Primary Food Journaling Exercise
Primary Food
In true holistic wellness, it is really important to look at our primary food - aka soul food. To reach optimal health, we need rich and nourishing primary food in addition to healthy nourishment on our plates.
Quality primary food can even help diminish our secondary food cravings.
The term “primary food” was first coined by the founder of the Inst. for Integrative Nutrition (one of my alma maters), Joshua Rosenthall, and the following pie chart comes from there.
For your journaling today, first read about Primary Foods here and look at this "circle of life" primary food wheel.
Then, write about the following:
Which areas of your life need more nourishment?
Which areas of your life feel great?
How can you improve the overall quality of your primary food?
What can you do differently? (Can you think of a new approach?)
What feels like good, healthy, accessible primary food to you right now?
What nourishes you on a soul level? A cellular level?
Which primary foods help you forget about secondary food? (What activities completely capture your full attention)?
How can you get more of this rich Primary Food source?
List your favorite kinds of Primary Food.
Can you see how the Crowding Out Theory might work with Primary Food just like it does with secondary food?
Remember there is “junk” or “fast” Primary food too!
What are some examples of junky primary food you might release or crowd out?
Write a list of primary foods that don't serve you, (aka "primary junk food) - example - negative thinking, gossiping, staying up late, binging TV, being mean to yourself, criticizing yourself or others.
Then write about how these things might be Crowded Out with some of those favorite, quality Primary Foods.
You might also want to:
Draw, paint or collage your own version of the Primary Food Wheel of Life Circle (you can include some of the same categories, or add some different ones). Or you may just want to print out this one: https://www.integrativenutrition.com/circle-of-life
Place a dot on each category line - the closer to the center you place your dot the more that area "needs work" - the closer to the outside the more you are feeling good about that area.