Soul Food

Couresy of JingALing on Flickr

Think for a moment of a food from your past, one that makes you feel great after you eat it for no specific reason. Maybe it is macaroni and cheese, slow-simmered tomato sauce, ice cream cones or potato pancakes. Eating comfort foods (every now and then) can be incredibly healing, even though your rational brain might not consider it highly nutritious.

Food has the power to impact us on a level deeper than just our physical well-being. What we eat can reconnect us to precious memories, like childhood playtimes, first dates, holidays, our grandmother’s cooking or our country of ancestry. Our bodies remember foods from the past on an emotional and cellular level. Eating this food connects us to our roots and has youthening and nurturing effects that go far beyond the food’s biochemical make-up.

Acknowledging what different foods mean to us is an important part of cultivating a good relationship with food. This month when we celebrate lovers and relationships, it’s important to notice that we each have a relationship with food—and that this relationship is often far from loving. Many of us restrict food, attempting to control our weight. We often abuse food, substituting it for emotional well-being. Others ignore food, swallowing it whole before we’ve even tasted it.

What would your life be like if you treated food and your body as you would treat your beloved – with gentleness, playfulness, communication, honesty, respect and love? The next time you eat your soul food, do so with awareness and without guilt, and enjoy all the healing and nourishment it brings you.

What’s on your plate?

I am excited to debut my new blog!

Taking from my theatrical background and applying it now to food, nutrition, wellness, etc…the title seemed only too appropriate.  Because I have come to believe completely that what nourishes us most is not always our food.

Of COURSE good food is good nourishment.  But what nourishes us as much (or even more) is the whole world we create for ourselves.  Having fulfilling relationships.  Feeling passionate about our careers.  Enjoying a spiritual or religious practice…connecting with ourselves and others on a deeper level.  And moving our bodies – finding physical activity that we enjoy so much we can’t help but do it regularly!  When we will up our life “plates” with these non-food sources, or these “Primary Foods”, we feel more vibrant and alive.  And then it becomes natural (and, yes, even easy) to make healthier food choices because we learn that we deserve and desire only good things!  Our natural state as human beings IS to be healthy and happy, but in these modern times we just need to uncover the right tools to put us on that path.

Yes I am still on the path.  Because health is, after all, a journey and not a one-stop destination. But having experienced a transformation through diet and lifestyle changes,I look forward to writing on all of these topics and sharing my experiences with you.  Rest assured I will talk about food as well.   After all, I do LOVE food and, having seen the fear on the faces of people in the supermarket aisles with every decision they make, I hope to help others learn to LOVE food, too!

Please bear with me as I get this blog operational.  But visit often, and share it with your friends if you are so inclined.  I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, comments, and feedback.

In the meantime…what will YOU put on your plate today to nourish you?