Root vegetables in Union Square Greenmar
"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking." - Henry Ford
Cheap fuel gunks up cars. Bad data results in bad analyses. And you, my dear, are only as good as the food you eat. Junk in, junk out.
One constant in life is that you need food, day after day. Food is the lowest level on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Your hunger needs to be satisfied before you can even think about doing "higher-level" things, like finding/working a job or creating art. Food is your foundation, and to build a solid foundation, you have to eat the best quality food you can.
Professional athletes understand this - they need to perform at their best, so they have experts dedicated to optimizing their food and training. They invest in themselves before fancy clothes or cars. We think you deserve to be the best that you can be too!
But Americans love cheap food - we are the land of dollar meals and processed junk food. Watch people in a grocery store - they choose chips instead of nuts, chicken nuggets instead of chicken, and frozen meals instead of fresh produce and brown rice. We seem to think one of the things that most directly impacts our health should be the cheapest. Why pay an extra dollar for organic, grass-fed milk when you can buy antibiotic-laced, unnaturally-fed, hormone-injected milk for cheaper?
What are you cheaping out for anyway? Clothes? A car? Books? Vacation? We think that being at your best - mentally, physically, and emotionally - will make some of those things you're saving for less important. Once you are radiating beauty (and health, joy, and happiness), having designer jeans might not be as important. You'll look great, whether or not you're dressed in fancy gear (and we promise you'll look better than if you were unhealthy and dressed in the best designer clothing).
So what is quality food? It's unprocessed produce and meats. And no, you don't have to buy organic. It's just about preparing more of your own unprocessed meals and improving your batting average. Quality food does not mean buying five organic apples a week and then filling up on frozen pizza and mac and cheese. Quality food is increasing your unprocessed food intake in an affordable way. For example, instead of buying fresh produce, you may choose to buy frozen/canned produce and fish so you can eat more healthy meals in a week. It's not only more economical, it's super-healthy! You can take the same amount of money and buy some organic cookies and milk, and then load up on hot dogs and McDonalds. That's not quality eating. Quality is about mindfully preparing more of your own meals from unprocessed foods.
It might take more time, but you and your loved ones are worth it. MindfulEats knows you are worth the extra time and money because:
- Prepared food makes you fat and unhealthy. Food in a box may seem like a better deal and more convenient in the short run, but processed food has been stripped of many nutrients. You are short-changing your body of nutrients in their most usable form. You're either: 1) getting a bad nutrition deal for your dollar, or 2) forced to eat more calories in search of nutrition. Do you really need the extra calories? That's how people get fat! You get what you pay for. Start thinking at how much nutrition you are getting per calorie. Spend the money on whole foods upfront, and get the best deal for your dollar. As an added bonus, you'll feel better, be healthier and look hotter too.
- Processed, industrial food is freakish. Professional athletes focus on eating real food to feel their best physically and emotionally. The U.S. Olympic Team shipped in their own food for the Beijing Olympics. They didn't trust the Chinese pigs and chickens that were loaded with hormones and chemicals to grow monstrously huge. Neither should you. Industrial meat is raised as efficiently as possible, and tens of thousands of animals are crammed together without access to exercise. They are injected with hormones and force-fed cheap food to get huge and keep costs down. Do you think you should eat that? MindfulEats thinks you deserve better! Studies may not yet prove there is something wrong with this type of frankenfood, but why wait for the bad news? One theory about why children are experiencing earlier puberty is the hormones injected into meat. If you can, pay up for food that is humanely and naturally produced.
- You are gorgeous. We don't know about you, but we find the most beautiful people - men, women and children - are those that exude health and happiness. To be healthy and happy, you have to eat good food. Your body can handle years of eating poor-quality food, but that forces it spends a lot of energy functioning under poor conditions. That's why you're tired instead of full of energy. It's hard to be happy when your body is working overtime! Are you scrimping and saving so you'll feel better and look good in new clothes, vacation or a fancy car? If you feel your best and radiate healthy beauty, maybe you'll have the confidence so you won't need those material things. And maybe your happiness boost will fill your life with friendship, love and meaning. The "extra" money you invest in your food and your health will spill over into all aspects of your life.
What to do - Invest in Your Health
- Invest a little time in planning out high-quality meals for the week with the Mindful Battle Plan.
- Pay for the highest quality food you can afford at the market - produce and meat that is preferably chemical-free. If your budget calls for frozen or canned veggies and meats, that is fine - you are doing great by eating unprocessed!
- Spend a little time preparing your own food instead of microwaving a meal or eating out.
- Seek out high-quality restaurants when you eat out - restaurants that are knowledgeable about the provenance of their food and happy sharing it.
What I ate: (I was on vacation so had some mindful indulgences!) 2 cups tea, 5 slices of brown bread + butter, 2 small lattes, 1.5 cups broccoli + cabbage + cauliflower + red pepper + tuna salad, 1/2 chocolate cupcake, 1/2 cup roasted vegetables, 1 sauteed salmon filet, 4 white chocolate macadamia cookies, 45 oz. water
Exercise: 90 min power yoga
