So here we are again, another day and someone in the house is hungry. A dog, a kid, a partner… someone. So we stop what we’re doing — as it clearly isn’t as important as meeting someone else’s needs. We scramble as to what to create: here’s something in a box (easy!) — tear open box, microwave… BAM! That equals “food.” Though it’s actually not, but no more whining and that problem’s fixed.

How did we get here? Back in the day, just after WWII, the manufacturing plants that had been taken over by the military to make rations, were then handed back to the companies with no funding to retrofit. So what happened? TV dinners happened. They happened with arguably the single most successful maketing campaign ever created. What did the ad for TV dinners say? Something to the effect of “Ladies, you are wasting your time in the kitchen… blah, blah, blah…” we stopped hearing the rest of the ad. “OMG, I’m wasting my time! I had no idea I was wasting my time! Well, THAT’s gotta stop!” We believed them. We believed them because we also believed they were creating goods in our best interest that would also serve our best interest and those of our family.

Surprise! They weren’t then and they aren’t now. They don’t want to ‘help’ us, they want to disable us into not being able to function without them and it’s been working brilliantly. Personally, I’m tired of watching families fall victim to the excuses and reasons that we have been fed by these companies to convince us to buy their mostly-not-actual-food food-like product. Everything from the likes of Twinkies to restaurants are pitching their message of “You deserve/have earned/you’re too busy not too/don’t you want to see your kids smile…” and we’re agreeing, even intentionally failing to schedule efficiently because this rescue-in-box, aka rations, are available. We now assertively agree that intentionally harming our or our children’s bodies is a reward… Ummm, What?

We are the only species on the planet that will intentionally and knowingly make poor choices on our own behalf and we are even making this choice on behalf of our loved ones. We have now done it to such a degree that we have pending, the first generation of children who will, on average, not live as long as their parents.

This has to stop — and it starts with us. Enough of just making it to the end of the day, we are here for so much more. I promise I have a powerful plan for us to take back our lives…. Are you ready for this journey of a lifetime?!