Download your free eBook today (Celebrate Your Sweet Tooth Naturally)
I want to share with you about food trends today, and a bit about trends in general. You see apart from food my other passion is fashion! I always find it interesting how at the start of each season we are often bombarded with information that we’re convinced we NEED to know to be a step ahead of the crowd. You know, like what colours we should wear, which new skin care and the latest superfood that you can’t be seen without! They constantly want you to re-invent yourself. Broccoli is so last season you know?! WTF!
It took me some time to realise that the “wellness industry” is really another way of tapping into consumerism fears, that we need that latest ‘this’ or ‘that’ or stay healthy and young. Whereas really that are just sending us women to go into total f*cken panic over how we look. Yep. It’s true!!
After several years of being a part of this industry I have decided to take a leap of faith and make the switch to the Prevention Industry. Can you believe that? Boy! What a relief, so much more ease and grace over here!
Often the wellness industry are telling us what the latest ‘must have’ superfood is. If you’re like me, you may not be keen on paying for overpriced food that comes from some far away land and has a massive health claim. Usually it goes something like this … “ You (like you and me) will lose weight immediately if on a fixed menu that consists of blending plants with a scoop of that “great rare amazon mushroom powered brown /green gold” at 60$ a kg all packaged up in a brown recycled bag with a organic stamp and a fair trade sticker claiming no one or no animals were harmed in the processing and gathering up of this new product that will assist you in losing weight in 7 days or better yet improve your stress and relieve your bloating … “ [and breathe Cynthia!] but you get the picture, right?
Not to mention, I put myself under so much pressure and stress that I slowly gained weight (just a little enough to notice when pulled the zipper up on my skinny jeans). And then out of nowhere, and onpoint (conveniently), the wellness industry announces to all that were following that trend to now start some new body, detox X Factor weight loss in 7 days program…Lets all drink our food blended up with a brown or green powder…I respond with F*UCK OFF!!
Is that how we are supposed to live? Is absolute health gained by taking an expensive supplement pill, or all the brown/green powder stuff, the latest detox? What is the god dam solution my friends ask me.
The simple solution is that the change starts with us. What we choose to respond to. Which old habits we want to free ourselves from.
“Habits allow us to not think about what we’re doing . . . giving us the illusion of ease. When we are under the illusion of ease, not thinking about what we’re doing. Breathing the same old way, moving the same old way, thinking the same old way we check out of the present, out of happiness itself.” ~ Alex Levin
I will take us back to a time where once I was busy prepping food in a kitchen without a thought. Just doing it cause it’s my job. Doing it ‘cause shit needed to get done quickly and deadlines were upon me. Who created the deadlines you ask? Some inconsiderate boss, organisation…?? No! It was me, push push push! Yep, I created how I spent my time on the planet. To me, this was totally not stainable and dam right stressful. But you know what, the realisation that it was ME who was creating this situation was actually more stressful than the 10-12 hours days I was pushing, depending how you see it of course.
The more I pushed through the winter months the more I stored fat, and really it’s genius how our human body works and how it works to ‘protect me’ from stress by storing fat. I was subconsciously creating habits and a weight gain habit without knowing it. Suddenly I was “accidentally overweight” as Dr Libby writes in her best selling book called “Accidentally Overweight”. In her book Dr Libby explores “what messages does the human body receive that tells it to either burn fat or store it?” More than just calories it’s stress hormones, sex hormones, the liver, our gut bacteria, the thyroid, insulin, alkalinity and emotions.
This is why I know choose to eat food that nourishes my organs, and a lifestyle that matches that.
Now I watch my habits closely these days and I don’t take notice of the “wellness warriors” the “game changers” the “Wellness Bloggers” and people promoting a quick fix weight loss just before summer hits….. As these are habits that won’t serve this great ass of mine.
Life is simple, but we overcomplicate things. After having enough of constantly chasing the latest food trend and being let down, frustrated and not a kilogram lighter a change happened in me. It’s like what Alex says, you do what makes you happy, what’s right for you, find your ease and flow.
I have a new habit now, and it’s noticing time, and it seems to be slipping through my fingers daily. Every moment, every breath I am falling more in love with gratitude that I get to live this life, in this human form.
I get to move when some can’t. I get to breathe when others struggle. I get to eat when half the world is starving. I get to have access to drink clean water. I eat food as close to nature intended it to be with low interference rather than processed rubbish. I get to live this life as well as I can without contaminating the present moment with thoughts of lack. I realise now that I am abundant. I am free. I am me.
These are new habits I’m flexing. And it feels great (and my skinny jeans think so too).
That’s me personally, but naturally it’s had a massive impact on my professional life also…
When I made a serious effort to learn to cook in my early twenties I was right in the “wellness industry”. I positioned myself to be in the best health retreat in Australia, and was subject to serving humans that wanted a very very quick fix … FAST. It became terribly important to impress them with all the new diets and powders on the market. These days, in my forties I have a much more uncomplicated approach to serving humans a meal. I pour all the effort into creating simple, delicious dishes that sing with clean flavours, that are as close to nature as intended it to be with low human interference…. REAL FOOD! That’s more nourishing and satisfying than any powder from the other side of the world could ever be. Real food is what we are meant to eat.
For me that’s what the prevention industry is all about. Just loving simple locally grown food. Forget the expensive imported food and magical powders. Go to your local farmer’s market and make epically good dishes from what you find there.
The joy and peace I feel from eating something as simple as roasted potato with olive oil and parsley is amazing. It’s something I never use to allow myself, but if you think potatoes will make you fat, then the ironic thing is that they will. But if you enjoy their nutritional qualities, feel grateful and feel the sensation of that warm locally grown potato giving you a cuddle from the inside, feel satisfied and no overeat then it’s totally different experience. Eat what is right for you, and not what is right for the wellness industry.
I now allow my soul’s evolution to grow as nature does, side by side, and I can say proudly that I do not follow a industry that has too much thought on dissecting what is in our food. It’s nature’s gift, we just need to enjoy it as it is. I love food, especially good home cooking that warms your heart and makes your tastebuds sing. All I ask is a plate of food is that tastes really good, feels lovely on your tongue and fills your stomach with joy.
So instead of being in an old habit of judging our bodies with hash eyes and thoughts after eating a carb, I invite you to make a new habit and ENJOY eating a variety of healthy wholefoods. Because when we allow ourselves to be in JOY over wholefoods it can bring true beauty to all of us women, Loving Me and Loving YOU!
PS: I leave with you my amazing mentor and dear friend Kat Dawes for Nowism.TV
Normalising The Miracle–by Kat Dawes form NOWISM
“Get used to everything always working out. Get used to it always working out better than you expected. Get used to being so blown away by the blessings… that you have to consciously keep up with what you are becoming! Get used to saying ‘YES! AND..”
I have included some of my favourite plant-based and much loved recipes.
Chef Cynthia Louise is an Internationally acclaimed MasterChef, speaker, author, restaurant consultant, teacher and television presenter in wholefood, dairy-free cooking. She also has the worlds first online cooking classes focused on dairy-free plant-based whole foods with recipes that people are raving about and changing people's health, one delicious bite at a time. Chef Cynthia loves nothing more than educating people about the simplicity and vitality of a plant-based, whole foods lifestyle. Each dish is like art on a plate and her flavour combinations nourish the soul and get everyone talking.
