When Deciding What to Eat Makes You Anxious...

When I was a little girl, we lived across the street from a convenience store, and my mom worked at a fast-food restaurant. Because of this, my diet mainly consisted of honey buns, chips, pizza, chicken tenders, fries, 50 cent juice, and school lunch. I never really learned much about nutrition, food options or spent much time in the kitchen, and let me tell you, it shows.  

As an adult, deciding what to eat has become the most stressful part of my day. (Especially when my partner, Nick, boycott's cooking) It's even more stressful when I decide to eat out and have to determine what restaurant I'm in the mood for or if my budget agrees with my tastebuds. So recently,  I thought I'd save myself some anxiety and make a big girl trip to the grocery store.

During my trip, I bought about $80 worth of food. Of that $80, I only ate about $20 worth of what I purchased. More than half of that $20 purchase consisted of items to make a salad. 

Now honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of salad, but I am a fan of simple. And making salad is simple. I used six ingredients to make my salad (mixed greens, spinach, cherry tomatoes, avocado, balsamic vinaigrette, and black pepper), which left me feeling satisfied. I was satisfied with the salad, and I was even more satisfied with how the meal made me feel. I didn't feel insecure, overwhelmed, or guilty about what I prepared to eat. I felt like I had done a good thing, and I felt empowered.

Sometimes, all we need to be confident in and about a thing is to feel good and empowered. So if you're like me and get crazy-anxious, insecure, and frustrated when thinking about food and cooking, I encourage you to reflect on your most joyful, stress-free, and simple cooking experiences. Take an inventory of those moments and meals and from this day forward, start by cooking what makes you feel good.  

The important point to make, before I drop off here, is that when I say cook/eat what makes you feel good, I mean holistically good, not just good in the moment. For example, a big plate of homemade nachos makes me feel good when eating it, but my stomach might not feel so good later. A burger, fries, and cocktail from Au Cheval will most definitely make me feel good when I'm eating it, but I might not feel too good about the money I spent when I'm digging in my pocket to eat again the next day. I say all this to say, be conscious about what needs to be in order for you to be a mindful and empowered eater. 

To be a mindful and empowered eater, my meals must be nutritious, easy to prepare, not require much cooking vs. preparing, have minimal ingredients, and light on the stomach. 

Leave a comment and let me know what's on your empowered eating checklist. Feel free to share recipes, let me know how you connect with this reflection or share stories about your eating journey.

Until next time, eat a salad! lol