Category: Food & Mood

How To Care for Yourself when Caring For Yourself Feels Unimportant

6/16/2020

This blog has been moved to a new location! Please visit Jesse's blog at Wellness Minneapolis for this and more on a food-first approach to mental wellness, seasonal and ethical eating, and mind-body medicine.

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If Love Could SPeak....

4/29/2016

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"If love could speak to you about food it would say, ‘Eat when you are hungry, sweetheart, because if you don’t, you won’t enjoy the taste of food. And why should you do anything you don’t enjoy?’

If love could speak to you, it would say, ‘Eat what your body wants, darling, otherwise you won’t feel so well, and why should you walk around feeling tired or depressed from what you put in your mouth?’

If love could speak to you, my little cream puff, it would say, ‘Stop eating when you’ve had enough, otherwise you will be uncomfortable, and why spend one minute in discomfort?’"

- Geneen Roth

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5 tips for enjoying “bad” foods

4/18/2016

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Photo by Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash

I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoy foods that are “bad” for me. I put “bad” in quotation marks, because even foods that don’t provide nutritional sustenance can be good for your soul. Joy is nourishing too!

Here are 5 simple suggestions to help you enjoy your guilty pleasures without the guilt:

Keep special-occasion foods for special occasions. This is a suggestion comes from Michael Pollan in his book, Food Rules. Think back to the foods you ate at holidays, birthdays and celebrations as a kid. Save those foods for those occasions.
Share them. If you want to eat chocolate cake, share a piece with a friend or two. Enjoy fried food? Order it with a green salad and split the meal with someone. Sharing is caring - for yourself, your buddy and your bodies.
If you have a sweet tooth, consider buying just one cookie to satisfy you instead of baking one dozen. That works unless you’re an avid baker! If that’s you, consider freezing most of what you make so you can eat just one now but have some for later. Or, package up 75% of what you bake to give as unexpected gifts to your co-workers, friends, neighbors, strangers...you'll become very popular.
Aim high for quality. Set high standards for yourself and buy the best piece of dark chocolate torte from a bakery that uses high quality ingredients instead of eating fluffy sheet cake with grainy frosting or whatever candy is in the break room at the office. If you’re into fried food, look for a restaurant (like the Anchor in NE Mpls) that makes their own breading and deep-fat fries in lard instead of corn oil. There’s a trick in here that also supports Tip #1: these things are expensive, so you’ll likely think twice before purchasing.
Shamelessly enjoy them and don’t look back. Part of being a conscious eater is to mobilize your fork with intention. That puts thoughtfulness into everything you consume. If you think things over before you dig in, you spend your eating time unabashedly savoring each bite. Then with a guilt-free grin on your face, you wash your hands and move on with your day, no looking back.

What would you add to this list? Share in the comments below!

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3 Morning Rituals that will Revolutionize your Day

3/1/2016

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Photo by Jake Givens on Unsplash

That's a pretty big claim, eh?! But it's true. When you get a positive and healthy start to your day everything changes. Not only do these suggestions spark whole body wellness, but they help you get grounded in your body so that your obligations (like work...) feel easier, lighter, and more flexible. So take it from me: it's revolutionary!

1. Before you do anything else, drink a glass of water when you wake up.
As you sleep, you lose water through your skin, breath, and the production of urine. This means that when you wake, you are dehydrated. And what is usually the first thing you do? Drink coffee. Which is also dehydrating. Now, I'm not about to tell you to quit drinking coffee, but to hold off until you've downed 16 oz. of water first. Make replenishing your body's water your first priority.

Added bonus: Squeeze the juice of half a lemon or add 1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar to your cup to bolster digestion and support detoxification. It's delicious too!

2. Move your body.
Dedicate 20 minutes or more every morning to wake your body up and excite your metabolism. Go for a walk, bike ride, or swim, or roll out your yoga mat for a few Sun Salutations. You may find that getting physical activity in the morning is better than that cup of coffee at energizing you for the day.

3. Eat a balanced breakfast.
Americans are too accustomed to eating sugary breakfast cereals to start their day. Even "healthy" cereals like granola can have several grams of sugar per serving which start us on a blood sugar roller coaster we can't get off of the rest of the day. Replace cereal or toast with something higher in protein and fat. Scramble a couple free-range eggs with spinach and chives or make this delicious granola to eat with whole fat yogurt or almond milk.

Not much of a breakfast person? Find something that sits well with you to eat within the first hour or two of waking. A handful of walnuts is better than nothing.

That's all it takes to start your day feeling great. Try it out and let me know how it goes on Facebook or Instagram.

Now, get out there and make morning time look good on you!

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How To Care for Yourself when Caring For Yourself Feels Unimportant

If Love Could SPeak....

5 tips for enjoying “bad” foods

3 Morning Rituals that will Revolutionize your Day

I love food.

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