Play with your Food

Hi Everyone!

Sounds like a strange title for a blog.

This is an invitation to do exactly, what we were told not to do, when we were kids: Play with your food.

Okay, I am not talking about having a food fight, what I am talking about is, to get more in touch with what you are eating, by getting more in touch, literally.

Touch your food - feel the texture of the flakes of your (hopefully whole-grain) cereal. Break it, crunch it up, really examine it. You are putting this into your body, don't you think you should know, how it feels like, and what the texture is?

Become familiar with all of your foods, your lunch meat for example. Bend it pull it apart, hold it in your hands, feel it. You can find out lots of things by it's texture, like the fat-content, just by the way it feels, and looks.

When you make a cake, feel the dough, touch the flour with your hands, to break up the clumps before sifting. Can you feel a difference between whole-wheat flour, and regular cake-flour? Find out!

The purpose of this is the following:

1. Too many times we connect so many emotions to how we are eating, that we forget how it feels like to really be present with food. This exercise or game if you will, gets you back in touch with the food, and away from the emotions.

2. You should really think about what you are putting into your mouth. After all it effects you greatly. Then shouldn't you know all about it, at least all that your senses have to offer?

3. Being aware that the rules we are usually taught in childhood about food, are not because they have any merit - expect the one of not talking with your mouth full - but because they were either a convenience for our parents, or they were simply brought forth, because they were taught that way.
This gives you a chance to detach from these rules, and make up your own. After all, it is your life, not that of your family you are living, so why play by their rules still? At the same time, you are giving yourself an opportunity not to pass those rules onto another generation, who is already beginning to struggle with issues relating to food.

Think about it!

Claudia Blanton
Motivational Coach, Fundraiser
813 - 531 - 8379
www.create-your-life-dreams.com

Have fun with food!

Eating should have a large place in the enjoyment and pleasure of live! (Which does not mean to use food as a substitute for pleasure - more on that in another article)

Having fun eating, yes, playing with your food is a great way to bring back the smile into what should always have been a pleasurable experience - nourishing your body and senses.

Here are a few ways to bring fun to the table:

1. Eat outside - your porch, your balcony, or a park. Have a picnic.

2. Eat with people that make your feel good about yourself - people that accept you as you are now.

3. Try something new!
Buy something at the store, that you never bought before (as long as it is considered healthy), such as a new fruit, or a different whole-grain cereal. You will find some real treasures just by stepping out of your usual comfort zone.

4. Make a kitchen sink soup!
Put together a variety of vegetables, some stock, and add a small amount of lean beef or smoked, lean sausage, and you have yourself a nutritious dinner or lunch. The possibilities for combinations are endless.

5 Have a food fight! (You might want to take that outside, to the back yard!)

Have a wonderful day!

Claudia Blanton
Motivational Coach, Fundraiser
www.create-your-life-dreams.com

Fun Ways to Exercise

Motivation is the key to staying on track, when becoming and staying fit and healthy. Including fun exercises to break off the routine that regular classes or scheduled activities bring, will increase the likelihood of staying on the path of a healthier lifestyle.

Here are a few ways to get moving, that will take the rigidness out of your routine:


1. Exercise with your kids!
Chasing your kids around the park or the yard is a great way to get fit, and have a wonderful time! The kids get moving as well, so it becomes even more of a win-win situation!

2. Strap on the Rollerblades!
Moving through the park on Rollerblades is a fun way to get moving! Stay safe, and wear pads and a helmet, and watch out for slower moving people.

3. Jump on a trampoline!
If you have the space to put large trampoline in your yard, I definitely recommend it. Make sure it has a safety net, so you and your family can have a safe time, jumping together!

4. Belly dance!
When my daughter and me first began to belly dance, we laughed alot at ourselves! Fun, especially when you give up being perfect, at least in the beginning, this is a great way to move!

5. Yoga!
Challenging, but calming, this ancient exercise is a wonderful way to center yourself. It is relatively easy to find a class for beginners everywhere. DVD's are also widely available! Namaste!

As with all exercise programs, make sure you have checked with your health care professional before starting any program! Always use reasonable safety precautions!

Have fun!