One source of your energy is your kitchen, in the broad picture anyway, just like one source of your car’s energy is the fueling station, aka the mini-mart. Think about it for a moment. In both cases you can buzz through quickly getting just what you came for, or you can dally and get more than what you came for. Either way, are you making sound decisions that make for a productive day?
Not buying the connection yet? The first similarity I see is that you stop to refuel so that you don’t run out of gas — personally or in your car. When you stop your car at the mini-mart for “gas” you have several options: three grades of gasoline, diesel, E85, and perhaps electricity (if you happen to drive an electric car, that is). If you choose the wrong fuel you could break down on the side of the road, or your car can die sooner and need replacing.
When you stop yourself for fuel in your kitchen you have lots of options: whole organic food, whole food, processed food, and junk food. Your choice, for both your car and yourself, will contribute to a long, healthy, productive life, or a short, broken-down life. I bet you take great care of your car with your gas choice. I hope you take great care of yourself with your food choice.
The second similarity, for the purpose of this article, between your kitchen and the mini-mart is they both contain delightful distractions. The mini-mart offers you a range of mostly-unhealthy food choices for snacking or eating, gadgets for you and your car, and supplements that keep you and your car running in peak performance.
Not all mini-marts, or kitchens, are filled with tempting empty-calorie foods. I’ve seen one mini-mart that was an organic grocery with whole, organic foods. If I’ve seen one where I live there have to be more, so you hopefully you can find them around you too. Sure, it had some junk food, but it had lots of healthy choices too. If those mini-mart temptations are too much for you, plan ahead and travel with your own healthy snack and dining choices. For starters, you can pack water, food bars, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and hard boiled eggs.
The “beverage bar” is the third similarity between a mini-mart and your kitchen. Sure, some mini-marts are limited in what they offer — coffee and hot water for cocoa or black tea — but some are like Christmas with their array of choices! Those are the beverage bars that get you into trouble.
You can select from water (hopefully filtered), carbonated drinks, lemonade and iced tea, six different flavored coffee drinks, four different brewed coffees, hot water for cocoa, cider, and an array of green, black, and herbal teas, slushy machines with several choices of flavors, and even make-your-own milkshakes. Then you can add lemon juice, cream, creamers, sugar, and sweeteners to your beverages.
Notice, I’m talking about just what you have to choose from at the beverage bar. The refrigerator section, which offers a panoply of drinks, was part of the discussion about your food choices in a paragraph above.
What’s your “beverage bar” look like at home? Water. Carbonated drinks, milk, juices, iced tea, and SodaStream — with and without flavors? Perhaps you have a coffee collection to choose from, and an array of teas too? What additives do you keep on the side? Are cocoa and cider options in your kitchen? Do you go for the frozen drinks, be they a slushy or milkshake at home? Do you keep healthy or unhealthy temptations in your kitchen?
Another similarity is that at the mini-mart you can wash your windshield before hitting the road. A clean windshield lets you better see the road and surroundings. That’s good for traveling. At home you can wash your dishes before hitting the next phase of your day. Clean dishes, with the associated clean sink, stove top, and counters, contributes to a higher energy level. The clutter of dirty dishes adds to a cluttered mind and lowered energy level. You can “drive through your day” better with clean dishes than you can without. That makes for a good day.
See what I mean about the similarities between your kitchen and mini-mart? You control the energizing elements of your day and life, so choose well. You can select your mini-mart station for the gas price or selection, but you’re kinda stuck with the contents of the mini-mart itself. You can select the contents of your kitchen, choosing with a long, vibrant trip in mind.
Your trip through life is better when you fuel with healthy choices.