The thrill of eating real food

Changing my eating habits has been much easier than people think it was. I didn’t go “cold-turkey”. I started out by not buying chips and ice cream anymore and making a conscience effort to eat things that just seemed to be “healthier”.  I opted for “diet” food, “low fat” and “reduced sugar” options. And it was working: I was losing weight.

One day, over lunch with my dear friend Denise, I was sipping on my Diet Pepsi, which had been a favourite of mine for years. When I got done with my can, I turned it sideways to read the nutrition facts. Nice, very low in calories! That’s perfect for my diet! And then I looked at the ingredients. Caramel color... aspartame... phosphoric acid... potassium benzoate... What? Why would I want to have that stuff in my body? I put the empty can down, looked at Denise and told her that I was done with Pepsi; I had decided that all those chemicals were not worth the thrill of a sparkling sugary drink.

From that day on, I started paying better attention to the ingredients in the food I was buying. I quickly realized that it was tougher than I thought to eat “clean food”. I ended up loading on fresh produce, because pre-packaged food always seemed to have some sort of ingredient which name I couldn’t even pronounce.

To quote Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It might sound like these words only mean that our diet should be mostly vegetarian, but it goes beyond that. We should eat “food”. Over the years, we seem to have forgotten what real food actually is. We go for fast, convenient, pre-packaged food. We do not control what we put in our bodies anymore. We let the food industry decide that we should ingest chemicals, preservatives, thickening agents, colorants. Doesn’t that seem wrong to you guys?

To me, it just doesn’t make sense. Why would I want to eat all that when I can pick my ingredients and make most of my food from scratch? Of course, I still buy some pre-packaged stuff, but I try to have it in very small amounts. Plus, the thrill of researching ingredients online, picking up recipe ideas from books and TV and the web, going to the market and taking the time to walk around to pick the very best fruits and vegetables to prepare outweighs the convenience of pre-packaged.

And you know what? It’s worth it. I feel better, my hair is shinier than before, my skin is glowing and my boyfriend even says that my eyes are brighter! And I’m still losing the weight. But that’s not it; I’ve rediscovered the passion I used to have for cooking. I thought that cooking was not worth the effort when it’s just for you, but I wholly disagree now. I get to make the food just the way I like it and I make it as visually appealing as if I were serving it to guests. After all, am I not worth the effort?

Over my research for better food, I’ve stumbled upon a great website, WHFoods.com. The World’s Healthiest Foods. Pretty obvious name, but it delivers exactly what it’s advertising. You click on a food item and the website gives you a tremendous amount of information on why you should include it to your diet, the nutrition facts, the health benefits and recipe ideas. I make a point to try out one new food from that list every week. It has turned into a little game for me! What kind of delicious meal can I come up with!

Anyway! What I’m trying to say is that real food is simply better for you then fake food is, and it can be fun too. Do yourself a favour; treat yourself like you would treat a guest, and cook yourself a real meal. You will only be thankful you did.