The Angel, the Devil & the Dinner Plate: Navigating Our Humanity in Food Choices | Sherry Strong

**Why is it so easy to know what we “should” eat and still choose something completely different?** In this episode of *Rooted & Wild*, I welcome back **Sherry Strong**, food philosopher, chef, nutritionist, certified Live Blood Microscopist, and bestselling author of *Return to Food: How Going Back Is the Way Forward*, for a conversation about the wonderfully complicated relationship between **food and being human**. Most of us have experienced the little debate at the dinner table. One voice reaches for nourishment, health, and the choice we know will make us feel good. Another wants the cake, the comfort food, the second helping, or whatever happens to taste irresistible in the moment. The angel and the devil. But reducing our food choices to simply “good” and “bad” misses something important. Food is tangled up with pleasure, memory, culture, celebration, convenience, emotion, habit, biology, relationships, and sometimes rebellion. We don't make decisions about what we eat as perfectly rational creatures. **We make them as human beings.** Sherry and I explore what happens when we bring more curiosity and less judgment to the dinner plate. How do we pursue health without becoming rigid? How do we enjoy pleasure without abandoning discernment? And what happens when shame, guilt, perfectionism, or moral judgment become part of our relationship with food? Rather than another conversation about the perfect diet, this episode looks at the **humanity behind our choices** and how we might build a relationship with food that leaves room for both nourishment and pleasure. Because perhaps eating well isn't about always listening to the angel or defeating the devil. **Maybe it's about understanding why they're both sitting at the table.** In this episode, we explore: • Why knowing what is healthy doesn't always determine what we eat • The “angel and devil” dynamic behind food choices • Why labeling foods as good or bad can complicate our relationship with eating • Pleasure, nourishment, and the tension between the two • The roles of emotion, memory, culture, and comfort in food • Shame and guilt around eating • Perfectionism in wellness and nutrition • Why willpower doesn't tell the whole story • Developing greater awareness around our choices without becoming obsessive • Navigating indulgence without turning it into moral failure • How modern food environments influence what we want • Reconnecting with real food while still acknowledging our humanity • Finding a more sustainable relationship with nourishment • Moving from judgment toward curiosity • Creating food choices we can actually live with About Sherry Strong **Sherry Strong** is a food philosopher, artist, chef, nutritionist, certified Live Blood Microscopist, and bestselling author of *Return to Food: How Going Back Is the Way Forward*, featuring a foreword by Mariel Hemingway. She is the former Victorian Chair of Nutrition Australia and former Melbourne President of Slow Food and has served on advisory boards consulting with the Australian Government on public health policy. Sherry has shared the stage with Jamie Oliver, cooked in Martha Stewart's studio kitchen, presented at TEDxTokyo, and appeared extensively across television, radio, and international media throughout Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Today, she helps individuals and families reclaim their health through real food, nutritional wisdom, lifestyle transformation, and live blood microscopy. Connect with Sherry Strong **Website:** https://www.SherryStrong.com **Sweet Freedom:** https://www.sweetfreedomlife.com **The Clean Blood Protocol:** https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581254851796 **Book:** *Return to Food: How Going Back Is the Way Forward* https://www.amazon.ca/Return-Food-Going-Back-Forward-ebook/dp/B0B4F7RR9K *Rooted & Wild* provides general information for educational and informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Henry Hawk. The content shared on this podcast is not intended to replace individualized medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice, nor should it be used to diagnose or treat any health condition. Listeners are encouraged to consult with qualified healthcare professionals regarding any medical or mental health concerns.