Let me tell you about my wife…. she says I’m right 0.0001% of the time. First, I am right way more than that (I will confirm that with her later) but this post is about your relationship with food.
We all love food! Food is meant to be eaten and enjoyed! Don’t hate the messenger, someone had to say it…. Food is not the enemy it is our fuel and contains vital components that our body needs to function. Our thoughts towards food have been skewed by our lack of understanding of nutrition and by the influences of our Western diet culture. When I say Western diet culture, I am talking about how our society perceives food, our fast-paced lives, and ultimately the lack of overall balance within our diet. For example, my wife thought that carbs were the absolute devil before she met me!
Our culture has forced us to be non-stop in our daily lives. What do we do when we are running low on time and energy? We focus on fast alternatives, fast food, diet pills, etc… to get fast results in our fast-paced lives. However, this is how we were raised, and this is what our society has told us is acceptable. As children, many of us were told to finish our plate, as there were starving kids in the world, so most ate their food despite being full. As we grew up and started families we took that culture and attitude towards food with us. In today's culture, we need to eat quickly to get the kids out the door on time for school or activities. We rush our lunches because work has given us 30 minutes to eat, drink, and maybe run to the restroom. Often, we even work while we rush to finish our food, I am 100% guilty of this as I know many of you are as well.
Our food culture is vastly different than other countries. For example, the French value meals as an opportunity to be with family, take time to socialize and enjoy several courses of food. Their meals last about an hour or more, but if they are with family or friends a meal could last 2-3+ hours with multiple courses. I also read that they don’t indulge in snacking the way we do either, as likely they are fulfilled by their meals. Think about your last Thanksgiving with your family. Did you cook for three hours to eat the meal in 10-15 min? Then did it take longer to clean up than it took to eat? Yep… as did most of us.
Due to our busy schedules, we focus on easy to prepare foods and fast food. We like big portions, at a low cost, that we can eat in 10-15 minutes. Did you ever wonder why there are fast food chains on every corner because that’s what society tells us we want and need? Then we consume these unhealthy foods, gain weight and then blame/shame ourselves before we repeat it all over again.
Our Westernized food culture has almost demonized food, yet made our lives so busy we navigate towards unhealthy options. Talk about a double-edged sword! Our culture says “you need to eat healthy to look healthy”, but does society ever slow down to teach us how to eat healthy? Instead, we are bombarded by fad diet ads that are aimed to lose weight fast.. yep fast, the way our entire culture lives by. We are also shamed by society, our peers, and worse ourselves when we choose to eat an unhealthy food item. Ever heard of the phrase “you are what you eat”, what a load of absolute bullshit. Where do you think that phrase even came from? Fat-shaming at its best. If Jennifer Anniston ate a donut, would people say “well, you are what you eat”, no they would only say that to someone who is perceived as overweight and likely has an unhealthy relationship with food.
Often, people say if you eat that slice of pizza you will never lose weight. Many see food as just a calorie amount that you will have to punish yourself later, at the gym, to rid yourself of. Damn those devil calories! Don’t you feel the constant back and forth in our minds is exhausting? Not to mention the unhealthy relationship with food that produces.
What if we stopped demonizing food and changed our relationship with it? We have to almost retrain our minds and ideas towards food to be able to change our lifestyle. Food is not the enemy, you should be able to have that slice of pizza without putting yourself into a tailspin of emotions and guilt. If you have a well-rounded eating pattern, it should not matter that, for one day, you chose the pizza versus the chicken.
I get so frustrated when a patient comes in and says this phrase “I’m here for you to tell me what I can’t eat anymore” or “any food that’s white is no longer acceptable”. To me this is insane and this has come from years of diet culture impacting our minds. Our society is missing the point of what having a healthy diet is!
I want you all to think about your meals and how you can alter the foods you consume to a healthier version. When you eat pasta do you fill an entire plate? Do you add in bread? What type of pasta do you buy? Let’s eat the pasta but change it slightly: cut back the portion of pasta, buy a whole grain pasta product (more to come on whole grains), and add in a healthy filler such as non-starchy vegetables (zucchini, spinach, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, the list goes on) as a side dish. I will bring more tools for you all to use as time goes on.
Now, think of your relationship with food as your relationship with people. It takes time and dedication to make positive changes to make those relationships healthy. Our society is so fast-paced, we are rushing everywhere and this is the same for our eating habits! All and all, slow down, take enjoyment in preparing and tasting food, and when you are low on time and energy it’s ok to have that easy go-to meal. Again, one meal does not make or break us, a lifetime of unhealthy choices and food relationships do.
Chase Merfeld MS, RD, LN
If you liked this post please give it a share and let’s spread the word and build a positive relationship with food! Let’s navigate nutrition as a community!
Recipe of the week: by yours truly! I made this up one day and have it weekly for my lunches.
Chase’s Plant Protein Bowl
INGREDIENTS 2 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - unsalted 1/2 onion or 1 onion sliced I head of broccoli 1 Green Pepper (or any color) 1 Red Pepper (or any color) 1 cup spinach 1/2-1 cup sliced Cherry tomatoes Feta Cheese Chia seeds 1/2 lemon 2 tbsp of olive oil ( I tend to use more) Salt, pepper, and Italian seasons perfect desired taste (can use other seasonings as well)
*can always alter and add in chicken or another meat option if you want more protein* DIRECTIONS
Drain chickpeas (rinse especially if they have added salt) place in mixing bowl
Chop and slice vegetables and place in bowl with chickpeas
Add spinach to bowl and mix
Add in Olive oil and spices (mix well)
Poor mix of chickpeas and vegetables onto a sheet pan with tin foil (make sure tin foil is sprayed with oil to prevent sticking)
Sprinkle chia seeds over mixture
You can also add another drizzle of olive oil if you wish
Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over mixture
Air fryer on 400 degrees for 20 minutes or roast in over for same time or until desire texture.
Sprinkle feta on top when done
Eat it up! I make just four servings out of this but you can make it into more if it seems like too much.
Nutrition Facts: 335 calories, 38gm Carbohydrates, 11gm Fiber, 13gm of Protein
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