Many of our ancestors were new Canadians who came to the new country to settle the Wild West.  My father was one of them as was my Great Grandfather.   My father was sent to Canada by his father at the age of 17 from Germany to check out the new land and see if it was fit for the rest of the family to make the long boat ride.  He sent back a telegraph that said, "The skies are so big and so full of duck and geese you just aim your rifle straight up in the air and a dozen fall from the sky!"  Obviously the other ten family members arrived shortly after.  They worked extremely hard clearly their little plot of land that the government sold to them at a reasonable rate.  Their expended a LOT of energy and as such ate their biggest meal at noon so that they could get through the rest of their very physical work day.  They were living their life with the rhythms of the day and the seasons.  Our digestion is strongest when the sun is strongest and therefore the hours between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. is the best time for the main meal.  Breakfast should be a lighter meal and consist of cooked fruit, porridge, or veggie omelet.  Dinner should be consumed before sunset and be light and easy to digest.  A warm soup is an ideal evening meal.  Allow 3 hours after eating before going to bed.  Eating in this way will ensure optimal functioning of your body and maintain your ideal weight.

Going into the holiday season and often a large Christmas dinner, this can be a hard one to keep a handle on. But how much is too much?  The Ayurvedic definition of the proper amount is "that which gets digested in the proper time."  A practical way to know how much is the right amount is to cup your hands together.  Your cupped hands approximate the size of your stomach, so that is the amount of food you can comfortably consume at one meal.  Another indication that you are at capacity is when you burp. Burping is a response that generally indicates that your stomach is filled to capacity. If you have overloaded your plate and you can hear your mother in the background telling you that if you don't clean your plate children in a third world country will starve,  then simply save it for later.  Once you are full you are going to waste it whether you eat it or not.  When you overeat, the food ferments and is going to waste in your stomach.  Do you want it to waste inside of you, creating toxins, or waste outside where it could become good compost?  And of course you could always take less food to begin with.

Here's another tip by Captain Obvious, otherwise know as your Mother!  We all know that commercially prepared foods are high in sodium, fat and sugar and contain  a healthy dose of chemical preservatives. In my 50 plus years,  I have not know anyone who resembles anything that needed to be preserved! Cooking your own food gives you control over what you put in your body.  Not only that, but by cooking in your own kitchen you infuse your meal with love and energy, which will enhance your feeling of well being and your commitment to eating healthy!