As an American born, Midwest roots individual with Dutch citizenship, I could be labeled “eclectic.” I grew up eating real food, mostly cooked by our Mom and almost always at home. There wasn’t such a concept as “organic” but farmer’s markets and local homemade products were readily available.
Our parents even for a time rented space at a cold storage locker because they purchased a portion of a cow and needed more room to store the meat. Hunting season brought the occasional treat of venison, quail and Cornish hens. Neighbors shared tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and assorted berries in season.
It all now sounds so idyllic. However, at that time it was just normal. Therein lays the problem. Normal we’ve lost all sense of what that is when it comes to nutrition.
Having lived a couple decades in The Netherlands I grew to appreciate the view of America from across the ocean. The Dutch perspective allowed me the chance to look at our own national habits with a different lens. This is particularly apparent when it comes to our nation’s food and exercise obsessions.
Albeit some of our unfortunate eating patterns have infiltrated Europe and Holland. There still remains a much more common sense “get over yourself” attitude about wellbeing that maybe we (read Americans) can learn from.
For simplicity sake I call it “Surviving America: Nutritionally Speaking!”
- Constantly talking about diet, calories & whether food is healthy ruins the meal both for you & those sitting next to you & doesn’t make one healthier
- Eating & drinking all the time on the go is not attractive
- Cooking meals at home saves money, increases pleasure & is normal
- Counting calories is a waste of time & energy
- Watching cooking television programs does not constitute cooking
- Exercise is not a panacea for poor food choices
- Simplicity over obsession is favorable!
OK, so there you have it, my European take on how to shake up our approach to food and exercise here in the US. It’s not a diet, nor an app or a product you can buy. It’s just common sense.
Thus, no profit can be made. So you know what? It probably won’t take off. But, one can always be optimistic.
Doe maar gewoon dan doe je al gek genoeg!
Dutch proverb translated: “Just act normal that’s crazy enough!”
Kris, this makes perfect sense to me. Attitude plays a big part in everything we do–most people can’t relate a positive attitude with the food they eat. Maybe bottling ‘positivity’ is the key to profit in this area! Wishing you well! Ann
Ann thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! Maybe you are on to something, “bottled positivity” I see a whole new market opening! Seriously, though it would be great if 2015 brought a much more nuanced and less restrictive frame of mind especially as concerns food. Maybe it’s time to say well we tried the craziness for 50 years so let’s get back to normal.