When I was growing up I was surrounded by strange and bizarre foods, let’s chat a bit about that and some goal setting ideas too.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Strange and bizarre foods
- Reflection and goal setting
TRANSCRIPT
Hi there and thanks for joining me today for number 68 podcast.
How are you? I hope you’re doing well.
If you’re a regular listener you may have noticed that I’ve missed the past couple of weeks with podcasting. I’ve just come back from 2 wonderful holidays, which has been very exciting because I can’t remember the last time I took a holiday. I spent a week with my mum and sister. It was the first time we’d ever gone away together and it was absolutely fantastic, a great bonding experience and we are all now feeling closer and more connected!
I also took a short trip with my family, my 3 kids, my partner and my daughters boyfriend. We all went away for 4 days on a beach trip to meet up with my extended family for a big Xmas get together. I’ve got a big family on my mum’s side and we try to do this every few years, all the aunties, uncles and cousins get together. Well, it’s been a while since everyone caught up, maybe 5 years so it’s just been great to catch up with everyone this year.
To be honest I’m not much of a Xmasy person but one thing I do love is spending time with the people I love because that’s what’s most important. We don’t do presents or even put up Xmas decorations, we just spend time together, and of course eat some good food.
I hope you’ll be having lots of fun times, sharing time with loved ones, and even taking some holidays yourself in this last part of the year as well. I know for many people it tends to get stressful and for many people going to see family even seems like a burden. I know it’s hard but you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, so choose to do your own thing if that makes you happier. That’s what we did a few years back. We don’t see family on Xmas, it’s a very quiet day for us. We sometimes have the kids over if they are around, but they are often working on Xmas these days. So this year it’s just me and my partner and we’ll be having a very quiet day.
That’s not to everyone’s taste either, some people love Xmas so if that’s you then thoroughly enjoy it. The most important thing is that no matter what you are doing, enjoy it!
I did enjoy my time away with family and it brought back some great memories. And I was just sitting here today thinking about a wonderful woman who is no longer in my life but instead of keeping it to myself I thought I’d share a tribute to her, and that person is my Nanna.
My Nanna was a wonderful lady, looked after me most of the time when I was young and I’ve got a story to share that includes some weird and wonderful stuff and I’d love to hear about your experiences too if you care to share them.
My Nanna and Grandad were from England and Ireland, came over here (Australia) when my Mum was 10 years old. They were real Aussie battlers, a low income family with 6 kids but they worked hard and really did quite well for themselves, lived a comfortable life.
My Nanna was a great cook and had an amazing vegetable garden too. Maybe that’s where I got my passion for food, cooking and vegetables. In fact I think it is what inspired me in many ways to love cooking early on.
She’d ALWAYS be in the kitchen making something, probably why she also struggled with her weight so much. She did LOVE to eat and hated wasting any food!
Sometimes she’d make sweets and cakes that were divine. She’d make homemade chocolates for gifts. She’d bake up the best stews and soups. And she could make a killer baked dinner with yorkshire puddings to die for.
But she would always have weird and wonderful things cooking too.
Things like cows tongue
Or some pigs feet
She’d also cook tripe, which is the stomach lining (I think)
And if she could find some weird and wonderful delicacy believe me she would try it! I guess you could say she was pretty adventurous with food. I used to think it was just gross. So did my cousins. When we’d come home from school and lift the lid on the pot you never knew what was going to be in there. Maybe that’s why she did it, to entertain us?!
Or maybe, maybe she just loved those foods because back in England they were cheap forms of meat, just like they are here. And maybe she knew the secret that these types of foods we all find so gross are actually very nutrient dense…just maybe?!
I’ll never get to ask her because she passed away when I was 13. I wish I could because I bet she’d have loads of good stories to tell.
Still, it’s nice to spend a moment here with you, in memory of her.
Have you eaten cows tongue, pigs feet or weird and wonderful foods? Perhaps you’ve tried liver, brains, or kidney?
I have to honestly admit I still haven’t taken the plunge on eating many of them…maybe one day I’ll heed my Nanna’s actions and take an adventurous plunge because these items that many of us look at in disgust are some of the most nutritious parts of the animal. And if you’ve ever looked at the price of liver, brains and kidney, you’ll notice that they are super, super cheap.
The only reason why we aren’t eating them more is they aren’t promoted as common foods and are generally considered gross. But in many other countries they eat things we also consider gross, like frogs legs, snails, cockroaches and bugs and in the countries where these things are consumed they are considered a delicacy.
So perhaps we could all open our minds up a bit toward what we eat.
Though taking the plunge to eating liver is probably a big jump for many people; Let’s start by encouraging you to eat more vegetables. I find most people need to do that.
In any case it’s an interesting thing to think about. Our concepts of food and what’s considered good or bad is a variety of culture, finances, experiences, and likes and dislikes as well. This often makes the complexity of dietary change a tough one too. But over time we can adapt and try new things if we just do it!
Another thing I’d like to do is just wish you all the best at this time of year. I don’t know about you but for me it’s the time of year I begin reflecting on the year that’s past and start to think about what I want to do in the new year.
I start jotting down a few ideas and I start thinking about setting goals.
Do you set goals?
I never used to but with each year that passes I’ve now become more and more of a goal setter and planner. I find it helps me keep focused and achieve so much in any given year and it’s funny because setting goals and achieving them also brings along with it a deep sense of happiness.
I don’t know why that is but I think we like to move forward but in so many cases we seem to get stuck in the mud. So when we can set those goals and commit to achieving them, it brings that satisfaction and pleasure and we know we can work on the next thing on our list.
But goal setting doesn’t come naturally to most of us either, it certainly didn’t for me and I know lots of other people struggle with it. So I’m holding a free online goal setting workshop on the 29th December. I’ll give you a copy of my goal setting guide and we’ll share lots of tips on getting what you want in the New Year.
Resolutions don’t work, there’s proof that hardly anyone lasts the distance so let’s get together and talk about following through. Let’s brainstorm some strategies that might work for you personally and see what ideas we can come up with.
If you want to come along and make the new year the best one you’ve ever had, you can find out all the details at GFE.com/goals, that’s GFE.com/goals. The workshop is free, it’s being held on Monday 29th December 8pm US EST, which is Tuesday 30th December 12 pm Australian Eastern time.
Come along and get involved in the conversation. I hope to see you there.
Lastly I want to wish you a very Merry Xmas. Take care, if you’re traveling, travel safe, and most importantly have fun, enjoy the company you’re with.
Remember you can register for the free goal setting workshop at GFE.com/goals.
Thanks for joining me and I’ll talk to you after Xmas!
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