forgotten Kitchen
If the walls could talk, there would be whispers of laughter, deep conversations, kids running through the kitchen into the backyard. Which seems like a dream of the distant past.
Growing up as a family we slowly started migrating away from the table for meals when I was in middle school. I was raised in a single parent home and my mom drove us all over the place for different activities and events. There wasn’t much time for her to cook meals nor for us eat around the table. Especially when she would come straight home from work to take us where we needed to be, we’d eat on the go and fast food became the norm. Our kitchen became a ghost town. This isn’t a knock at how I was raised, we did the best with what we had and I’m painting a picture for what a lot of people probably experience or have experienced! Our time is so limited! We have lost sight to the connection found within our kitchen and around the table. It wasn’t something I realized I missed until I got older. Sitting around the table fore at least one meal a day is so important and a priority for us! It such a wonderful place to checkin with each other, talk about our favorite parts of the day and things we wish were different.
Dreams of slow living seeps into my dreams these days, people gathered around my table, harvesting vegetables from our garden for dinner, staring out my kitchen window with kids filling the backyard. This is something I desire for our family, the connection found in our kitchens and our backyards. Imperfect, messy, full of community, good nutrient dense foods on the table, laughter, memories shared within the walls of our homes.
The modern diet and modern world has created a disconnection not only to the people around us, but to our food, and to our environment. It has decreased the ability of our innate wisdom to function in a way that supports us in our decision making, mainly toward food. The disconnection to our food has led our bodies into chronic health issues that includes our physical and mental health. Reconnecting to our innate wisdom is possible, we need to slow down and give it the space it needs for the know how.
Our innate wisdom is a deep understanding on a subconscious level of what your body needs for nourishment. When we fill our bodies with food that takes away nutrients it leaves us depleted and starving for more. Our innate wisdom functions in a way that helps us feel satiated, energized after a balanced meal, decreases cravings for sweats, helps us to feel mentally and emotionally balanced, and helps our digestive system feel balanced as well. Eating a nutrient dense meal in a rest and digest state will help keep your innate wisdom functioning in an optimal state! Taking a step back, filling your kitchen with good company, eating all the good food, brings us back to how we were created to be! Living that slow life and connecting to so much this world has to offer us.
Ways to incorporate slow living into your busy life:
Meal Plan
Prep your food at the beginning of the week
Set a goal to eat 2-3 meals at your kitchen table during the week
Invite friends over to share a meal together
Start an herb garden or vegetable garden-this could be in your kitchen window! Doesn’t need to be something massive
We don’t have to make this lifestyle complicated nor does this lifestyle have to be out of reach. Sometimes it can be as simple as a mindset change! What changes can you make this week?
