Tara’s Rules of Eating

Diet research and advice emerges every day. What we once believed, we are now told not to do. Diet culture, wellness influencers, social media, fad diets. We have seen plenty of nutrition advice change over the last few decades. Regardless of the diet of the day, these are the my rules of eating I live by every day. 

Tara’s Tuesday Tips:

Tara’s Rules of Eating

Start with whole real foods

#EatRealFood is a popular Instagram hashtag for a reason. Put whole, real foods on your plate first.  What does that mean? Real vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, and grains.  Want “junk food”? Make it yourself from real, whole ingredients. Read this: What Is A Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet?

Food is fuel

#FoodisFuel 💚 This is my favorite hashtag on Instagram.  Above all, this is the number one eating rule that I live by in my everyday life. Food is Fuel but it is also so much more.  For me, food fuels my runs, my ability to be a wife and a mother, fuels my thoughts, and my actions.  Those are my priorities and therefore I treat food as the fuel that powers me to be the best I can be. Over time, I have realized that certain foods help me to be better at the things I set out to do, and certain foods limit my body’s ability to do those things to the best of my abilities. I would like to change the hashtag to #FoodisFuel+.  That is what it really should say.  

Eat with gratitude

Enjoy your food! To look at food as just fuel is overly simplistic and frankly not realistic at all.  Food is so much more.  Food is a love language, food brings people together. “Breaking bread” is a fundamental part of history and cannot be ignored.  For some, food is a blessing when they get the opportunity to even have any. In the My Vegetarian Mission Statement I was extremely mindful to include “eat good food in the company of good people” and that is exactly what we do.  Enjoy your food and not make it the thing that stresses you out, everything else will follow naturally.

Practice mindful eating

Mindful eating is a paying attention to the taste, texture, smell, and look of your food. Be mindful of how foods make you feel. Pay attention to how a food made you think, act, run, or sleep. Did you enjoy it? Does the food bring up a memory for you? Be mindful + intentional with your food choices. The Vegetarian’s Guide To Mindful Snacking.

Don’t buy your food where your gasoline

Meal prep is an essential rule to eating.  In the US more than 20% of food is eaten in the car.  There are better ways to plan and prep for meals that do not have to be bought out and eaten out.  Put foods you can eat on the go in your bag, spend your least busy day thinking about foods for the next few days. Make big batches of things you can freeze. A little preparation goes a long way. 

What you do most matters most

Michael Pollan, the author of “In Defense of Food” says, “Eat food, not food products”. For example, a Twinkie is not food, it is a food product. Anything grown, created, or manufactured in a lab are not foods they are food products. If you are eating something regularly with a long list of ingredients, spend a few extra minutes in the grocery store looking for an alternative with less ingredients or learn how to make your own healthy homemade version. There is a place in your life for ALL foods, there are no BAD foods! BUT … what you do most matters most. Most of the time eat food not food products. 

Nuts are your friend not your enemy

Instinctively, shying away from calorie dense foods seems like the right thing to do to maintain or lose weight.  Not the case with nuts.  Recent research is showing us that the healthy fats, protein, fiber and nutrients in nuts coupled with their ability to keep our blood sugars stable and help us feel full longer make nuts of all kinds a great choice. Brazil nuts, almonds, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, all good choices.  We eat nuts or nut butters every single day. Read this: Are Nuts Good For You Or Not?

It’s not just what you eat but how you eat it:

Do you sit down to eat or stand? Do you eat with the TV on or your phone in your hand? I’m all for only following the rules that best fit your personal eating-life.  These are non-negotiables for me: 1- Eat sitting down at a table with minimal distractions. 2- chew your food + don’t gulp big bites. 3- Don’t eat with a fork in one hand and a gadget in the other. Stop it. Give your body the time and attention it deserves to digest the food you give it.

All the best,

Tara ❤

⭐Did you have any rules of eating? Leave a comment below, we love comments!

📸I love to see your creations! Follow me on Instagram @myvegetarianfamily and hashtag it #myvegetarianfamily

📩Be sure to subscribe here to my weekly emails for tips + recipes so that you never miss a veggie thing!