nosh magazine (issue 4) | Page 11

Dietitian and founder of kitchen&pantry Charlotte Miller, explains how to keep healthy eating simple. t’s far too easy to become overwhelmed with the thought of preparing healthy meals for yourself or your family. Recently, there has been a distinct trend toward “health foods” that use specialty ingredients. While many of these may be healthy and delicious, the ingredients are often expensive and difficult to source – particularly for those living outside affluent areas of main cities. What we hear is that by eating these foods we attain optimal health and nutrition, prevent disease and develop control over our personal health – implying the opposing message that by choosing not to eat these foods we are becoming ‘toxic’ and sick. The lack of a middle path message can lead to guilt, anxiety and obsession with the foods we eat and give to our families. I When training people to prepare and cook food, I have found an overwhelming number feeling stressed and anxious. The reasons for this range from poor cooking skills, lack of time and money or a feeling that they are not preparing food that is good enough. They fear the shame of preparing an inadequate meal and the money and time this will waste in the process. These anxieties are driven by the messages we constantly hear about “clean eating” as we \