My guess is that no one would be real excited about digging into their kitchen trashcan this morning. However. the messy task just might reveal some very useful information. For the Lundy family, unfortunately, an adventure into our trash can would reveal lots of convenience food wrappings, take out boxes and junk food containers. Right now we seem to be in a cycle of being pretty busy and eating poorly. We are grabbing easy foods, convenience foods, eating at restaurants and even getting some fast food pretty regularly. Our schedule has been crazy between sports camps, church activities, vacation and being away for a week at teen camp.
Our bodies crave what they have been getting. If your body has been getting plenty of junk or cheap food, it will continue to crave that. However, if you have been feeding it healthy, nourishing foods it will find those more appealing. Naturally we are creatures of habit and when we get in a rut it can be hard to break out of it.
Back to the trashcan idea. When you cook at home you are much more likely to eat better than if you pick something up at a restaurant or when you "heat up" convenience foods. So your trashcan should ideally reflect the fact that you are cooking and therefore have peels, seeds, etc. as waste and not just empty boxes and plastic wrappings.
So make it a mental (much easier, cleaner and less odorous than a physical one) exercise to review what is in your kitchen trashcan. Generally the less packaging you have the better. The more items in your trashcan that could be composted, the better you are nourishing yourself.
P.S.-The Lundy family is making an effort to get healthier as we head into a new school year. Now is a great time to reset some goals and get started on building healthier habits. This time of year is also a great time to buy fresh, local produce and cook it up.
