"That is not food"
How attitudes and perceptions will change your actions
Dear Dad,
What do you think is the most important lesson that you ever taught me? The following one comes to mind: If. It. Is. To. Be. It. Is. Up. To. Me.
I believe that this lesson rises above the rest due to its compounding influence. You made clear to me the power of a positive attitude and how my attitude and perception will influence my actions and therefore the outcomes that I experienced.
This lesson can be applied to food, specifically, how our attitude and perception towards food will influence the multiple food choices that we make each day. As we discovered last week, not everything that is edible should be considered food and our definition of food should encompass some inclinations of:
1. Nutritional value;
2. The pathway from the ground to our plate;
3. Industrial additions and/or subtractions to the original food.
I’ll write again for emphasis, not everything that is edible should be considered food.
When I first began working at the District Attorney’s office my cubical was right next to the office kitchen and we have an office full of generous cooks and bakers. Multiple times a week I found an array of tempting and delicious treats on the kitchen table with an invitation to share. We’re talking foods that spanned from chocolate chip cookies to homemade lasagnas and everything imaginable in-between. As the smells wafted toward my cubical it became nearly impossible to avoid making myself a plate and usually going back for seconds, regardless of whether I was hungry or not. Luckily, after four years my workspace has moved further from the kitchen making it easier to regulate any indulgences, but even before that I discovered a better solution to the problem of unwanted snacking and overeating in this situation.
Whenever I passed a dish that was obviously made with refined flours, servings of creams and fats, added sugar and salt, even if the smells made my mouth water and the cook was just as nice, I would look at that substance on the table and in my head I told myself, “That’s not food.”
When you’ve defined food and draw lines between what is food and what is not, it’s easier to eat only food. Because why would you eat not food. And believe me, there is enough delicious food to eat that it becomes very easy to stop eating non-food :)
My personal definition of food includes the following:
Seed bearing plants that taste delicious with minimal processing beyond my kitchen. Sounds kind of intense, but it’s not. Take a look.
1. Nutritional value (Seed bearing plants are very nourishing [more where this phrase comes form later], think of anything planted with a seed or even the seed itself, peppers, potatoes, rice, beans, lentils, lettuce, spinach, oats, etc.)
2. The pathway from the ground to my plate (Minimal processing beyond my kitchen, best case scenario is to start with the “whole food.” Think of a standard sweet potato. I enjoy sweet potato fries many times a week; and when I do, I cut the potato, sprinkle spices like garlic, and air fry to a perfect crispness myself)
3. Industrial Additions and/or subtractions from the original food (Tasting delicious is almost automatic when the food is fresh and not stuffed with artificial flavors and chemicals, I aim to be the only person adding, subtracting, or combining foods to make something delicious, which is actually very attainable and easy)
Personalize your own definition of food. My definition is strict, yet allows some flexibility. You may notice that some “foods” regularly eaten by most people don’t fit into my definition, which is fine because my definition has evolved over time as my tastes, preferences, and knowledge have all changed.
Your definition should be tailored to where you’re at and tied to your current reality! Food habits are deeply ingrained and changing them is a process. A process that will be made much easier after you determine for yourself how to define food and then decide to only eat that food.
Your definition could be as simple as a plate with an identifiable vegetable or a dish that was homemade. Anything that prompts you to consider the nourishing qualities, manner of production, and invokes skepticism of potential industrial additions or subtractions, will set you on a path toward making healthier choices.
Your definition won’t be perfect, and neither is mine. It might change overtime, but regardless, have a low tolerance for substances that are not food. Form the habit of identifying food from non-food by calling it out, “That is not food.”
It’s all about your mindset.
Remember, the plate is always half full… and the first half was delicious!
With Love,
JSR