Okay, yes – I’m as guilty as the rest of them!

Over the past few years I have been putting in a lot of hard work to make aesthetically pleasing meals. This started pre-instagram, to be fair, because I’ve always been a believer that you eat with your eyes first. And I love making beautiful food.

But it’s gotten way out of control. 

If you are following some #foodinspo accounts on Instagram, then you know that food photography is seriously an art. And all you need is a little time (but usually a lot) and, at the very least, a phone with a decent camera.

I do my best to keep up on Standing Strong Wellness but I have to tell you, the task has gotten daunting! These amazing foodies are taking pictures of their meals that seriously blow my mind. And I’m over here like, do I even food photograph?!? I mean, I eat pretty healthy, but somehow… it doesn’t look like THAT.

And by THAT I mean the perfect amalgamation of plant-based foods, surrounded by plants, flowers, a muted background and essential natural lighting.

No, it definitely doesn’t always look like that.

I actually appreciate the effort that goes behind these pictures, because to some degree I know first-hand the effort that goes into them. And a serious applaud to those whose skill far outweighs my own!

In the age of social media I think it’s easy to forget that your food doesn’t have to look like it’s straight out a magazine (or influencer’s feed) to be healthy.

It’s okay to have your steamed carrots, even if it looks like a steaming pile of orange mush, after a long day of work. You don’t have to make a show of it to be healthy. It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing. Heck, your ingredient doesn’t even have to match a colour in the rainbow! (Beloved tofu, I’m talking to you!).

But I do have a point to make in this post, and I don’t want to keep you waiting. So here it is, I’m gonna lay it out for you –

How to be healthy without the HYPE:

• Understand your food can be nutritious AND ugly

I know this to be true from the many times I’ve attempted to photograph a shepard’s pie. I’ve gone all out to put my own spin on it, subbing veggie meat and adding sweet potato on top, you know, to substitute the regular beige stuff. And let me tell you: it’s ugly as hell. It’s nutritious and delicious, but NO ONE on my Instagram feed wants to see that.

And if they did, I would have waaaaay more content.

In summary, just as Instagram itself can be serious Life Porn, the #foodinspo on Instagram can lead to some unreal expectations as well. Don’t worry about your nutritiously yummy food being pretty. As long as it makes you feel awesome, it’s all good.

Are you guys guilty of idolizing or posting some serious #healthyfoodporn ?

Let me know!