We have a national dilemma and it is called obesity. When I was a child, overweight people constituted only a small percentage of the population. But three and four decades later we have become increasingly fat at an alarming rate. Why is that? A generation ago moms stayed at home and cooked a meal for the family every night. She prepared breakfasts and lunches for us too. McDonalds and other fast food restaurants were relatively new and people went there as a treat. Now, everyone works. Everyone is tired. Everyone eats whatever they can grab on the run all the time. We don’t eat enough to keep our bodies going and when we do eat, it is fast food poison filled with an alarming amount of non-nutritional calories. No wonder we are so unhealthy.
I am not knocking moms for working. We all are here to fulfill whatever destiny we are intended to fulfill. What I don’t understand is why we don’t spend the thirty minutes preparing a shared meal for our family. This goes for men and the kids too. Cooking is no longer the primary duty of the woman. It’s a family affair.
I am reminded of the anecdote of the Buddhist monk. What does the Buddhist monk do before he is enlightened? Chops the wood, prepares the meal and sweeps the floor. What does that Buddhist monk do after he reaches enlightenment? Chops the wood, prepares the meal and sweeps the floor; only now his attitude has changed about his duties.
Don’t think of it as a chore. Experiment with your cooking. Have each family member pick out an international dish to prepare every week. Bobby can cut the carrots and Susie can wash the lettuce. The kids can set the table. Dad can cut the meat and Mom makes sense of it all. Everyone takes turns washing the dishes afterwards. Or simply be meditative during the preparation of the meal. Whatever works, just make it fun.
Instead of every member of the family doing there own thing every night at 6, bring community back into the family. When is the best time to get to know your family? Dinnertime; which is almost a bygone tradition. Stop eating dinner in front of the TV and sit down at the table to get to know your family. Our souls crave the community of our family. My mother made us eat together every night and we actually knew one another. We spent every night sharing the events of our days and laughing throughout the meal. And what do they say about laughter? Laughter IS the best medicine.
Imagine eating a small chicken breast with salad and other vegetables on the side. Spice it up with whatever seasonings you prefer. Preparing a tasty meal is not just for the great chefs in France. Look at Rachael Ray. She is not a chef, yet she has made a fortune promoting her easy healthy meals at home in under thirty minutes.
How long does it take to make a delicious sandwich filled with your favorite vegetables, leftover chicken from the night before, a little Dijon on whole wheat? A grand total of five minutes is spent on making this fabulously healthy meal encompassing a wholesome variety of the different food groups. Not to mention the fact that if you pack a lunch, you save money which in this day and age is a good thing and you save the time you would have spent driving to Burger King and waiting in line. And frankly their is no comparison in a taste test. The sandwich wins by a landslide.
Eating three or up to six smaller meals per day keeps our energy up. A healthy diet not only promotes a much slimmer figure, it fills our tank with the premium stuff so that we feel good. Our productivity at work goes up simply because we have the energy to move. This doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of everything that is bad for you. Feel free to eat a dessert or snack a day that isn’t so healthy. Just keep the portion small. Have a small slice of cake just to tempt your taste buds, as opposed to the entire cake. And for goodness sake, stop covering every surface of your plate. Your body wants smaller proportions, more often during the day. As far as I know only Americans stuff there plates with as much food as possible. And guess what? The rest of the world doesn’t have the same obesity problem we have.
When we eat healthily, we are acknowledging to the universe that our bodies are our temples. It’s the only one we have in this lifetime and we need to all put our best foot forward to keep in tip top condition. We don’t go to church, temple or synagogue with a beer in our hand, dressed like a slob. We all need to give the same respect to our bodies as we do with our respective religions or other spiritual practices.
A healthy diet helps us focus on our daily activities; our meditations; our school work. When you nourish your body you nourish your soul. Keep your spirit happy and consider reintroducing or introducing for the first time, the diet your personal temple is screaming for.
Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)
I am not knocking moms for working. We all are here to fulfill whatever destiny we are intended to fulfill. What I don’t understand is why we don’t spend the thirty minutes preparing a shared meal for our family. This goes for men and the kids too. Cooking is no longer the primary duty of the woman. It’s a family affair.
I am reminded of the anecdote of the Buddhist monk. What does the Buddhist monk do before he is enlightened? Chops the wood, prepares the meal and sweeps the floor. What does that Buddhist monk do after he reaches enlightenment? Chops the wood, prepares the meal and sweeps the floor; only now his attitude has changed about his duties.
Don’t think of it as a chore. Experiment with your cooking. Have each family member pick out an international dish to prepare every week. Bobby can cut the carrots and Susie can wash the lettuce. The kids can set the table. Dad can cut the meat and Mom makes sense of it all. Everyone takes turns washing the dishes afterwards. Or simply be meditative during the preparation of the meal. Whatever works, just make it fun.
Instead of every member of the family doing there own thing every night at 6, bring community back into the family. When is the best time to get to know your family? Dinnertime; which is almost a bygone tradition. Stop eating dinner in front of the TV and sit down at the table to get to know your family. Our souls crave the community of our family. My mother made us eat together every night and we actually knew one another. We spent every night sharing the events of our days and laughing throughout the meal. And what do they say about laughter? Laughter IS the best medicine.
Imagine eating a small chicken breast with salad and other vegetables on the side. Spice it up with whatever seasonings you prefer. Preparing a tasty meal is not just for the great chefs in France. Look at Rachael Ray. She is not a chef, yet she has made a fortune promoting her easy healthy meals at home in under thirty minutes.
How long does it take to make a delicious sandwich filled with your favorite vegetables, leftover chicken from the night before, a little Dijon on whole wheat? A grand total of five minutes is spent on making this fabulously healthy meal encompassing a wholesome variety of the different food groups. Not to mention the fact that if you pack a lunch, you save money which in this day and age is a good thing and you save the time you would have spent driving to Burger King and waiting in line. And frankly their is no comparison in a taste test. The sandwich wins by a landslide.
Eating three or up to six smaller meals per day keeps our energy up. A healthy diet not only promotes a much slimmer figure, it fills our tank with the premium stuff so that we feel good. Our productivity at work goes up simply because we have the energy to move. This doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of everything that is bad for you. Feel free to eat a dessert or snack a day that isn’t so healthy. Just keep the portion small. Have a small slice of cake just to tempt your taste buds, as opposed to the entire cake. And for goodness sake, stop covering every surface of your plate. Your body wants smaller proportions, more often during the day. As far as I know only Americans stuff there plates with as much food as possible. And guess what? The rest of the world doesn’t have the same obesity problem we have.
When we eat healthily, we are acknowledging to the universe that our bodies are our temples. It’s the only one we have in this lifetime and we need to all put our best foot forward to keep in tip top condition. We don’t go to church, temple or synagogue with a beer in our hand, dressed like a slob. We all need to give the same respect to our bodies as we do with our respective religions or other spiritual practices.
A healthy diet helps us focus on our daily activities; our meditations; our school work. When you nourish your body you nourish your soul. Keep your spirit happy and consider reintroducing or introducing for the first time, the diet your personal temple is screaming for.
Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)
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