Emotional Eating

During this difficult time we are all staying at home more and  one way to occupy our time is to eat.   That’s okay if we stick to eating healthy foods and limit our  sweets or treats.  

I have a tendency to emotional eating and I love food.   I eat when happy, stressed, bored, or anxious.  I have had food issues all my life but I now know what unhealthy food items can do to my system and how they impact my overall health.    There are better  alternatives.  I have posted some great recipes  for healthier treats and comfort foods  and will post more in the days ahead. Someone who survived the coronus virus asked people to not smoke, as you may one day need your lungs.  I am asking that you not eat sugary nutritional bankrupt foods as you may one day need your immune system. 

I am also trying to be patient, kind and forgiving to myself and ask you to do the same.  I am not perfect, no one is,  but I also do not want to come out of this quarantine worse off than before. 

Here  are a few things that might help  with emotional  food issues during stressful times: 

1. Take away temptation.   Focus on buying and preparing healthy foods.  This is not the time to rely on frankenfoods and processed foods with little nutritional value.  If you don't have it in the house you can't eat it. Don't shop when you are feeling sad or depressed.  
   
2. Try healthier versions of your comfort foods. For example, the superfood fudge I posted earlier instead of a commercial chocolate bar or add cauliflower to your mac and cheese.  
   
3. Try a new recipe each day or try one from my cookbook. ( I will share my absolute healthy comfort food with you today).  
   
4. Eat 2 or 3 healthy meals a day.  Avoid snacking in between. Give your body a rest in between meals to repair and rest. Constantly bombarding your digestion with food stresses your digestive system.  
   
5. Keep a food diary.  Record when, where and how much you ate and how you felt.  Were you actually hungry?  Did you eat just because it was there in front of you?  Do you see a pattern emerging? 
   
6. Drink  herbal teas, lemon water and liquids  in between meals.  I am drinking chaga tea for immunity each day.  
   
7. Work on your stress response.  Try some yoga, meditation or savasana.  Do some deep breathing and the urge to eat may subside. 
   
8. Fight boredom.  Instead of eating, distract yourself with an alternative activity.  Find something to do while watching tv so you don't turn to food.  
   
9. Eat a variety of foods.  This will result in less boredom with food and a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the meal.  Many health specialists believe that the reason people still have cravings after eating is because their food lacks nutrients the body needs.  Your body is craving more and it's not sweets or dessert it needs but more healthy foods.  
   
10.  Try intermittent fasting.  This is a method of systematically eating where you leave a minimum 8 hours between your last bite of food at night and your first bite in the morning.  When you expand that window to 16 hours you are intermittently fasting.  So you could only eat between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or if you eat your supper later, eat between 12 noon. and 8 p.m.  Of course, you may need to work up to the 16 hour fasting period.  Research is showing many benefits to this practice. For example, physiological changes result in regulation of blood pressure, a strengthened  immune system, lowered blood insulin and sugar levels, reversal of type 2 diabetes and increased energy.  
    

I hope these suggestions help.  This is a great time to reflect on how we are treating our bodies, our minds and even the environment.  It is a great time to explore how what we eat affects well-being. 

As promised, my favourite comfort food:  

Sauteed Cauliflower Pearls with Veggies 

2 tablespoons (30 ml) coconut or avocado oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup (250 ml) diced mushrooms 
1 cup (250 ml) green vegetables such as zucchini, spinach, asparagus, cut in small pieces
2 cups (500 ml) cauliflower pearls (or small pieces of cauliflower) 
¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth
½ to ¾ cup goat feta cheese, crumbled 

In a large frying pan on medium heat, saute onions until soft.  Add mushrooms, green veggies, and cook until tender.   Add cauliflower and broth.  Turn heat to low and simmer until cauliflower is cooked and liquid is reduced.  Add the cheese, remove from the heat when it starts to melt.  Serve.  Great as leftovers.  

Enjoy!!!!
 

​