[typography font=”Myriad Pro” size=”24″ size_format=”px” color=”#e62730″]Eating Well Is One of Life’s Great Pleasures [/typography]

Eat Foods that You Enjoy

It is not uncommon to read about the need to eat nutritious food to keep your body healthy; but there is another component of eating well that is not often discussed – TASTE. Some people believe that healthy food doesn’t taste good. Not so!

Our amazing digestive track includes taste buds that are designed to enjoy healthy, nutritious food. The problem is that if you have spent your entire lifetime eating “fake foods” that are heavily processed and filled with additives, your taste buds may not be working well.

It is time to bring your taste buds back to life. Let go of your unhealthy eating habits and give your taste buds a chance to recover and function as they were meant to function. Very quickly you will find yourself falling in love with natural wholesome food.

Once your taste buds have recovered and are working at peak level, if a particular food tastes bad to you, choose an alternative. There are so many choices, especially in the vegetable family, that you should not have a problem finding foods you enjoy.

Always keep in mind that eating should be a pleasure; so, it is important to love the food you eat. The goal is to fill your diet with nutritious, healthy food that tastes good in order to sustain a healthy diet that will build a healthy body to serve you well for many years to come.

Unfortunately, there are some foods that have been genetically engineered and no longer taste the way they should. My recommendation is to buy organic foods as often as possible. Morgellons Aid tells us that, “Natural/Organic” foods…are minimally processed and do not contain any hormones, antibiotics, sweeteners, food colors, or flavorings that were not originally in the food. This includes fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meats. In the Western Countries, especially the U.S., it becomes important to seek out organic foods. Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. Label reading becomes a mandatory skill.” For more information, read the entire article.

Eating Can Be a Social Event

Unfortunately, when people decide to “go on a diet” or to change their eating habits, they decide to avoid social events because they typically revolve around food. Food and socializing seem to be the norm in most societies. Remember you always have choices regarding what you eat – simply learn to choose wisely. If you are committed to eating well, it will become less and less difficult to eat only foods that are good for you. In fact, throw your own party or intimate gathering and serve the delicious, nutritious discoveries you make as you travel the road of pleasurable and healthy eating.

Slow Down and Enjoy

Busy schedules and demanding lifestyles have created a monstrously bad habit – eating too fast! SLOW DOWN! Do not rush through your meals. I know it can be difficult when you are continuously under a time crunch.

Most businesses allow only half-hour lunch breaks and even schools are shortening the lunch period – in some cases it has been cut to 12 minutes. That is horrible! Those kinds of mandates are exacerbating the problem we have in helping children to develop good eating habits. The last thing we want is to have them associate food with stress. Forcing them to eat lunch in 12 minutes will reinforce that issue, not alleviate it. If you are a parent whose children are dealing with this, I encourage you to fight it.

If you have only a half-hour lunch at work, at least try to slow down and enjoy the 30 minutes as much as you can. Then, make your evening meal a leisurely, enjoyable time for everyone.

Eating Should be a Mindful Experience

Break yourself of blindly stuffing yourself with whatever is most convenient and easy to prepare (and all the addictive foods like McDonalds and packaged foods).

Educate yourself. Learn where food comes from, how it grows, what is in everything you eat (learn to read labels), notice how it is prepared and how it literally “feeds your body” (or not). Be thankful for the food you have. Savor the flavors and textures of different foods and appreciate the presentation. Make eating a sensory delight – which BTW can only be done with natural foods.

If you take the time to do all of the above, you will begin to naturally make healthier choices. It is much more difficult to choose poor quality, empty-calorie foods when you take the time to know what you are eating. At the very least, learn to read labels!

Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Day

Another bad habit that has become the norm, especially in the U.S. is skipping breakfast. I have heard many people say that they do not like to eat when they first get up. Frankly, that is also a habit – they have trained their bodies to feel that way. Waiting a little while is OK, as long as you don’t wait too long (no more than ½ hour) before you eat something healthy – and, I don’t mean a cup of black coffee.

Start with a big glass (or bottle) of water – then, have a piece of fresh fruit (or make your own juice); enjoy a bowl of oatmeal with nuts, organic raisins, a little honey and cinnamon (or scrambled eggs and multi-grain toast) – and finally have your coffee or tea (if you must).

If you can’t, or choose not to find the time to prepare an actual breakfast – a good shortcut is to learn to make nutritious smoothies. (Check out my cookbook, Breakfast and Brunch for some great recipes.) Whip them up and start your day right!

After sleeping through the night, the body needs to be hydrated and nourished. The statement, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” is not an old wives’ tale. Adults need to eat in order to maintain energy and be productive. Children need to eat to support their rapid growth and in order to learn. They cannot and do not perform well when they have not eaten breakfast.

People who want to lose weight may decide to skip breakfast, but that choice can backfire because they either nibble on high-calorie snacks because of hunger pangs, and/or they eat more at the next meal.

When you eat breakfast, you kick-start your metabolism, recharge your brain and your body, and have the energy and ability to stay completely focused on everything you do.

Never Eat After 8:00 P.M.

When people decide they want to change their eating habits, some of the biggest challenges are:
1. Learning to eat at regular intervals.
2. Stopping when you are full.
3. Never eating at night (after 8:00 p.m.)

There are differences of opinion about whether night-time eating will prevent you from losing weight, or not, but it is bad for your digestion and can interrupt your sleep cycle.

Night-time eating is a habit. It is not about hunger. It is more likely the result of loneliness, stress, boredom, or fatigue. It is quiet, no one is around to give you a hard time, and it always tastes so good (but it is not good for you).

The truth is that it is important to learn when enough is enough – and a healthy, nutritious dinner should quell your hunger and be enough for the day. In order for your body to absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from your food, your digestive system must work efficiently. It must have a chance to rest. Give it a break each night from dinner-time – overnight – until breakfast.

Make eating a pleasurable event. Eat well, share the bounty and your new habits, and enjoy a healthier lifestyle that is easy to sustain and rubs off on others.

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