Before Halloween became commercialized, many people celebrated an older tradition called Samhain. Food played a part in Samhain as well, but it wasn’t anything like the current holiday. In that older tradition, people believed that at this time of year, the veil between this world and the Otherworld was thin, which meant spirits could cross into our world. Families might leave a place at their table with food for loved ones they’d lost. It was also common to leave food for wa

If you’ve never seen the movie What About Bob? I recommend it, as long as you’re okay with some black humor. It has a lot of fun moments, and it’s a great role for Bill Murray. But what I hadn’t thought about until I recently re-watched it is that it has some lessons that you can apply to mindful eating. It’s okay to ask for help (within reason) If you’re not familiar with the movie, it’s about a man named Bob who has all kinds of phobias and fears. He uses a tissue to touch

It’s probably no secret to you that creating new habits can be hard. When you first start, it’s so easy to slip back into your old routines because even if they weren’t the best, they’re familiar and comfortable. Another part of the challenge is that you don’t always see results right away. This makes it easy to get impatient and stop the new behaviors before they’ve had time to become familiar. But what if you thought about getting into the new routine as if you were prepari

You’ve probably heard the phrase “practice makes perfect.” But you may have also noticed that even if you practice something, you still don’t achieve perfection. This isn’t because you’re doing anything wrong. It’s just that, as humans, we’re always going to be prone to mistakes. Even if you’re nearly perfect, if you get sick or have a bad day, you can make mistakes much more easily. That’s why I liked a variation on that saying that I recently heard. “Practice makes possible

I’ve been reading the book All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, and among many things, it’s gotten me thinking about issues of food that are related to climate change. Although you may not realize it, both food production and food waste are major contributors to greenhouse gases. And climate change is going to make some current food problems even worse. I know climate change is big and sprawling and may seem insurmountable at times. That’s wh