistically approach these challenges. We can meal plan, cook ahead, use leftovers, employ more flexible methods like crock pots, or maybe even try innovative new strategies such as meal kit delivery services. They all help, and we can and should experiment to see what works with our situations.

But I think to stop there, we fail to get at the root of what is really going on for some of us, that we are in a fundamental battle with our God (or universe) ordained need to sustain ourselves with food.  Perhaps we are in a bigger battle against our having needs at all. They certainly aren’t convenient, but taking care of our needs does force a pause in our work and activity schedules, and it also has the power to reground us physically into our bodies and our place in the universe, which then leads to a spiritual settling of our souls as well.

I don’t think it is so far-fetched to believe that the spirit in which we prepare our food and serve it, whether to ourselves or to our families, actually changes the pleasure and nutritional value of that meal. It is like that timeless tale we hear of a grandma sprinkling a magic ingredient into all of her food…the ‘empty’ spice shaker that is a symbol of the love and care and joy that she is pouring into her cooking…and yet that love is truly the secret of food that tastes good and satisfies.   

What do you think could happen if you could better surrender to your need to eat well, and to eat often? And to take a little more time to shop and plan and prepare truly nourishing and satisfying food, and to do so joyfully and patiently as the ultimate act of self-love we can gift ourselves and our families with each day?

I don’t wonder if our food might start to sparkle a little more, taste a little yummier, settle in our tummies a little better, and energize our weary bodies and souls in new ways.

About Kelly Arensen, Living Well Coaching

Kelly holds coaching certifications through the Institute for the Psychology of Eating and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Prior to becoming a health coach, Kelly worked in the field of international public health, providing nutritional intervention for young children and mothers in developing and war-torn countries, including Cambodia and North Sudan. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University. Learn more about about Kelly’s living well coaching services.