What’s Your Relationship with Food?

I’ve always loved eating.

And I was lucky enough to be born into a place where food still had deep meaning.

I grew up in Calabria in the 1990s, a region often considered poor due to the lack of industrial development (luckily!), but also because of the oppression caused by the mafia (unfortunately).

Still, I’m deeply grateful I grew up there.

I had the privilege of being raised by two grandmothers and a great-aunt who not only loved to cook, but cooked by honoring nature.

Food came directly from the source: small farmers, local producers.

We ate what was produced at the moment — and of course, pasta was the basis for a lot of meals.

Cooking was a full-time activity. My grandmothers would spend entire days preparing meals or preserving seasonal ingredients for the rest of the year.

And I loved all of it.

It gave life rhythm, meaning, and connection.

Then I moved to the big city.

Like many students, I began eating anything and everything — mostly processed foods.

I didn’t give much thought to it at the time.

(Though I’m glad to see that today’s students are becoming much more conscious about what they eat.)

But eventually, I began to miss my food.

Not just the flavors, but the connections that food brings with it:

culture, nature, community.

So I started asking myself:

What’s my relationship with food — really?

It’s not just what we eat.

It’s how we eat.

And even more — how we feel when we eat.

It’s the culture we create around it.

Do you eat with presence or with pressure?

With joy or with judgment?

Do you listen to your body — or try to outsmart it?

In a world of calorie trackers, diet trends, and endless wellness advice,

we’ve lost something simple and essential:

our natural rhythm.

A sustainable lifestyle doesn’t come from restriction.

It comes from reconnection.

That means choosing food that nourishes not only your body,

but also your values.

Food that is:

– Grown locally, close to home

– Picked in season, in rhythm with nature

– Free from toxic additives, grown with care and intention

This way of eating isn’t about being perfect.

It’s about remembering that we are part of the natural world — not separate from it.

And the more we align with it,

the more our body, mind, and mood begin to soften, to balance, to come back home.

Food is part of life — it’s not a battle.

When we turn every meal into a moral judgment,

a mathematical calculation,

a series of chemical compounds…

we disconnect —

from our bodies,

from pleasure,

from culture.

Local, seasonal food helps us slow down.

It roots us in the present.

It reminds us that real nourishment doesn’t need a barcode —

just a bit of awareness.

Then, I would love to suggest you:

🌱 Choose something in season this week at your local market

🌱 Eat one meal without rushing or multitasking

🌱 Ask yourself not “Can I eat this?” but “How will this make me feel?”

Every small step is a way back —

to your body,

to nature,

to a kinder, slower rhythm of living.

No pressure. No perfection. Just presence.

✨ Looking for gentle support to come back to balance?

Try The Natural App — with tools, rituals, and mindful reminders that help you feel at home in your body again.

Download The Natural App today.