Rediscovering the joy of food

In a recent Tiny Habits training session with BJ Fogg, our focus revolved around the vital concept of creating an environment conducive to healthy eating habits. It was during this session that I found an opportunity to contribute. BJ Fogg had prompted the group to share insights to assist a participant who was grappling with the challenge of her children's resistance to healthy foods. In response, I engaged in the chat, though, in hindsight, my comment may have seemed overly opinionated.

I wrote, “Children have NO choice; they have to eat their vegetables. If they want junk, they have to buy it themselves.”

This comment was shaped by a personal journey where I once allowed my children to dictate our daily meal choices, resulting in a diet lacking in nutritional value. This experience left me tired, overweight, and unhappy, as I felt like I had lost control over my own dietary choices.

Fortunately this phase was short lived, and my perspective shifted when I came across the book Why French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano.

While I didn't force my kids to eat vegetables, I found ways to make them enjoyable and integrated them into our meals. The French approach to introducing children to "grown-up" foods like artichokes and leeks early on resonated with me, and this book helped me rediscover the pleasure in food.

I learned that with a few simple strategies and a change in mindset, food preparation became something I looked forward to, rather than something I dreaded.

In hindsight, here's what I should have shared in the chat: “I started by cooking vegetables in a way that made them super tasty and served them as an appetizer.”

My initial comments also reflect my concerns about the American approach to food and diet, particularly the emphasis on convenience over the joy of food shopping and preparation. Guiliano's book highlights the genuine love that French women have for shopping for and preparing food, a love that is deeply ingrained in their culture. This love for food is often missing in many cultures, including the American one, where convenience often takes precedence.  

Guiliano writes:

"French women love to shop and prepare food. They love to talk about what they have bought and made. It's a deeply natural love, but one that is erased in many other cultures. Most French women learn it from their mothers, some from their fathers. But if your parents aren't French, you can still learn it yourself."

This book helped me reconnect with the food traditions of my European childhood, abstinence from alcohol, leading to not only weight loss, but also rekindling the joy of eating while providing nutritionally dense foods for my family.

In my family, we have discussions around the dinner table about whether to include onions in ratatouille or whether to press or mince garlic. What debates do you have in your family regarding food?