How we're losing the he(art) of food.

Argh.  I cannot believe our most natural relationship with food has come to this?   Children learning what food they need to eat from an app.  It's not right and it's not healthy. 

For me, it's another commercial bandaid, designed with good intention (?) that's covering up two deeper dysfunctional, societal issues at play. 

First up.  

When we eat foods in their most whole and real form i.e. unprocessed and unrefined, there is no app needed.   Children have a much greater chance of maintaining their weight, easily, naturally, with no overthinking or digital device required. 

However there is a trick.   

Eating whole foods requires some preparation time, energy, a touch of creativity and hopefully a healthy dose of love.  In eating food this way, the benefits are 100x worth it.

The simple act of preparing food at home with our families is one of the most important acts we can perform, (even if you think you can't cook, give it go, it's so worth it).  

In our homes, while preparing and creating food, we powerfully create;

• engaging interactions and an emotional presence for your children, something they crave, especially when you're busy.
• knowledge of different vegetables, fruit, herbs etc and their nourishing, medicinal properties. 
• fun stimulating the senses i.e. tasting, smelling, seeing and touching.
• life long memories.
• ​​​​​​​connection with the rhythms and cycles of nature and our own biology.  Something we are becoming further and further removed from and is critical for us to thrive. 
• and much more. 

Looking at an app on a device, getting takeaway or store-bought meals, creates missed opportunities and a void for the most fundamental of these human needs to be met. 

The app is a bandaid.  There may be a place for it, but not before exploring if it's in-fact covering up these two deeper issues.  

Re-discovering the he(art) of food and our childrens' health.

1.  Outsourcing responsibility.  

Parenting is busy and at the same time, it's become very easy and the norm, to outsource food preparation, meaning we no longer need to prioritise time for the simple and most important art of creating home made food with our families, sharing, explaining, learning about the food and eating, enjoying it together.   

Rather we are outsourcing it for the convenience of packaged food, takeaway or... an app. 

Life is busy and it's an easy choice to grab something ready to go and every now and again, that's totally fine, but when you do, take a moment to eat it together, mindfully and gratefully.  

Preparing and creating a meal at home IS the most simple, fundamental and important act there can be as a Parent.   

• Food is medicine.
• Food is energy. Focus. Good sleep.
• Food is love.
• Food is connection.
• Food is memories.
• Food is life. 
• Food is our nature. 

2.  Convenience. 

The convenience of modern day living is inconveniencing and affecting the health of our families.   

Take a moment next time you're tempted to make a time efficient choice and decide if you really need to outsource that action or say 'yes' to that activity or event or if it's actually better and potentially more enjoyable, to say 'no' or 'I'm going to do it myself, together'?   

When we're too busy to properly cook, it's easy to be drawn into societal norms without thinking twice, and actually when we take time to think it through the easy way out is usually not in the best interest of your or your families well-being.  

Restoring our relationship with food, a culinary adventure. 

In our recent visit to France, we experienced a culinary adventure with the beautiful and charismatic Mimi Thorisson and her family.  Mimi has created a lifestyle business, one that seamlessly combines her life, business and family.   I think living life this way makes life easier and something I aspire to.   

Generally, French people are amongst the healthiest in the world, and their children have the lowest incidence of obesity in the world.  

I learnt why.  

Food isn't convenient, it's at the heart of their lives, especially for Mimi.  While we were there, we didn't see any advertising promoting fast food, (actually very little advertising in general).

Here's what I learnt about Mimi's philosophy / relationship with food, and I love;

• Everyone is involved in preparing and cooking meals together, including her children, (all 8 of them)! 
• Being in the kitchen is important and a natural part of life.
• Food is abundance.   
• While we all prepared the food (including her children) we chatted, shared stories and got to know each other. It was food for the heart and soul. 
• There is no stress about food.  In Australia we can stress too much about WHAT we eat.    In France their is a pride and genuine love of good food.   They have their cake and eat it, celebrating and enjoying it.  I got the sense they would rarely if ever, associate guilt with eating food. 
• Mimi is grace and poise, even in the kitchen.  It's an energy that makes you want to cook and be there with her, (I have a bit of work to do)!
• Everyone has a veggie garden. 
• For Mimi food is love.   She loves preparing food, loves sharing it and all that it creates for her family and friends who gather at their table. 
• Generally, french people are confident with food and I guess this comes from KNOWING food. 

It was an incredible experience, sparked by a common love of good food, shared with strangers who quickly became wonderful friends with life long memories made.   (And if you haven't discovered Mimi yet, you can find her on instagram and enjoy her many cook books).  

The simplicity of good food and what it has the power to create, really is magic.  

But...  I know as Mothers this might sounds like a fantasy!   We can quickly lose the energy for preparing and cooking home made food, especially if children are turning up their noses up at it!  I know how it is.  I definitely have days like this too.   So keep reading... I have something that will help.