Add Mangoes To Your Life

Eating healthy food makes all the difference. Yes, I know everyone and their mom and dog say the same thing. But I used to not connect the dots at all. Working out hard so I could eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it had always been my thing. So what gives? What has changed for me? And who am I to give “advice” on eating? Well, I am not a nutritionist, but I kind of wish I was. The area of nutrition is so interesting! One of the instructors working together with my dad at the fitness club says cheeky as she stands in the middle of the room before a session: “I am going to be up here and hopefully inspire you; you don’t have to follow me.” I like her attitude. But sometimes I find it may sound so pompous to aim for being inspirational. It may sound like I am full of myself. However, I did just post a quote the other day on my Instagram which I like. It said: “Aspire to Inspire before you Expire”. Everybody can aspire to do something and hopefully one is successful. So that is what I am humbly aiming for here. I love getting inspiration from famous people and “ordinary” (let’s face it, we are all rockstars in one way) people. So back to the topic of eating well. I find myself constantly reading books on the topic of health and I watch cooking shows nowadays. And I cook. Not well, but I cook. I have never before thought so much about the impact food has on our mind and body. To nourish ourselves is very important so we can live happy, healthy lives. I don’t think anyone saw this coming, that I would become interested in this topic. My food journey started with me being a small child not caring for food. It wasn’t like I deliberately deprived myself from eating. I just didn’t care for it and didn’t feel hunger all that much. Started doing sports and I had to eat more. Then I moved to Sydney and did physical labor and oh boy, my appetite skyrocketed! And it has stayed that way. I have many, many times unintentionally impressed people with my ability to consume enormous amounts of food. My grandfather thinks it’s quite entertaining and often says at the end of a meal: “Just finish off the rest of the meat and potatoes Emma”…where it’s usually way more than one serving left. Sometimes I have humored him. I have found myself feeling a bit odd eating with a dinner party where some girls have taken two bites, put their fork down and said: “On man I am so full.” This happened a lot around my model friends. I on the other hand could probably have finished off my own entrée, their entrée and still not feel full. Eating out with guy friends who also worked out hard was sometimes easier. Finishing off a foot long Subway sandwich was not a big deal. Although one time in Webster Groves a little cute old lady walked over to our table giggling. “I told my husband there is no way this sweet girl (that would be me) can eat such a large meal, but you DID!” Nowadays I am being very conscious what I put in my body most of the time. As I do eat a lot, I want it to be healthy. Do I eat junk food too? Sure I do. But not very often.

For me, eating healthy has everything to do with ADDING stuff to eat, not restricting your diet with SUBTRACTING items. And don’t get me started on the word “diet”. Diet is what you eat. Not to follow a certain diet. If you start incorporating good food they will push out the junk without you having to deprive yourself. Some people believe in making a complete overhaul and throw out all the “junk” and only buy new, healthy stuff. I don’t really believe in that shocking your system and wallet will produce a long lasting result. I have definitely been on a student/vagabond budget for a long time so I don’t think throwing out stuff is good. But the next time you are shopping for let’s say milk, after you have used up all your cow’s milk, how about you reach for the almond milk instead? Granola in the morning can be a healthy option, but it can also be a sugar trap. I do like granola, but I add a lot of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in it and little by little I am phasing the granola out. Not completely, but the ratio is definitely tipping in the favor of the seeds. I also drink a glass of green smoothie each morning. And then I eat breakfast. Many hardcore wellness people drink only a great big green smoothie and call it a day in the breakfast area. I can’t do that. I actually like breakfast. But as I have added the glass of blended fruit and vegetables, perhaps I will only reach for one open-faced sandwich (the number one breakfast choice for Swedes) instead of two? Adding something…not depriving myself.

I feel the key is to add small steps that you can see yourself possibly take for the rest of your life. One nutritionist that I follow is Sid Garza-Hillman. I stumbled across his podcast last year and I am so happy I did. Garza-Hillman is funny, sarcastic and his approach to health and happiness is rather unique. He recommends taking small steps in order to “Approaching the Natural.” Garza-Hillman says your step could be as small as to add drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning. I feel can you add a glass of water in the morning, maybe you can add drinking a glass of water at night as well. You will gradually build up habits and behaviors you can continue forever without you feeling restrained. Garza-Hillman’s approach has a foundation in philosophy as he majored in that in college before becoming a nutritionist and seriously, the man makes excellent points. And speaking of the glass of water, did you know that drinking water before bed can help prevent having a stroke? I didn’t before my friend Missy from the USA gave that advice in her interview which was part of the Worldwide Wellness Series I featured on this blog. Thanks Missy!

My time on the road being a vagabond has definitely given me things to add to my diet. Of course I had had mangoes before my trip to Thailand, but seriously, that trip solidified my love for the fruit. Having mangoes with sticky rice after dinner became a tradition during my time in Bangkok. The day before I left I said goodbye to the sweet lady selling the dish. After buying so much of her food she definitely knew who my friend and I were and I even had my picture taken with her. Back home in Malmö I went hunting for good, quality mangoes. I ventured out to the farmers market at Möllevångstorget. I found mangoes which were to my liking. Mangoes are now a definite staple in my diet now. But the story does not end there: The nice fruit vendor gave me a piece of Sharon/persimmon fruit to try and my life changed. Where has this fruit been all my life?!? I think I have tasted it before, but never cared to incorporate it into my daily eating habits. Again, food was not my thing before. Now I crave it. Not Marabou milk chocolate in the evening, but Sharon fruit. Okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I still have chocolate from time to time; I am only human after all. Saying that adding eating this fruit made me stop having chocolate, well its not realistic and its not true. But again, ADDING the Sharon fruit maybe makes me eat less chocolate. So again, the key is winning by adding, not subtracting.