Food For Thought: Winter, Week 1

Our first writing prompt in the Food For Thought series

I have decided to make the first prompt in the Food For Thought series free for all subscribers so you can get a sense of what I will be offering for paid subscribers over the next two months. This series of seasonal-specific writing prompts will help you to stay present and grounded throughout the holidays. The Food for Thought questions are like mini check-in exercises that encourage moments of self-reflection and release. You will find the first writing exercise at the bottom of this email.

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Welcome to Food For Thought: Winter

In week one, we explore the power of gratitude as we embark on our journey.

It is sort of cliché at this point to emphasize the power of simply saying 'Thank You.' Gratitude journals abound. Gratitude practices are sold as a fix-all. Gratitude apparel does not make me want to have An Attitude of Gratitude.

But whenever we begin a journey, it is important to take stock of what we already have with us. Plus, it’s been shown that gratitude has an amazing impact on our bodies and minds. Research has found that it can reduce stress, improve sleep, strengthen the immune system, and even aid in digestion! We could all use a little more gut gratitude as we head into the season of holiday feasting.

Focusing on the things you are grateful for automatically trains your mind to find even more things you are grateful for.

Gratitude can be one of the best things we can do for ourselves. But I’m also a strong believer that we shouldn’t force gratitude. There’s nothing like toxic positivity to make a tough time feel even worse. Sometimes by shining the light of gratitude, what we actually reveal are the places in our lives that could use a little more love and attention.

Sometimes, gratitude comes unexpectedly when we most desperately need it.

Last year, about this time, I was experiencing some deep grief. A friend had died, suddenly and tragically, and it sent me into a tailspin. I hadn’t seen her in years. We’d mostly spent our twenties together, being silly, trying to make survival fun. Those times made us who we were in the present, even if we couldn’t remember half the crazy shit we did.

After decades of restlessness, my friend had recently found a small piece of happiness. The past few years had brought her a cute house with a barn. Two kids and a partner. A fulfilling career. And it felt so unfair that just as she had finally settled into something good, her life was snuffed out. But I was also so glad that after struggling for so long, she had experienced some comfort and fulfillment.

And now she was gone, and I felt old and alone, and left wondering if finding peace was even worth it, when death could be around the corner at any moment to take it all away.

So here I was, in my early-winter, grief-soaked, existential-dread, dressed in dirty sweatpants, hair unwashed, hardly seen people in days. I popped by my local grocery store to grab a few things for dinner. In front of the mushrooms, I ran into someone I went to high school with, who had become a very talented knife maker.

My sister had bought me one of his kitchen knives as a birthday present a few years earlier, and I had recently started using it more. I was really appreciating its fine blade and gorgeous handle. The way it felt to hold, perfectly weighted. The way it sliced through vegetables with an aching precision. Swoosh. Like a seabird diving through saltwater after a silvery fish.

“How have you been?,” the Knife Man asked me casually, as you do when you run into someone you know in a small town.

“Well,” I said, “I’ve been on the edge. Like, I’m not even sure if I want to be here, alive on this planet. It’s wild. I’m spinning out. I’m a mess! But I’ll tell you what, your knife, man. It’s so exquisite! It’s like keeping me here. Keeping me alive! Every time I feel like I’ve had enough, I end up using your knife to prepare a meal, and I am just filled with so much gratitude for how lovely it is. I could cry. The sharpness. The elegance. And I think, this life thing, it’s probably worth doing a little longer, with a knife like this!”

Knife Man looked at me, wide-eyed. He clearly was not expecting this answer.

I felt embarrassed. I apologized. I found the strength to offer a few pleasantries and walked away. But it’s true what I had told him. In a world that didn’t make much sense to me, that felt difficult to navigate at best, and like it was actively trying to kill me at worst, this knife was a beautiful, important thing, and I was damn grateful for it.

I went home and sliced my mushrooms and thanked my lucky stars. And day by day, my grief ebbed and flowed, and I found my way through the dark winter and back into spring again.

I still love using this knife. It’s ready for a good sharpening.

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Here is this week’s writing prompt.

Try to find a quiet place where you can focus for 20 minutes. The point of this exercise is to write freely, without judgement, and see what comes out of your brain. You can answer each prompt question or start with the one that is most interesting and see where it takes you. Follow your mind, be present with the emotions coming up, and have fun. See if you can keep writing for the full 15 minutes. It might sound like an intimidating amount of time, but I promise it will end up flying by. Just keep going!

What are you grateful for in your food life? Is it how you nourish yourself or your family? A favorite recipe from a relative that you cook when you need support?

What can you be overly exuberant about? Can you find intense positivity in a lemon and it’s zest? A kitchen implement that gives you feelings bordering on the romantic for how much you adore it?

Is there a meal that saved your life?

If you are feeling stuck, just make a list of all the things you can think of to be grateful for when it comes to food and eating.

Write for fifteen minutes. You can use the audio below to time yourself.

If you had some good insights or surprises from this writing exercise, share them in the comments below!

(Also I will work on the audio quality for future prompts—this was my first experiment with it!)

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If you found today’s food writing prompt useful, and want more, you can upgrade to a paid subscription here.

If you don’t want to commit to a full year subscription, you can pay for the next two months and get all eight Winter Food For Thought prompts. They will arrive in your inbox every Wednesday.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds, so if you feel like you would benefit from the food prompts and material I will be sharing, but don’t have the financial resources at the moment, please email me ginarae@substack.com and I will gift you a subscription.

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If you are enjoying these food writing prompts and want to dive deeper, consider signing up for my 21 Day Food Writing Journey, which launches in January 2025.

As a special thank you for early sign-ups, use code Foodie15 at check-out for 15% off the list price.

This course includes twenty-one days of prompts and exercises, delivered to your Inbox every morning. This course will help you process your emotions, dream into your food future, and check in with yourself—all in less than 20 minutes a day. You may even find that by the end of the course, you will have completely transformed your relationship with food and found new sources of nourishment.

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Lots of love,

Gina Rae

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