Southern SOIL
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Jovan Sage:
with Food in Mind
J
OVAN SAGE BRINGS HER EXPERIENCE AND PASSION FOR A MINDFUL CONNECTION TO FOOD TO READERS IN EVERY ISSUE. AN HERBALIST AND WELLNESS COACH, JOVAN HAS HER OWN LINE OF TEAS, BITTERS, KOMBUCHA AND MORE AVAILABLE THROUGH SAGE’S
LARDER. SHE IS ALSO THE CO-OWNER AND RESIDENT FOOD ALCHEMIST OF THE FARMER AND THE LARDER IN BRUNSWICK.
Perfect: The Enemy of Good
This is usually the highlight reel of someone’s day and the totality of someone’s life is often so different. For many people - myself included - those photos are often ways for us to encourage our-
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Knowing what I know now, I would have been
selves to eat better, to go on that hike, to really em-
kinder to and more patient with myself on my food
body the health and wellness goals that we have
journey. Comparisons at the gym, one-size fits
for ourselves. Or on the flip side the pleasurable
all nutrition, and a lack of understanding that if it
experiences like a big bowl of poutine on a trip to
wasn’t created in a day it won’t go away in a day
Canada, a glass of champagne and a chocolate
dogged my health and wellness goals. As an herb-
croissant at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a celebra-
alist and wellness coach, I get many of the same
tory slice of a New York cheesecake. Not the most
comments: “I know I don’t eat well; it’s so hard to
healthy things that you would enjoy daily but could
eat better.” “I’m really trying to eat more veggies,
hit that sweet spot of comfort and pleasure.
I know it’s better for me.” “You must eat good all the time - I’m not sure I could do that!” “I just don’t
Everyone is on their own journey with food, creat-
have the discipline to eat healthy.”These are often
ing a relationship that goes beyond what the latest
said with a hint of shame, creating this energy of
studies or nutritionists say. It all starts with clarity
tongue in cheek self-abasement. Shame is rarely a
around how you want to feel and what your goals
good long-term motivator in any situation.
are regarding food. Are your goals to eat more veggies, to eat less meat or to eat better meat? Is your
If you were to look at my Instagram or that of
goal to not overeat or do you want to eat more? If
other health coaches, wellness experts or foodies,
your goal to eat more fresh raw veggies from your
you are only getting snapshots of someone’s life.
garden or eat heaping spoonfuls of fermented
These are mere vignettes of how they exercise,
veggies with every meal?
what they eat or drink, and how they live their lives.
