Blog Posts and Articles

This post is an installment in our 52 Health Hinges series. Remember, “Small hinges swing big doors.”

We’ve talked about the importance of cooking your own meals and avoiding processed foods. Have you been able to incorporate more cooking into your week?

Remember, every little step matters; if you’re not happy about where you are, now is a good time to up the ante and set a new goal for yourself. Slow and steady wins the race. Progress versus perfection.

Somewhere along the way in the last 30 years, it became optional to cook. If someone doesn’t like to cook or doesn’t know (or doesn’t want to know) how to cook, there are grocery stores full of processed junk to eat instead.

But as you already know, this isn’t serving us well.

I experienced this first hand. When I went to college and was living on my own for the first time, I knew how to cook mac & cheese, Hamburger Helper, and a fried egg sandwich. I also knew where the McDonald’s and Burger King were and drove through often.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I thought that my roommate who ate tomatoes was weird. Add to this my disastrous Diet Coke habit, and, well, that was the start of a very unhealthy hole that I dug for myself.

Every day, every meal, I was damaging my health. And even worse – believe it or not – I didn’t even realize that I was making unhealthy choices. Everything that I was doing was just “normal” to me.

It was what I knew; it was what my friends were doing. I was thin, and back then, my opinion was that thin meant healthy and fat meant unhealthy. If I wasn’t fat, there wasn’t a problem.

I’m guessing that many of you have similar stories. If only I knew then what I know now, right?

This week, our Health Hinge is about paying what you’ve learned forward.

I have a soft spot for working with children to inspire them to build a foundation of healthful habits that will keep them safe, happy, and well. Educating children while they’re young will help arm them with information so they make better choices for their health.

The current generation of US children is likely to be sicker and die younger than their parents.

Hingers, this is not inevitable.

There are many things that you can do with a child who you love that will influence their odds favorably.

Today, let’s focus on just one: please teach a child you love how to cook. Teach them about fresh ingredients, how to shop, and why healthy options are better choices.

Leo, my son, turns three today. He’s been helping us cook since he was old enough to stand on a stool in the kitchen. Sometimes his help makes the cooking take longer, of course, but what he is learning is so valuable to his future.

Find age appropriate activities: at two, Leo was able to help put chopped veggies into our breakfast bake, mix ingredients for a trail mix, and measure and stir ingredients.

As a bonus, he’s always willing to eat what he helps make (even if he’d previously refused it).

When you know that little eyes are watching, it can also help motivate you to be a good role model. Not a good cook yourself? Don’t worry…teaching someone else may be the best way to get practice!

As Richard Bach once said, “We teach best what we most need to learn.”

So get cooking!