Today, we live in an age that’s going through a lot of changes. If we look back roughly fifty years ago, our place and role in society was much simpler than it is today.
Life is moving faster, and this can get overwhelming.
The paradigms of the past are out-dated, no doubt, but things seem somewhat scrambled and a bit upside down these days.
Reaching your goals is more expensive. Society is more complex. The economy, politics, and money are influencing everyone’s life; for some, like Big Pharma and Big Agra, this means more profits than ever before; yet, the majority seem to be struggling on the opposite side of this spectrum.
The intensity of life is accelerating, and globally, people are moving farther away from the basics of being human. This can be seen as a source of liberation, or intense confusion.
Whatever you choose to label it, we all strive to be safe, healthy, happy, loved, and fulfilled.
I discovered two simple ways to restore the balance in life – slow down, and cook more meals at home. It might seem silly or trite, but these two things will start a domino effect of re-balancing stress that builds from a busy, daily schedule.
Slow Down
Think about it – most of us hit the ground running from the moment we wake in the morning until we flop into bed at night.
Even our children.
Pay attention to how fast you dress in the morning, fix breakfast (if at all), brush your teeth, get the kids to school, and then start your commute in morning traffic, typically late for work.
If you are rushing through your day, stop for a second and tell yourself to slow it down. You may discover that this is actually hard to do at first, but as you become more aware of your need to slow down, you’ll discover how healthy this is – mentally, emotionally, and physically.
We once called this patience.
When you take your time doing everything that you do, your stress level decreases, and your thoughts become more clear – they “line up” inside of your head in a more organized fashion. The mental chatter decreases, and you feel less overwhelmed.
I know this is almost an impossible task for many, but it is critical that you find ways to slow yourself down – everyday.
Eat Out Less Often
Think about this – the more pots and pans you have to clean up preparing a home-cooked meal is a good thing because it means that you are eating healthier meals.
Eating home-made meals at home is good for many reasons. Eat out only as a special treat, which saves you money and calories.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to over eat when I eat out. Try taking half of your meal home for tomorrow’s lunch, or split one meal with your spouse, child, or friend.
Wash More Dishes
Here’s a great Rule-Of-Thumb: the more dishes you wash after preparing a meal, the healthier and happier you and your family will be. More dishes means better quality meals that you fixed from scratch.
You can even make coffee on the stove, and it tastes delicious. Here’s a neat 9-Step video on how to make Greek coffee on the stove top; then remember to slow down to enjoy it.
Eat Fresh Foods – Not Packaged Meals
When you prepare fresh meals at home minus chemical food additives and preservatives, you are feeding your body higher quality, fresh and raw foods oozing with their original, natural nutrients.
Prepare home-made meals instead of heating up frozen, pre-packaged meals in the microwave. Dirty more pans, and forget about those frozen entrees.
Actually, I recommend tossing your microwave in the recycle bin!
Microwaves
The safety of microwaves has always been a concern, but I must admit that I gave up my microwave primarily because it was making me a lazy cook. Because I AM busy, I found myself more dependent on my microwave than on my stainless-steel pots and pans. And, that meant I was packing more frozen items into my freezer.
Microwave ovens are powered by, well, microwaves, and these are the same energy waves that power cell phones, WiFi, and radios. The debate on microwave safety will continue for as long as people use cell phones, WiFi, and radios.
I must admit that I never felt comfortable turning my microwave on because of the health effects, and it is true that microwaves do destroy food nutrients.
All cooking destroys some degree of nutrient value, but microwaves are the worst of the bunch because microwave ovens heat too quickly and too unevenly.
Take baby bottles, for example. Microwaves can cause burns if the outside of the bottle feels cool, but the inside is boiling hot.
Face it, microwaves don’t brown things, and they make food dry, mushy, and tasteless unless a battery of food enhancers are used. Microwaved food is notoriously over-cooked.
So you see … these really are two simple ways to restore a healthy balance in your life!
So, what’s for dinner tonight? 
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. The FDA may not have evaluated some of the statements. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding supplements or making any changes to your dietary program.
