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Kitchen Affirmations – say what?

Author: Dina Haggenjos

FOOD & NUTRITION
LIFESTYLE & HOME
MENTAL & PHYSICAL
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION

Posted on: August 23, 2020 | 6 min read

Chances are you have heard of the practice of saying and thinking affirmations. There are books, podcasts, even apps devoted solely to affirmational practices and the power of the mind. But have you thought of affirmations when it comes to how you approach your kitchen, your cooking, your food?

Affirmations are positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes. – Mind Tools

Having learned later in life to cook, laying down some thoughts on what’s important to me when I approach the kitchen has been really important. Why? Because I could easily feel way behind, not competent, out of my league, and just plain bothered by what I did or didn’t have when it came to my kitchen and cooking. Said another way, I could easily self-sabotage any efforts in the kitchen with negative thoughts.

With this post, I thought it would be great to tell you about my kitchen affirmations which really gives you a lens into how I approach food, cooking, and recipes. These are all major areas of how I want to serve and resources I want to offer on this site so my hope is this will be helpful for you in: 1) getting a sense of my style and where I’m coming from (so you can decide it meshes well with you and might be helpful) and 2) thinking about and establishing your own set of kitchen and food affirmations to help elevate your own experiences in that room that carries the nourishment we need to thrive.

So, we’re going to cover: why affirmations, my 5 kitchen affirmations, and how you can establish your own set of affirmations with the Self-Search section at the end of this post. Let’s dive in!

A Kitchen Affirmation?

I think of these (affirmations) as the ways I want to approach my kitchen. Affirmations aren’t necessarily things you feel you’ve reached yet, but you want to, and you want to believe in them. You want them to be true and realized. Research suggests that affirmations can help you perform better in areas you set them in – everything from a meeting at work, sports performance, general confidence, meeting your soulmate — any area of life you can set intentional affirmations. So I say, why not the kitchen too?!

Also, and a very great reason to set some affirmations is studies have shown they can reduce stress! Affirmations have been shown to stimulate the areas in our brains that make us more likely to affect positive changes in regard to our health.

For me, affirmations help remind me of my values. We need these reminders to create change and help us not get caught in the comparison game, and self-sabotage. Are you convinced yet that you should at least consider some affirmations when it comes to how you want to approach your kitchen, your food-making? I will tell you, after giving lots of thoughts to what’s important for me when I’m in the kitchen it really has reduced a lot of stress and made my time in there easier. Let’s get to my 5.

My Five Kitchen Affirmations.

Perhaps you’re like me and you learned to cook later in life (this will be ongoing for me for sure), or you are learning to cook, or maybe you have no desire to cook – doesn’t matter. You can create your own affirmations that are true to your needs and desires so that you have the confidence you need moving forward in the kitchen in whatever capacity. Mine are below which will give you a good idea of how I approach food and perhaps they may be useful for you!

01. I make good-tasting food that nourishes my body.

I’m in this to make good-tasting food for me and my family which is also good for our bodies. If the dish does those things AND it turns out pretty, great, but I’m not in it for pretty. You will see my lack of attention to pretty in my recipes and photos – it’s not that I don’t like pretty dishes, it’s just not my focus. Let’s not stress about the perfectly curated meal or plate, let’s just make it good. It’s more than OK to be a bit messy in there!

02. I like my kitchen and cooking – and I love other things more.

Liking a place we spend a lot of time in is important, but don’t worry we can love other things more (and that’s OK). Don’t feel guilty if you don’t LOVE cooking, it’s OK. You can still make good-tasting, good-for-your-body food in good time. Time is our currency – so expect to find simpler dishes at Free Well Recipes.

03. A kitchen is a perfect place for imperfect action.

I have 4 guiding principles for Free Well, one of which is creativity. So, I am all for experimenting in the kitchen especially when you’re working with ingredients you know you already like – it’s just a matter of playing with the amounts, cooking times, combinations, etc. So within the Free Well Recipes, you will see I do a lot of encouraging YOU to own the dish. I’m not always super approximate so that you have space to experiment, lean into that inner knowing (or just inner child-we all have one), and see what happens. We have so many areas in our lives right now that have to be precise, let’s give ourselves some grace in the kitchen. Maybe you know how to follow a recipe and you really just want to learn how to experiment – great. There’s a lot of freedom that comes to you both ways, following a recipe (hey, someone else tells you what to do so you can be free to do other things) or not following (you can do whatever you want). However you cook, don’t be too bummed if it doesn’t come out ideally – so you learned, you can tweak for next time.

04. I meet my kitchen where it’s at, and we work together well.

I’m pretty sure even if you don’t like to cook, you likely wouldn’t mind having one of those large, beautiful kitchen islands with the perfectly placed flowers. And of course who wouldn’t mind a fully stocked spice cupboard and pantry with beautifully labeled baskets? I get it. I sure would love those things, especially more space. My first kitchen was three steps by one step (not feet, like actual steps). I could basically turnaround with a spoon but nothing else. The next kitchen I had a window – woohoo. The kitchen after that I had a shiny refrigerator but only two feet of counter space. The kitchen I have today has the colors I want but not necessarily the openness – there’s always something. But they’re all kitchens, and they’re all waiting to be used, and they all are usable. Meet your kitchen, and the gadgets you do or don’t have, and let’s start there.

05. I meet my kitchen and cooking skills happily and gratefully.

Since we’re dreaming of a fully stocked pantry wouldn’t it be nice to have the kitchen skills too? So you’re unsure how to cook a roast, or why people have a garlic mincer? So what. Remember, empathy is another FW guiding principle. If I can learn to cook some simple, nutritious meals for me and my family I know anyone can believe me. My family still loves to tease me about how I didn’t know the different kinds of meat when I was a teen, and I’m still not certain I use the “right” knife to cut vegetables – so what.

SELF-SEARCH – ESTABLISHING YOUR KITCHEN AFFIRMATIONS.

I highly recommend grabbing a pen and paper to help flush out your thoughts – or bookmark this and save for your next journal session.

To begin, take a deep breath in and let it out.

Take each prompt/question in, then think about it and what it means for you. There are no wrong answers, but your answers. Lean into those.

Below are some questions to help you consider your values around food and then create some personal kitchen affirmations. While you journal your thoughts it’s great to get everything out, but when you go to create those affirmations try to keep them positive (the negative, or what you don’t want, the rabbit hole you don’t want to fall into is implied in the statement by way of not being baked in it. Focus on the good, what you want to be true).

How do I feel about cooking? About being in the kitchen?
What things cause me stress when cooking? Being in the kitchen? What annoys me most?
Are there areas I feel guilt around my cooking or kitchen?
Are there areas I feel insecure or like I don’t measure up around cooking and being in my kitchen?
Who do I admire in the kitchen? Who do I admire in general? How can I bring more of those qualities into how I approach my kitchen?
What are my superpowers? How can I play up those with my cooking more?
What are my core values, the things really important to me and my family – the things I know matter to us? Are they reflected in how I currently approach my kitchen/food-making? How can I better integrate my values into my kitchen?

After you’ve considered the above, now take a stab at 3-5 kitchen affirmations specific to you.

What do you want to be true for you and how you approach the kitchen?
What positive statements can you write that will help you realize and remind yourself of your core values, and help mitigate your own stress in the kitchen?

If you feel comfortable sharing any thoughts or questions that sparked for you I would love to hear – so write them below in the comments.

For more information on affirmations:

And if you’re further curious about how I approach my kitchen and meal planning, grab yourself my free guide.

CLICK HERE FOR MY FREE YOU-CENTRIC MEAL PLAN GUIDE

Thanks for being here and holding space for you and me.

Dina

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