The Shop Agora

Where do we even begin with healing our relationship with food as a nation? Many of you may not even consider that your relationship with food exists, but it is one of the most fundamental parts of you. You can learn so much from yourself by simply examining the way you eat. This is not for you to judge but to simply observe in yourself.

Much of this healing begins in the kitchen and at the table. Our busy lifestyles can lead to eating on the go, rushing through meals and perhaps missing the point completely. One of the most critical components in developing a healthy relationship with food is sitting down and slowing down to eat. When you take the time to set the table, cook the food and share a meal, it changes food’s purpose. Food shifts from simply filling your stomach to nourishing your body and your soul.

Meal time, when relaxed and savored helps establish a sense of appreciation and connection to what you eat. Our disconnect from food creates a void because it is an essential part of our human experience. No longer are we even sure of how food grows or where it comes from. When we are out of touch with it and it’s purpose to nourish, fulfill and unite us, it’s no wonder that we search to find replacements to secure that empty space.

Bastyr University is a special place, one of the nation’s leading schools in natural health sciences. I was fortunate enough to study there in the nutrition program and learn from some of the field’s best instructors. Cynthia Lair who still teaches the Whole Foods Production program also runs www.cookusinterruptus.com (I highly recommend visiting her site) was a life transforming teacher. One of the most important things she taught me about food and eating is the HOW. HOW you eat is critical to the experience of eating and your relationship with food.

I believe you must shift HOW you eat in order to change WHAT you eat. It sets a completely different precedent and pattern to create healthy lifestyle change. If you take the time to sit down, prepare your meal and enjoy it, so much more energy and love goes into the process. If you slow down to simply chew your food and savor it, benefits of eating build exponentially-digestion improves, you will eat less, and you will fell better! We are fixated on the WHAT, but isn’t it time to focus on the HOW?

Recommended readings and recipe books that encourage what I refer to as the HOW of eating:

Nourishing Wisdom by Marc David
Exercise & Nutrition Organizer by Alexis Saloutos
Feeding The Whole Family by Cynthia Lair