I hate cabbage. Okay, hate is a pretty strong word especially since I’m supposed to be promoting love – so let me start over.
I am joyfully in dislike of said, ‘cabbage’. It isn’t the taste that is so bad, nor the crunch or that special smell that reminds me of working in the mud bathes in Calistoga as a teenager. It is the fact that my poor little gut just can’t seem to digest it easily. (And yes, if you are thinking about farts, you are correct).
I, however, continue to eat it because of all of the wonderful health benefits of doing so. It’s a great source fiber, super good for increasing the alkalinity of your gut environment and is loaded with Vitamin C, B6, Potassium, folic acid, biotin, calcium, magnesium and manganese. It also is one of the better sources for those cancer fighting phytonutrients like glucocinolates.
I try not to grumble too much, but I’m not going to lie to you – grumble (and rumble) I do. So on this special Chinese Chicken Salad day, just when I was at my worst sour faced, wrinkly nosed moment; just before taking my first bite, there it was – my reminder:
Be grateful for all the nutrition you have the privilege to receive.
Finding my heart in a small piece of red cabbage
Once again, I swear, this has not been Photoshopped or set up in any way. This is why I had to take notice; there in the middle of my Chinese Chicken Salad sat one perfectly shaped, red cabbage heart. It was as if it was screaming at me “Yooo hoo~ Look at me! I’m soooo tasty, I’m soooo yummy, I’m soooo purdy! You know you LOVE me, you know you WANT me.”
A simple little reminder from my little heart friends: What a joy and privilege it is to have this food before me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m ungrateful most of the time, and this was some big huge ah-ha moment. Thankfully, on most days I am very grateful and appreciate how wonderful it is to have fresh food and clean water. But what this little heart did for me was to remind me what an amazing body I have. What a miracle it actually is to ingest and yes, digest food that produces energy to move my body. Energy to power my brain so I may think clearly as well as nourishes my soul so that I may feel and engage in every aspect of my day.
It also was a great reminder to be gentle with myself; to embrace my round seductive 50 something curves that I have tried to thin down and re-shape into something more 30ish. Oh dear Lord thank you little red cabbage heart for making my life so much easier by helping me be more gentle with my self image!
I’d like to leave you with this thought: Before eating your next meal take a moment, stop, and take a few deep breaths to slow the pace of your day down. Take just a little moment so that you can receive the nutrition your food has to offer you. Be grateful in that; ponder what good you can put out in the world with all your new found energy being created within you from your wonderful nutritious food.
Eat slowly, chew well, live long, and prosper my friend.
Finding My Heart ~ In My Chinese Chicken Salad.
