Not surprisingly, it happened again. The only surprising thing is that it happened in my Pilates class of all places. But the “it” was the same: another unfortunate mealtime lament.
It started when someone in class mentioned the nice article we got in the Daily Camera (p. 11), which got everyone talking about healthy eating. One class member, we’ll call her Nona, chimed in with how dismal she felt around mealtimes. Although very active and physically fit, she admitted that meal times were disastrous, nutritionally and otherwise: “Never know what to make . . . it’s such a chore . . . we end up just picking at things, grabbing whatever we can . . . I just dread it . . . I’m not that good in the kitchen and I feel really incompetent. . . I know we’re not eating well but I don’t know what to do about it.”
“You’re hardly alone!” was my response. I have heard versions of Nona’s laments time and time again over my 25 years in the healthy meal making area. And each time I hear a person getting sucked into that well of hopelessness, dismay, frustration, anger, sadness and overwhelm around mealtimes, my heart goes out to her. Because I remember being in the same spot when I first began.
Yet here’s good news I didn’t know then—but do now: Transformation is possible!
Transformation is big now
Your inbox is likely housing at least half a dozen self-help offerings right now. For everything from reviving your marriage to supercharging your career and from finding a soul mate to achieving enlightenment, there are hundreds of programs to help us become better in some way.
But did you ever consider your food life to be a candidate for personal transformation?
That’s not just a rhetorical question. I’m really interested in your answers because I’ve always thought of our classes as personal transformation programs more than how-to-cook classes. And just this week, I myself began a self-help program on marketing and the first topic was–you guessed it–transformation! The instructor asked us to identify the core transformation our participants are seeking. I figured there’s no better way to find out than by asking.
Can you help me?
I would love to hear your thoughts on transformation around meal times. Our mission lies in helping busy people make a lifestyle of healthy meal making and eating. Over the years, I have listened and listened to the barriers you face on the road to that kind of lifestyle. And I’ve designed our new Cook Happy | Live Healthy program in response to the needs, frustrations and dreams you’ve shared.
But I’ve never asked about this idea of transformation. So can you help me by sharing your thoughts?
Take our 5-Minute Mealtime Transformation Survey
–or–
Just email me answers to any or all the questions at the end of this post + any other comments you may have.
Now, A Little More About Transformation
At its core, it’s just about living consciously. Instead of life happening to us, we’re in cahoots with it. We take time to consider what we’d like our lives to look like, then start making conscious choices taking us in that direction rather than in haphazard and unpredictable directions. This kind of thinking is popular in the spiritual realm and the career realm and the emotional realm. Did you ever think it could work in the practical realm of how we make our daily meals?
Don’t worry if this is a foreign idea to you. I doubt there are many programs like ours that are focused on meal making transformation. It’s understandable if you think of our programming like a cooking class, because that is the only kind of kitchen-related programming we’ve seen.
But actually, we are quite different. Our mission is to help you discover a whole new way of making meals, not only for a healthier you, but also for healthier families, communities and planet. We do this by taking a full-spectrum approach to help you get better at meal making, from healthier cooking skills to more supportive thoughts, and from a friendlier kitchen to a more accessible understanding of healthy eating and more efficient and effective meal making habits.
So here’s to transformation–and please do complete our 5-Minute Survey.
The Survey
Here are the questions if you prefer to just email me your answers + comments:
1. Have you ever thought about transformation in the context of your food life?
- Yes
- No
- It’s an interesting thought . . . .
- Other _______________________
2. If you can envision the possibility of a transformation around meal making . . .
- . . . does it sound like something you’d like to experience?
- . . . or doesn’t really sound of interest
- . . . or you’re not sure
- . . . or maybe in the future
- . . . or something else ___________________
3. What might a transformation look like for you? What really doesn’t work for you around meal making and how you would love things to be different. In a perfect world, what would your food life look like? (The following are examples only. Choose as many as apply but please also share any additional thoughts in the comment field.)
- Less stressful
- Less disappointment
- Not feeling overwhelmed
- Less boredom around meal times
- Excited about what I’m making and eating
- Better tasting meals
- Make meals that my family likes
- More affordable meals
- Having time to make decent meals
- Greater sense of knowing what I’m doing
- Feeling of confidence around cooking
- Being in better control around meal making
- Meal making flows naturally as a part of my day.
- Not feeling like I’m coming from behind the curve all the time
- Feel successful around meal times
- Healthier meals
- Know without confusion what I can eat that’s healthy
- A feeling of being nourished by my meals–nutritionally? emotionally? socially?
- Feeling of being better able to feed myself/my family nutritiously
- Less vulnerability to chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, etc.
- Follow a particular diet and eating approach, e.g., Paleo, vegetarian, seasonal, gluten free, etc.
- Eat food that doesn’t harm the environment or the workers who produce it
- More community, friendship and interaction around meal making
- More enjoyment and fun
- More gratitude and value for the meals I make
- Feeling that my time is spent in a worthwhile way
- My food life better reflects my values, hopes and beliefs around, e.g., nutrition, health, environment, community, family, etc.
Your own comments: _____________________
4. Do you feel ready and would you like to begin the transformation journey to a better food life?
- Very
- Somewhat
- Not Sure
- Still Have Questions
- Not Interested
- Other
5. Change always requires effort, even if it’s not that much and it’s highly rewarding. What in your life (issues, events or other circumstances or beliefs) would motivate you to put out the effort to start making changes around meal making?
Thanks and I’ll share the responses in the next post.