Mundane and Repetitive Or Fundamental and Nourishing

Written by The Marvelous Mary Malone

In the book, “Keeping House - The Litany of Everyday Life”, Margaret Kim Peterson writes, “One of the fundamental characteristics of humans’ embodied nature is that people need to eat, and they need to eat every day.” The Bible is replete with examples of this daily need in that Jesus taught His disciples to pray for their daily bread. God planted the Garden of Eden with “every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). When God rescued His people from captivity in Egypt, He brought them to a land flowing with milk and honey, (Exodus 3:8). In the New Testament, redemption is described as a meal; “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb.”

When you are caught up in the mundane and drudgery of preparing meals daily, think of it as something to practice and to get better at.  Cooking is not a chore; it has value. The time, the fuss, the worry over whether it will come out right and taste good all offer great reward, in the doing as well as with the finished product.

I encourage you to slow down with the task at hand. Don’t watch a video or listen to a podcast while you’re working; really take time and experience the process. The slowing down will alleviate the worry, give yourself time to study the “thing” you’re doing—the process. Stop worrying if you think you’re doing it wrong; you might not be doing it the way someone else does, but if the end result is what you want, what does it matter? Take the time to note how your meals evolve in your kitchen; the foods you like, the timing of your meals, the movement and creation of recipes with your own hands. Stop the comparison. “Mine doesn’t look like Jane’s.” “My dessert doesn’t look like the picture in the book.” “My kefir looks strange.” “See, I knew I would fail.” “I just can’t do it!” With time and patience, you will see that you can. 

Moms of littles as well as managers of large companies both know that people need encouragement.  You wouldn’t talk to your child or an employee the way you talk to yourself.  Do not write yourself off; THM is not as difficult as you think. Your failures are not final! Learn from each one; take your efforts and appreciate them for what they are—see the victories! Look how far you have come! That’s the real gain.

There are a few core principles to the Trim Healthy plan: the specific meal types, the timing of your meals, separating your fuels, in addition to intentional movement and gut health. Once you understand and learn these principles they can be applied to your everyday journey to health. Then you begin to realize it wasn’t that difficult to begin with. Starting with the belief that you are capable, and adding a little bit of knowledge with each meal, comes a sense of ease and pride in your progress; and a willingness to stretch forth and conquer a new task or recipe. Great coaches like KJ York, who say “There’s no reason to go off-plan!” make it look easy. It can be easy for you too. 

Most of the time, your cooking may be pretty good in comparison to the way you ate a year ago, a month ago or even last week.  You build on your skills a little at a time—and it’s way better than the sugar-filled, pre-packaged atrocities from the store. The time you spend in your kitchen taking care of your own health needs is not wasted time. It is the whipped cream on top, it is the spice in the cupcake and the fulfillment of our calling. It is a type of worship. One should derive pleasure from making healthy food choices.  You win by default, just by trying.  Don’t feel discouraged by failures or flops, by the cupcakes that sunk, or by the too-fermented kefir; it’s better for you because you made it!

As homemakers, we do what we do because it is grounding and it’s rewarding. That effort teaches us that sometimes it is better to persist in the face of failure, and at other times it is better to take a step back and just be kind to ourselves. There’s always something to be learned and circumstances to learn from.  If we look for the good, we will find it—if we look for the bad, we will find that too and all too often we carry that failure around with us like a pet.  Our failures can teach us that mistakes are ok. It doesn’t mean that we are failures. We pick ourselves up and move on from there, knowing that that is one mistake we won’t make again.  Jesus says in Luke chapter 5, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus gives His ministry and His presence to those who need Him and the sinners with whom He eats are destined to be recipients of his healing grace. 

Peterson also says in “Keeping House” “…good eating is characterized by gratitude.  It is eucharistic, in the broadest sense of the term.” Eating well reminds us of the breaking of bread between Jesus and His disciples.  Thankfulness for our food and the blessing of being able to prepare healthy meals for ourselves and our families should be first and foremost in the mind of a Trim Healthy Mama. Indeed, it is a form of worship to our Lord.

For more great content from The Marvelous Mary Malone, visit http://scrappermarylu.blogspot.com/