More about time, apples and oranges
What’ s the biggest barrier we face on the journey to healthful eating? 20 years as a healthy eating coach reveals the surprising answer, and it’s not that we can’t cook, don’t have the right recipes or need more gadgets. No, that devil Time is what gets in our way. “I don’t have time to cook healthy meals,” is an all too familiar refrain.
Convenience and fast food makers have responded by manufacturing food products requiring less and less preparation time, until we’ve come to believe meals can be made in NO time. An earlier post busted this myth. Comparing a fast food meal to a real food meal really can’t be done, it explained. While cooking is indeed minimal for a frozen meal, drive through burger or box of mac ‘n cheese, the end result bears no resemblance to a real food meal which not only fills a hunger void, but also provide deep satisfaction and essential nutritional value. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges.
Since writing that post, I thought of another way to explain this “apples and oranges” metaphor: Imagine a couple with three children, in need of a vehicle. At the car dealership, the salesman shows them a barely 4-person sedan, declaring it to be a perfect fit. “As long as it runs, a car’s a car,” he quips.
The obvious shortcomings in his claim are no different than those of a manufacturer advertising that its frozen meals are the equivalent of real, Everyday Good Eating meals. Sure, they may do the basic job of filling a hunger void, but just like the car that wouldn’t hold the 5th member of your family, a frozen meal misses a critical part of what it’s supposed to do: nurture and nourish the body so we can work, play and enjoy good health.
It’s easy to tell if your meals aren’t fulfilling a critical part of what they’re supposed to do: Indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, sleep trouble, colds and flus, weight issues and skin problems aren’t random vindictiveness being meted out by the universe. Instead, they are signals from the body that it’s not getting the nutrients it needs.
If you’re not enjoying good health, you can do something about it starting tonight. Make a real foods meal. Don’t know how? Join a Whole Kitchen cooking class and learn how easy it is to make meals that don’t just fill a hunger hole, but also fill the need for nurture and nourishment.
Remember, we’re supposed to be healthy.
The next Whole Kitchen Cooking Classes begin Thursday, January 13 for 5 weeks at the Erie Community Center. Find out more.