I walk into my kitchen to get breakfast rolling. A whole day of food prep awaits. Something may set me off (like a complaining child or missing ingredient) and the dread sets in.
This dread colors my whole experience in the kitchen and leads me to search for excuses and short-cuts everywhere I go. When I feel a source of dread my meal-planning is sloppy and the food — and atmosphere around eating — feels less alive.
But then I snap out of it and think about how much better we have it today. Just 100 years ago, life choices (especially for women) were extremely limited and food prep took most of the day. Now, not only can we choose the life we want, we have many options for how those meals end up on the table. Although those options can feel overwhelming, at least we have them.
So most days I make an effort to choose gratitude over dread. I feel grateful that food is relatively inexpensive and easy to get. After all, food keeps us all alive and enhances our health and well being. It’s where our kids learn about food, and we all get to spend time together.
More importantly, when I choose gratitude I do a better job planning meals and the week runs smoother. And we all are better nourished and happier.
So let’s try to be mindful of the attitude we bring into the kitchen and work to replace meal dread with food gratitude. How do these different ways of approaching food make us feel and influence the actions we take?
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