Cooking Lessons

Over the summer, during a brief appearance back here on the blog, I mentioned that I had spoken with my dietician about binge eating disorder (BED), something that she and I both felt I was dealing with, though, thankfully, not to an extreme degree. Since then I've done some reading, some pinning, and started (and then stopped) a blog about dealing with my food issues. All have been helpful, but not terribly proactive. I'm super awesome at figuring out what's wrong, but I'm terrible at fixing it, even when I'm presented with a slew of great solutions.

I'm trying to move away from passivity in my actions towards activity. Number one on my list, because it's the most exciting to me, is to start trying to cook well. I will be the first to admit that I am a sub par cook at best. In theory, like a lot of things with me, I love the idea of cooking, to create something with love and is also delicious. But the temperament required for cooking well, I think, is not well suited to mine - patient, detail-oriented (good cooks) vs. impatient, day-dreamy and scattered (me). Throw two young children into the mix and my fall back meals of pizza (granted, it's homemade) and spaghetti start to make a bit more sense.

I think that if I am able to cook quality food for myself and my family a few other things will fall into place to help me discover more appropriate eating habits. Of course, I'm also reading the BED version of Love What You Eat, Eat What You Love by Dr. Michelle May and should probably start implementing the suggestions she makes in there, but thinking about food is way easier.

My goal here isn't necessarily to make healthier foods (though, I want to and really need to back off the breads and pastas), but to put effort and care into what I make so I can enjoy the whole food experience, allowing the emotions that go with the experience replace some of the emotion behind over eating/binge eating. One of the major issues a person who deals with BED has is eating mindlessly and too quickly. The food isn't really the centerpiece, but the relief of whatever negative feeling you have. By giving myself the gift of time and effort to create a meal that needs to really be enjoyed, I start to shift how I look at the food and how the food is used.

From hapless cook to master chef! (And yes, I do own two ice cream scoops, and I had planned to do this picture with our ice cream...but I ate it.)

So, this is my seven step plan of execution, because we always need a plan, right?

1. Pick a day or night when I know my husband will be home and not exhausted from work. 
2. Pick a recipe that is challenging, but won't overwhelm me. Read the whole thing through to make sure I have everything I need.
3. Make sure the kitchen is clean so I don't get distracted by cleaning and can focus on the food and relax. 
4. Have the hubs take the kids out or down to the den for some daddy time so I can focus.
5. Drink some wine. 
6. Eat the delicious meal I will cook with my family, consciously and slowly. 
7. Repeat once a week.

My hope is that as I get more experience under my belt (or my kids get a little bit older), I will be able to do this more than once a week. Regardless of when I do this "special" cooking, my hope is that the lessons I learn from cooking and eating mindfully will come to mind every time I sit down to eat, not just during those weekly meals. 

P.S. Here's a link to my "Cooking Lessons" pinterest board. It has the start of some basic, multi-purpose recipes and different techniques and free, online cooking lessons.