Nothing Flash, Just Humble Cooking

So, I recently deleted my personal Instagram account because I realised: 1. I was spending too much time looking at it when I could have been spending time doing more important things and 2. I reflected on how much it was actually impacting on my thoughts and my spiritual wellbeing. I then had a good look at my Eat Goodness account too…

Don’t get me wrong, social media is a great tool to share pics with family and friends and stay up to date with whats going on in their lives, especially if you don’t live close by. I even use it for my Eat Goodness info! However, what I was finding was there was a lot of Instagram posts advertising or sharing ‘healthy’ life styles or ‘perfect mums’ but before I knew it I was comparing the best I was doing with what seem to be the ‘perfect’ lifestyle and I was putting pressure on myself to achieve the same things and my best didn’t really seem like my best anymore…

If you haven’t guessed already, I am a bit of a perfectionist like most of us and I aspire to do the best I can in all aspects of my life but what I started to realise was “is that bikini body holding the vibrant smoothie really just promoting the smoothie?” “Is that $40 bag of acai powder for that one smoothie bowl really necessary?” “How many photos did that woman take before she got the picture to depict her ‘perfect’ moment?” All of a sudden I realised I had been feeling like I should’ve had that bikini body and shame on me for not working harder at it, I should have been taking photos that mirrored those vibrant looking eatable pictures of perfectness and bliss. I should’ve been thinking ahead at what moment I could capture to put on my post. I should’ve been able to buy those expensive ingredients just so I can post a similar recipe or photo on Instagram or this website because the other posts got 1000 likes… Then I took stock of reality and realised, high five to those that can maintain that lifestyle and feel great about it. I honestly and genuinely say ‘good on you!”

I am a pretty strong level headed, spiritually grounded woman and these things were subtily getting to me. I needed to adjust what I was letting into my thoughts and my interests. What was it that I really wanted to achieve by having Eat Goodness on Instagram??  Reality for me is I am a busy mum and wife, I like to cook and experiment with recipes that are gluten free, diary free, refined sugar free and sometimes paleo or vegan, to find tasty ways both me and my family can enjoy foods without upsetting my digestive system or our bank account. I find it fun, relaxing and rewarding. I don’t have a bikini body partly because my body is still recovering from having a gorgeous little boy who fills my days and my heart and that to me is so much more important. I am healthy and try to exercise when I can. I don’t have time to take 100 photos of the food I cook in perfect lighting, on the perfect angle and with the perfect backdrop. My little boy is normally demanding that I feed him the food he can see me photographing and I have dishes, clothes, bills and junk normally scattered in the background anyway! I cook using ingredients I can easily find in my local supermarket, health food store or farmers market. I cook from the heart and with love. I do it to fill up our bellies with food that is yummy, nutritious and that doesn’t upset my digestive system and I do it because I love it and I love seeing my family and friends enjoy what I can make for them.

So really what I’m trying to say is that if you follow Eat Goodness on Instagram or check out this website, I don’t apologise for the amateur pictures taken, for the lack of vibrancy in the background or colours of my food, for the every day ingredients I use or for the every day home cooked recipes I share. I just share what I honestly and humbly cook. I share the places I go to that provide things I can buy or eat and the products that I find along the way. That’s all. There are no bells and whistles but there’s fun, there’s love, there’s out of tune singing and uncoordinated dancing while cooking, there’s smiles and laughs, there’s entertainment, there’s a happy and full husband and son, and most of all there’s good food for sensitive bodies…

Enjoy the ride

xox