Eating Like A Champion, Part II: Lunch

My lunch on July 15: lemon tarragon cashew and chicken salad on a sun-dried tomato wrap with a side of carrots, which I washed down with a small pot of organic green tea. It was delicious!


Now in the interest of full disclosure, I must report that I don't eat like this ALL of the time (my lunch the day before was a chicken Parmesan sub with a side of potato chips, although I did get an unsweetened iced tea to go with it), but I am eating "healthier" much more of the time. I'm very fortunate in that the cafeteria where I work offers a wide variety of inexpensive food choices. The chicken salad wrap, for example, was only $3.95.

And at home, my daughter Ava (who turns 4 this weekend) LOVES to cook with me. I know that eating habits can become "generational," so I'm determined to set a healthy example for her in the kitchen. Ava is a Type I diabetic, so there's never any soda in the house. Snacks are generally healthy and fruit-based. Desserts are rare — and small.

I'm learning. (A quick karate analogy: I've got my white belt on.) And as I learn more about healthy eating (and healthy living), I'm coming to realize that WHAT you eat is critical, but so are the following factors (in no particular order):

• HOW MUCH you eat (portion size)
• WHEN you eat (time of day)
• HOW OFTEN you eat (the FREQUENCY of your meals)
• The ENVIRONMENT in which you eat
• The COMPANY you choose dine with
• The quality of ATTENTION, APPRECIATION, and MINDFULNESS that you bring to the experience of eating

And I'm waking up.

• I'm very lucky in that I have access to abundant healthy food choices. I realize that some people don't have the plethora of options that I usually take for granted.
• I'm even luckier that I have the means to obtain more than enough to eat. I realize that thousands die from malnutrition every day.

Yes, healthy eating is self-defense.

More to come.