26 May 2025

If there's one surefire way to learn that perfectionism is not the goal, it's becoming a mother. I think it was when I had both a toddler and a baby that I realized sometimes [actually…usually!] “good enough” is just that. And yet, we spend a ridiculous amount of time feeling bad because our house isn't clean enough, our body is imperfect or the food we've prepared doesn't look gourmet enough.

Did you hear? A Canadian mother won the Snowdonia ultramarathon (62 mile race) in Wales, despite having given birth only 6 months prior and taking breaks along the route to breastfeed her daughter! Even more amazing, she had NOT been training for the previous 3 years, through the experience of fertility treatments and several miscarriages. I say, “Congrats” to Stephanie Case…really! Read her inspiring story - but this is not most people. As Brené Brown would say, “we CAN do hard things”, but IMHO comparing to the perfect (which it never really is) may not be ideal!

A few years ago, I was hired to teach a “culinary” class as Westchester Community College, but I'm no chef. So now the class is really just practical nutrition. Because it doesn't actually matter that our meals look like they could be served at Blue Hill, only that they nourish us. And that's what I teach my students and clients.

My good friend, Jessica, was upset because she had misplaced her compost pail and didn't want to put any food scraps in the garbage. But she was already doing her part to reduce food waste, by making use of most of the foods that remained in her broken refrigerator (thanks for lunch!). We can be mindful and show ourselves some compassion when we can't do it perfectly.

Remember my original slogan? All eaters welcome! The marketing gurus will say I got it wrong - everyone eats (what's the niche?). But that's the point. I'm here for the people who don't think they can have an impact - on their health or the planet. Because every little [green] bite counts. I'm not going to be on the Food Network or TikTok, plating out fabulous dishes that most people will never achieve. I'm just cooking day after day in my modest kitchen, testing out new recipes, cooking the same old favorites and appreciating the foods I've acquired or created.

You've probably heard about the law of diminishing returns in economics. For me, the same holds true in cooking. I can spend a lot of time on elaborate processes and creative plating of a meal, but, at the end of the day, all that matters is how it tastes (and, of course, the nutrition). That's not to say that our sense of the flavor is not influenced by the food's appearance or the layered (and sometimes time-consuming) steps of “culinary excellence”. But, for most everyday cooking, that's not what's most important to me.

All this to say: you can make great food that's good enough! I think maybe it's in our nature to make comparisons (or that's just me?), and the comparison to make is between the you before you made that food choice and after. Every day - 3 times a day for many of us - we have a chance to make choices with our forks and spoons. The choices don't need to be difficult or agonizing, but if they're [even subjectively] better than the previous ones, we're ahead of the game.

I'm going to start a new series on Instagram about this topic. Vote for the catchiest title please (choose one of mine or create your own). One respondent will receive a free cooking lesson with me!

NAME MY NEW IG SERIES