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?

I wanted to tell him...

I’m torn. I'm grappling with a sense of disloyalty.

Here’s this guy—warm, affable, giving, and receptive—giving me a tour of the construction site for his Costa Rican dream house, perched above the Pacific Ocean. Yet, within me, a surge of indignation tightens in my chest.

“This is our daughter’s room,” he says. “She’s the surfer, so she gets this incredible view of the break.”

With a sweeping gesture of his arms, he directs my attention to a peerless panorama framed by the gap in the concrete wall. This is where the glass windows will go. He’s right. It’s an incredible sight, an unobstructed view of the waves crashing on the rocky shore 100 yards away.

“Truly an extraordinary view,” I say.

I don’t have the heart to tell him that I would never build a house in Costa Rica with glass windows. The whole point of living here is to coexist harmoniously with nature. You don’t need air conditioning if you live in a well-designed house that breathes and there are trees around.

We’re in an American-style development that was planned before Costa Rican zoning laws curbed shoreline construction. There’s no shade, as they’ve felled every tree. Large concrete houses, like this one, line the coast on half-acre lots.

Then, like a blow to the gut, he says the following:  

“I’ve bought 75 acres of forest a few miles inland, where we're planning to build 50 houses. It's a sizable undertaking.”

Not long before, he had said: “The rat race in the USA is so unhealthy.”

I want to tell him: You're bringing the American rat race down here.

Instead, I ask: “But is it necessary to develop that forest?”

“I need to in order to pay for this house," he says.

I want to tell him: You’re not rich enough to build your McMansion.

Instead, I restrain myself and retreat home.

It astounds me how that I can still like this guy and hold him in high regard despite finding myself at odds with his actions. I suppose his attributes of kindness, friendliness, generosity, and openness, are enough to harmonize my sentiments concerning him. I wonder if any of this could be applied to the current political division in our country…

Welcome to 'Goooood Morning, Monday' - Your Weekly Dose of Inspiration (Formerly Q&A Monday)

“Diana, your voice in your Q&As is different than the one you use in your Thursday posts. It’s as if two separate people are writing,” my coach Jackie said during our call last week.

Jackie’s ability to challenge me is one of the reasons I work with her.

“I know… I am kind of scared when giving advice,” I said.

After a moment of silence, I said: “You know what? The one advice I did give in each post was to get professional help. I think readers got the point."

So, starting today, we bid adieu to "Q&A Monday," and we welcome you to embark on this exciting journey with "Goooood Morning, Monday."

Hey there,

Welcome to the very first edition of "Goooood Morning, Monday" – a non-commercial and advertising-free space dedicated to kickstarting your week with a burst of inspiration and creativity.

Mondays might get a bad rap, but here's my take: they provide a chance to begin anew.

In this cozy corner of the internet, I've curated a collection of delights for your mind and soul. Join my table at the café, order yourself a double espresso or a tea, and let’s chat about what drives you and inspires you. Here are some of mine:

🎵 Music: Mondays are a great day to listen to I’ve Got the World on a String performed by baritone sax player Claire Daly. It’s soothing and ideal for planning out your week. Check out her new album VuVu for Frances.

✍️ Words of Wisdom: “Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” —Guillaume Apollinaire

🎧 Podcasts: Rich Roll’s interview with Osher Günsberg last week is like listening to two friends chat over coffee. Günsberg's Australian humor and his honest account of his struggles with mental health and drug and alcohol use as well as recovery is awe-inspiring.

📚 Reads: Chasing Bushido: How I Learned to Just Say Osu by my sensei Richard Amos is a book that I devoured in two days. It’s entertaining and I recommend it to a general audience because it covers themes of resilience, persistence, humility, and mastery, and does not get into the details of karate to such an extent that it would lose non-martial artists. I’ve started reading the classic Moving Zen: One Man’s Journey to the Heart of Karate by C.W. Nicol, which is also good, but would be more suited to martial arts practitioners.

🎬 Movies: On the flight back from Zurich, I watched Silver Linings Playbook (2012) with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro. I loved how it dealt with mental health, families, and attachment issues. I also watched Empire of Light (2022) with Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, and Colin Firth. This movie focuses on mental health and racism in the UK in the 80s. In both movies, I found it interesting how the family and friends coped with their suffering loved ones.

Your turn! Feel free to email me yours… and remember that everything we do in life (including relationships with ourselves and others) is about progress—NOT perfection.

Here’s to future Mondays! I look forward to sharing more music, books, wisdom, and the simple pleasures of life with you. Let's turn Mondays into a delightful adventure together.

Stay curious and be well,

Visiting, once again

The train pulls into the Swiss alpine village station. I lift my suitcase onto the railcar and plop down onto a seat by a large, clean window. I take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.

It’s great to be unhurried. Age has mellowed me. There was a time when I’d rush for trains and planes.

I have a flashback.

I’m 15, summer break is ending, and I’m leaving Switzerland to return to boarding school near Boston. My grandparents have brought me to the station, as they did each visit. 

After boarding, I look out the window. They stand, waiting on the platform.

When the train I’m on starts to move, we wave to each other. Grossmouti wipes a tear from her eye, and Grosspapa takes out his handkerchief and wipes his nose. We won’t see each other for many months; and I’m the only family they have left.

This time, when the train starts to move, I look out the window and see no one waiting on the platform. I take another deep breath and acknowledge the sadness in my chest.

The train bends, creaks, and winds its way through verdant meadows. We pass by the level crossing in my old neighborhood. Two cars and a tractor are waiting to pass. I vaguely recognize the drivers’ faces. For 13 years, my children and I were a part of this farming community, but now, I’m a visitor once again.