Literally everyone else lives on carbs
The US's fear of bread is embarrassing.
Every holiday season I turn into a shorter, less green, but still quite grumpy Grinch. From November 22nd to Jan 1st I’m on the run. Call me crazy but every time I try to fall into festivities-line I end up depressed.
In my twenties I would gloriously avoid xmas with Chinese take-out and endless episodes of Scooby Doo (the new movies are not to be missed). Somehow in my 40s I must know more people (or have already watched all the Scooby Doo’s), because it’s been much harder to excise myself from 2 months of cheer without a grand escape plan.
This November I opened the emergency exit and tumbled out of the US onto the Thanksgiving-free shores of France and Italy. For 10 days of blissful crepe-paper-turkey-less living I wandered streets without talk of holiday beyond hints of coming green and red cheer (did I see the same made-in-china plastic xmas tree I bought from my Brooklyn bodega being sold in a hardware store in Paris? yes, yes, I did. I guess there's just one catalogue for those).
Avoiding the holidays by traveling means that every year, right before people start freaking out about January diets, cleanses, whole 30-ing and ‘new starts’ I get to bathe myself in a culture that couldn’t give a crap.
Now, I know that disordered eating and diet culture exists everywhere because patriarchy and it's best friend, nay conjoined twin, racism exists everywhere, but try telling a French person not to eat bread, or an Italian that pasta is bad…impossible. Untrue actually! These are cultural staples. These are cultural identities. These are points of pride inextricably entwined with what it means to be French or Italian (or Spanish or German or Polish or or or…(not to mention all of Asia with staples of rice and noodles and various flatbreads at every meal))!
We in the US are victim to a completely broken food culture. Our can-do spirit means we value production and efficiency over everything else. We gave up on cooking for ourselves and got excited about long shelf life and vitamin enriched ‘health’ food. The foods that have sustained humanity for centuries are suddenly bad and chemicals and additives are the way of the future (maca infused mushroom coffee anyone? YUM).
Our gov’t has laid waste to our small farms and sustainable farming practices that are still protected and supported overseas. We’ve became squeamish about food, divorced from its origins (when is the last time you visited a butcher and requested a specific cut of meat or, purchased a live fish or foul to dispatch on your own right before it goes in the pan??). We’ve forgotten what fresh produce grown in un-depleted soil tastes like. (it tastes incredible, like the daily plate of artichokes I ate in Italy and the perfect leaves of lettuce the French love to serve like doilies next to your plate.) We are drowning in endless options (have you seen the salad dressing aisle??) but are at a loss as to what eating well feels like.
This issue is so complex. Food is so much more than nutrition. There is cultural erasure, poverty, education, labor laws, access, animal rights and environmental concerns all overlaying the miasma that is America’s disconnection with a cultural diet. There is also our obsession with youth, thinness, and a very specific, erroneous definition of health that we have allowed to eclipse any other connection we might have had, or could create with food!
When I’m in Europe I see people at ease with eating. I see people who don’t doubt what is right for them. I see less choices and more freedom. I see a version of inner peace Americans long for on people’s plates, and in their content faces.
LITERALLY EVERYWHERE ELSE in the world centralizes carbohydrates. It’s only the US that fears them. My clients are always asking me whether they should be eating more protein, or divulge their guilt over ‘carbs all day’.
Carbohydrates are not our problem.
Pasta is not coming to get you.
Bread is not going to kill you.
What do YOU like to make for breakfast? What did YOUR family cook growing up? If the answer is nothing, is there something you cook now that's 'yours'? a dish you can whip up that is pleasing and maybe a friend or two associates with you? or a meal you LOVE to order? Let's use that excitement as our starting point.
We can weed through the overwhelm of fad diets and endless hummus flavors (a nationwide cultural anxiety that seems to be manifesting in endless varieties of pureed chickpeas) when we know what WE like, what makes OUR bodies feel good. We might not all be suited to a European lifestyle of espresso and light breakfasts followed by butter rich lunches and day-time alcohol. (also I recognize not EVERY European is drinking wine at noon with a butter smeared baguette languidly tucked under their arm.) But with the right information and some space for experimentation (plus new exposure) we can create our own personal micro-food culture that works for us.
I hope to provide you with that framework.
This January, Food and Recipe writer Christina Chaey and I are teaming up again to offer NOURISH YOURSELF.
7 Weeks of gentle focus redefining the patterns and thought processes holding us back from ease and joy with food, cooking and even grocery shopping! This season we'll have a LIVE VIRTUAL coach call as well as LIVE VIRTUAL COOKING CLASS with Christina! to ground you in your own personal skills and goals.
Early Bird sign up opens Dec 25th ONLY TO PPL on the waitlist!
Registration will be by EMAIL ONLY until regular registration opens Jan 1st. GET ON THE WAITLIST to save $100!
Let go of anxiety and overwhelm around food and 'diet'. Get the information and tools you need to find what works for you, your life and your body. FULL INFO HERE.
Have a wonderful holiday season! I will be stuffing myself with Dim Sum on xmas day between other xmas-avoidant activities. (cue Grinch theme)
xo
Cadence
January 7 WEEK Series
Now you can join the Self Paced series at ANY time! Sign up now or save $100 when EARLY BIRD opens Dec 25th! Check it out and get started feeling stronger and more connected on YOUR schedule!
Check out the Self Paced Series
Live Virtual Series Early Bird enrollment opens December 25th to newsletter subscribers so keep your eyes on your inbox! Open enrollment starts Jan 1st!
This month's Fascia Release is Dec 16th @ 4PM. The theme is 'joints of the lower body' - hips, knees, ankles and feet! If you missed it you can always sign up and get the recording!
I teach so many people's Mom's! This holiday grab an intro pack or single session for yourself or someone you love! Or purchase a series for your friend!
Email us to set it up!
The Nourish Yourself Program starts Jan 6th! The world is awash in terrible messaging around food, health and weight. It is really exciting to guide people to make connections for themselves about what actually works for them, what is not supporting them, and the places where they can start to create their own unique balanced relationship to food. Does this sound like something you could use? You can book a Nourish Session (or mini pack) with me Or join the waitlist for the January program! Early Bird opens to the WAITLIST ONLY Dec 25th!
See you soon!
“We are drowning in endless options...but are at a loss as to what eating well feels like.” Whew, so well put!