In our recent survey, some of you mentioned that you’d like calorie counts on the recipes. I hate to disappoint you, but this is something that will never, ever be included in Spring. Here’s why…..
You may know that I started Spring as my way of doing something about Mum’s mental illness. I strongly believe that we need to break down the barriers around depression, anxiety and other disorders. And people need to realise that they can regain an element of control over their mood through better lifestyle choices.
When I was young, Mum was a lot less stable than she is now. She was in & out of psychiatric wards and constantly working with a team of specialists. OK, not working with, fighting with…. but that’s the way she was back then.
One of the biggest symptoms of her illness was disordered eating. She got down to 36kg and was hospitalised for months, until she was back up to a ‘healthier’ 45kg. She’d throw her meal replacement shakes out the window. She’d refuse to be part of family meal times. And she had countless other calorie-avoidance tactics that I won’t mention here, because she’s been through enough.
Needless to say, 8-year old me saw her little notebook as the enemy. This was where she tracked every calorie ingested and every minute of exercise. If the numbers didn’t stack up the way she wanted them to, she’d do whatever it took to balance them out.
She was skinny, but she was as far from healthy as you can get. And to this day she struggles with food. Day-to-day, she can seem OK (she hides it well). But events like Christmas, weddings and other family gatherings, that seem dominated by food, can make her a nervous wreck.
I am yet to meet a person who is happy while they are on a calorie-controlled diet. These eating plans have their place when short-term weight loss is the goal. But they are depressing. Which is the exact opposite of what we stand for at Spring.
A diet packed full of fresh fruit & veges, sufficient dairy, protein with a every meal and an occasional treat will have you feeling fabulous and leaves very little room for snacks that will blow out your total calories anyway. And if you must? Simply copy & paste the Spring recipes into calorie king or another diet analysis tool.
