Simple can be difficult. There’s no doubt about it, we have complicated lives these days. We all seem to do so much—and then fill our lives to overflowing with distractions—that we don’t have the time for the truly important things. What is really important in our lives? Surely health must be up there near number 1, as it impacts on our every moment. How did our thinking get so screwed up that we don’t take time to research what will make us healthy and then as a matter of priority, implement that in our lives?

This is the one thing we should get right before bothering about all the rest, yet it’s something that we mostly ignore.

Some of us don’t cook at all. We allow ourselves to eat things prepared by others who surely don’t have our best interests at heart. Others make dishes so complicated and flavoursome that cooking becomes a huge imposition on time, effort and purse. But talk about getting back to simple foods and people think you’re mad.

I’m a great fan of wonderful tasting food, but I also believe that some foods that are probably quite bland by today’s standards should still make up a great part of our diet. Fresh fruit, eaten unadulterated. Vegetables steamed and eaten as is. I’m even a believer in bread and butter. Dense, farmhouse style bread that you make at home with spelt flour then top with the very best quality butter you can find. If you need more flavouring, add a ripe tomato dusted with a little salt and pepper. Or for an even better option, what about Ezekial bread?

Why do we find this so difficult? Steve Jobs said that “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

I’m not here to move mountains. I’m here to move towards vibrant health. And if I can get my eating clean and make it simple, I’m winning the game.

Posted in: The Column.
Last Modified: April 29, 2014