This is where we share our favorite tips, tricks, secrets, and ways to "think like a healthy person" so that you can find your own delicious path to healthy living.
"Feel-Good Mondays" are meant to help us get back into that place of feeling energized, nourished, and ready to take inspired action for the week ahead.
A client was telling me that she was feeling really guilty about the comfort and pleasure she got from eating a cheeseburger and fries (ok, and a milkshake, too!) and she said, "I can't wait for the day when I'll just be able to separate my emotions from food!"
Sound familiar?
If you're a human being, chances are, at some point, you took comfort from your food at some point. When I was a kid, a cider donut at the local farmers market was the ultimate "comfort food.” It meant sunny days of apple picking, time palling around with my mom, and long, leisurely, fun afternoons. In college, my comfort food of choice became a bagel with lox and cream cheese. In my twenties, it was pizza, scones, and…more bagels.
These days, we've been so conditioned to think that getting "comfort" from our food is WRONG. We can be led to believe food is meant to act as pure sustenance, nourishment, and to be completely separate from anything "emotional.”
I think that’s B-S.
Experiencing comfort, pleasure, joy, and — yes — feeling "emotional" about our food is absolutely normal. Food is a part of everyone's culture, it can represent ritual and family, and it's there with us during times of celebration, tragedy, and everything in between.
To be clear, I'm not saying, "Feel sad? Go nuts on 2 pints of ice cream tonight!" Obviously, that probably wouldn't lead to the best results in the end (you might feel great for a few minutes, but you’ll likely suffer some consequences later). But what I have found for myself, and for our clients, is that finding healthier, more nourishing choices — that still hit those cravings — is the best way to go.
These days, my go-to comfort food of choice is homemade waffles or pancakes with my family. I whip up a batch of high-protein, gluten-free, paleo pancakes or waffles EVERY weekend! Warm, topped with grass-fed butter, drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with berries, I find our family weekend breakfasts so comforting. By switching over from the usual white flour/sugary recipe I would have used in the past to a much healthier version, I can get the same level of comfort (and delicious, scrumptious joy!) without the detrimental health impact.
Are there food-switches you can make in your life that would still feel comforting, pleasurable, and enjoyable that could be an upgrade from your current choices?
I recommend experimenting to find out!
Seek out healthy cookbooks and cooking blogs.
Check out your local health food store for alternative options.
Feeling comforted and getting pleasure from food is natural, normal, and nothing to be ashamed of.
With love,
PS: Can we help you swap out some of your less-healthy options for renovated alternatives? Post your favorite comfort foods on our Facebook page or DM me via Instagram and we'll see if we can renovate your recipes for you!
 |
 |
