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Rachel Tiemeyer (her pal Polly Conner) is co-creater of Thriving Home and co-author of the cookbook From Freezer to Table. She and Polly consider themselves freezer cooking evangelists. When you hear the personal connection that Rachel has with family-friendly healthy food, you will quickly see why she’s so passionate about freezer meals.
Having their freezer stocked with family-friendly, healthy meals started with a freezer club. It met a lot of needs for moms! A freezer club sounds like an amazing way to socialize, have a glass of wine with you friends, and create wonderful meals for your family.
In our time together, Rachel was gracious to share a personal story about a struggle from her past.
It was in college that Rachel found herself binge eating. Interestingly, her past never dictated an unhealthy preoccupation with food. Her upbringing didn’t point to reasons to overeat. But a slippery slope of typical college life found Rachel in a position of choosing food as a comfort. Eating enormous amounts of food in one sitting all alone, Rachel recounted that time would just stop in those moments. To counteract the eating, she exercised. The shame and secrets would become a catalyst for beating herself up. Negative self-talk became a regular part of the cycle: food restriction, exercise, calorie counting, ending a day of self-deprivation with binge eating and then shame and repentance. All these momentary efforts to control or numb negative feelings mounted on top of each other. The cycle went on for years, Rachel promised each time to make a better effort, to promise herself that she would have better control. But when it came to conquering this eating disorder, the battle could not be fought alone.
Rachel gives us insight into the importance of sharing our struggles and the accountability that we can have in those moments.
As a Christian, Rachel was bringing this to God but she was battling this alone. Her husband suggested that she reach out to a friend that she admired. A friend, that she noticed, never worried about food. Wanting to be free of this obsession, Rachel confessed her struggle to this gracious friend. Having received grace and support, Rachel realized that the more she brought her struggle in the light, it had less power over her. Her struggle continued but she was walking the road with support.
It was a new season of life that ultimately brought a miracle into Rachel’s life.
When Rachel got pregnant, the shift changed from self-focus to “other-focus”. In other words, she was completely freed from the oppression of disordered eating!
But, even in that miracle of freedom, Rachel has an appreciation for the hard road she walked. She learned so much in the struggle, she saw God working in her life even in the darkest moments, and she sees that God has used her hard time to now help others. So, while there is rejoicing in the newfound freedom, there’s also thankfulness for the difficulty.
From Freezer to Table cookbook was surprisingly not a result of Rachel’s success of overcoming disordered eating but it was actually a health complication from her son that created a healthier mindset. When it came to the foods that Rachel and her family would choose, she found it was the processed foods that she wanted to eliminate from their diet. The blessing of having a freezer club created the opportunity to test out these new fresh food options. It’s Rachel’s desire of a positive attitude toward eating and healthy food options that inform the book, From Freezer to Table.
Organically, it was through Rachel’s various experiences that brought her to the place where she loves to share freezer recipes and encourage a family-centered meal time.
Rachel’s encouragement as she advises moms of young children to make the smallest attempt to gather around the table. Even if that gathering only lasts five minutes, Rachel wants to encourage families to start early and often when it comes to creating community around the dinner table.
The passion that Rachel has for a healthy meal translates to all sorts of healthy living. I love her perspective on enduring struggle and was so thankful for her willingness to share a piece of her story with us!
