Friday 30 August 2013

Let's Heal any Emotional Eating Disorders


Emotional Eating is an interesting Topic & one I have looked into in more recent times....this has been a relatively new area of my life worthy of exploration, as I have never really considered, that sometimes, I am an emotional eater........ during  many years of my life I have stuffed down my emotions as a habitual way of coping!  I actually have any number of tools in my coping kit, unhealthy eating or over eating being just two of them. I still experience old habits resurfacing when I am unwilling to "feel my emotions", & in my resistance to "feel" what's going on, can choose food or a hot drink instead! This has become a journey towards, not necessarily a destination, at this point....

This picture doesn't look too apertising but gives us an image we may relate to!

Unhealthy Food (50 pics)




Have you ever felt compelled to keep stuffing yourself to the point of discomfort? Maybe you’ve found yourself reaching for a bag, packet or box of anything sweet when you’re home alone, tired and lonely? Perhaps it’s even healthy foods you’ve overeaten, such as a whole packet  of cashews in one sitting!  If so, you are one of many who have eaten for emotional reasons. I believe it to be the number one sabotaging factor & certainly doesn't support "love of self"! It's one of the habits that prevents our body from achieving its perfect weight.
Emotional eating patterns can wreak havoc on our mental, emotional and physical health if left 
un-addressed;  the massive amount of time and energy it takes up, leaving us much less able to focus on what really matters in our life – our dreams, our passions, our desires, our relationships, our contribution.
Despite what our logic and intelligence tells us to do (i.e. give up the emotional eating), we are unable to stop ourselves from doing it yet again.
Emotional eating can be a very challenging habit to release. In fact, it is typically the single biggest reason that people fail to lose the weight they’d like to. 95-98% of diets fail, and emotional eating is a key contributor to this discouraging statistic.

HERE'S WHY :

* It can be a deeply ingrained behavior in many of us.
* Perhaps we have been doing it for a very long time both consciously and unconsciously, starting in    childhood. Eating patterns are established at such an early age & it is frightening to believe that in many cases, these patterns are still continuing unabated 50+ years later! In my experience, I was rewarded with food for being a "good" little girl & it was used to comfort me in times of distress. My mother had a belief that a "tubby" baby was a healthy one, & that it also reflected "a good mother" at the helm!
* It can suddenly be frightening to consider our life when we don’t numb ourselves with food, even if it is a conscious choice we are making.
* Processed foods and junk foods are highly addictive so even without the emotional component, they can be extremely hard to give up. Look at all the adds on our Television & the Supermarket, the trans fats, salt & sugar components to make processed foods addictive & even the peer pressure ( particularly at school) to eat these foods....did any of you ever swap your apple or healthy lunch for a jam white bread sandwich or a packet of chips? !  My emotional eating habits kicked in when I felt the odd one out, different from,  and the tendency to avoid these feelings became embedded in my DNA, (as I like to think now!)  I knew nothing of what was really happening at this age, the decision to just eat the food that I could swap, was a very attractive alternative to my apple! 
* We are initially floundering at how to start identifying and serving our emotional needs; excessive
     food  intake to satisfy the longing within us to just "feel good" has become a means of coping with life.
* Up to this point we haven’t cemented effective ways of addressing our emotions.
What is needed to break the cycle of emotional eating and its consequences for health & happiness is  a safe space of no judgment, where we can identify our emotions, release our fears and what our real needs are, and then put in place, a toolbox of strategies and methods to satisfy our emotional needs in a way that does not require reaching for a chocolate bar. I have found that it's really just as simple as "Feeling the Feelings" & asking "where do  these unresolved emotions come from, every single time? If we are having difficulty in understanding where these patterns originate from, I personally find praying & asking with a strong desire to know, most helpful. I believe we can all find out, one way or another, if we really want to know.
With consistent application of these tools we can all move from a damaged, painful relationship with food and our body, to a joyful & liberated one.
When any of us have been living in a heavy, toxic body with un-addressed, toxic emotions, achieving freedom and lightness in mind and body, is truly priceless.

1. IDENTIFY WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON

If we eat without being truly hungry, we are emotionally eating. Depression, boredom, loneliness, anger, anxiety, stress, poor self esteem, fear & grief can be just some of the emotions lingering in the background waiting to pop up at any given moment! Over eating to feed a feeling results in eating a large quantity of food in one sitting, usually choosing "comfort" or junk foods. This must be terrible for our body & only temporarily numbs the feeling until the next crisis or trigger hits.


I apologize for the meat component in this Internet Picture, as I know many of you are at least vegetarian if not vegan, but it reminds me of how we can stuff down our emotions in one sitting! Pretty gross to contemplate, but a tool some of us have used for a lifetime in an effort to feel better. Not something to recommend when all we need to do is "feel" the feeling!

Yet most people with this issue don’t stop for long enough to really see what emotion they are actually feeling before they stuff it down with food. I gently suggest we consider training ourselves to stop when we have the urge to overeat and ask...... “am I really hungry?” If the answer is no, ask......“what emotion am I really feeling here?” This alone can bring so much awareness that it can start to make small shifts as we recognize that there is much more going on than just an uncontrollable urge to eat, and that we can not actually meet that emotional need, with food. I found this was not easy to do initially but it becomes much easier with practice & I can only recommend the importance of having a desire to know where these feelings & fears originate from.
2. FIND A SAFE PLACE
To heal our relationship with food it greatly assists us when we safely express ourselves and release the emotion we feel. A safe place will allow us to do this. There can be a lot of shame and embarrassment around overeating & carrying too much weight so a safe space to release these feelings becomes very important, along with a knowledge that there will be no interruptions.
Journaling can work for many where you can write about whatever you are feeling with no talk back, criticism or judgment. This clears confusion, before releasing the feelings for some people . 
Create or find a space where you can go to be quiet, think, rage, shake, cry, laugh, journal, pray, hug yourself or whatever feels helpful to you. Having a space for yourself that you can always go to will give you a sense of comfort, nourishment, and familiarity; a haven as you heal.

3. UNDERSTAND & APPRECIATE WHAT FOOD GIVES US

For many people who suffer from disordered eating patterns, food is the enemy. It is the thing we stuff ourselves with, or even starve ourselves from, and can consequently  make us sick by living these patterns. It is the thing that traps us into eating copious quantities until we feel heavy, tired, & unwell  & our uncomfortable emotions are killed off & replaced with an uncomfortable body! Others may want to punish themselves by starving the body of food, this is the other extreme. It is these habits that add undesirable weight one way or take it off,the other, causing an unhealthy body image; this contributes to us despising, even hating our bodies, further adding to the emotional components. Food is what some of us decide to avoid at all costs to stay painfully thin because that’s what we see as beautiful & worthy of admiration or our way of maintaining a sense of control in our life.......others just give up, feeling helpless, powerless , angry & judgmental of our weakness around choosing unhealthy foods, but never truly addressing the reasons why our bodies are carrying excess weight.
Nourishing ourselves with high quality whole foods that are not filled with chemicals, refined sugar, salts and unhealthy fats, and learning how they act in our body to produce health and energy, can change our view of food as the enemy. Respect builds for the role whole living foods play in us living a healthy life and in turn  respect for what these foods do for our body, grows. Health is definitely...Wealth. We are the Greatest of God's Creation but are we treating ourselves as such........Sadly, I certainly haven't, for most of my life but I have also now recognized that it is never too late to start!

4. UNLEASH OUR CREATIVITY & DO SOMETHING WE LOVE EVERY DAY

We have endless creativity and passion within us, although it may be suppressed right now. When we don’t allow ourselves to authentically express, create and be, we end up suppressing our Soul. Suppression leads to out of control binges on food or avoidance of eating a sustained diet, as a temporary way to numb those unhealed emotions. Finding a way to build in some time every day to do something we love, gives us a creative outlet for self expression, and that allows us to be exactly who we are, without the facade of wanting others to believe we have everything in our life, under control!  When I am honoring my needs and desires by actually acting on them every day, when I am humble & am willing to feel every emotion, I know for sure that I am far less likely to look for the answer in a piece of cake. I am beginning to understand that self-satisfaction and happiness comes with nourishing & loving our whole being – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually  – consistently. 
It’s not just recipes and menu plans we need to succeed, but a total change of mindset, strategies to overcome emotional eating, consistent and long term accountability of our choices & a willingness to ask "why", when our choices are out of harmony with God's Laws for a healthy body.
Without the drain of emotional eating, think about how much time will be freed up to focus on what is really important in life! It's an exciting prospect & I believe from my own ongoing experience, completely achievable.

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Natural Food Colorings

Birthday Parties are such fun for children but I have rarely met a Mum who isn't concerned about all the
Chemical Food Colourings, Sugar & Junk Food that their "Little One" may consume in one or two hours 
of  partying with friends!
 Here is a recipe for Mums & Grannies out there; it's a simple vegan sponge cake (without dairy, wheat or eggs) that can
 be cut into shapes to make your child's Birthday Cake design. It is obviously not Raw,
but some of you may prefer to go for a cooked version sometimes.The frosting can be naturally coloured,
I have given you some ideas under the picture. Raw chocolates,Chocolate Nibs & raw cookies add
to any design, I also think fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries etc could fill the carriages below!      
  • 500ml almond milk (unsweetened)
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 360g buckwheat flour
  • 50g cornflour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 450g caster sugar or sweetener of choice
  • 160ml olive oil
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • Mix as any other cake & cook until firm to touch











  •  


  • Raspberries for pale pink - gently cook fresh or frozen raspberries for a few minutes, juice through a sieve. Add 1/2 tsp at a time to icing and mix well.          
  • Dark Pink/ Red from beetroot - add juice from cooked beetroots to icing 1/2 tsp at a time and mix well. 
  • Purple from beetroot and bicarb soda - add juice from cooked beetroots to icing 1/2 tsp at a time and mix well. Add a small pinch of bicarb soda at a time to make more purple. The bicarb tends to keep reacting over time so leave for a few minutes before adding more.
  • Dark Pink again, this time from blackberries - gently cook fresh or frozen blackberries for a few minutes then juice through a sieve. Add 1/2 tsp at a time to any frosting 
  • Orange from carrots – add juice from cooked carrots to icing 1/2 tsp at a time and mix well 
  • Green from spirulina – add spirulina powder to icing 1/2 tsp at a time and mix well (Spirulina is a green, leafy superfood. Spirulina powder available from health food stores)
  • Green  Spinach, is possibly easier than using spirulina.. It’s super saturated and totally flavorless, making it the perfect addition to any green frosting or even green cake! If you have a high-speed blender, you can whip whole spinach leaves right into your frosting. If you’re coloring a cake, & you don’t have a high-speed blender, you’ll want to use juice.  Another grassy-hued option is liquid chlorophyl, which aside from being a healthy supplement, will impart an awesome emerald tint to your food. You can grab it at any health food store.
  • Blue from blueberries – gently cook fresh or frozen blueberries for a few minutes then juice through a sieve. Add 1/2 tsp at a time to icing and mix well. Add a small pinch of bicarb soda at a time to change the purple colour to blue. The bicarb tends to keep reacting over time so leave for a few minutes before adding more
  • Yellow  Look no further than your spice rack for all your golden, citrine, and sunshine-y needs. Saffron or turmeric powder have both got you covered, but be careful! These spices are extra strong. A little goes a long way, so start veeeerry small and test as you go. A great technique is to replace liquid in the recipe (either baking or frosting) with spice-infused water. Add tumeric powder to icing 1/4 tsp at a time and mix well
  • Another way to achieve Red or Pink   For a treat, try an orange flavoured cake with a pomegranate glaze. Use the berries from the pomegranate, just mash them or blend them, then strain the liquid through mesh to remove the seeds. Yum!
  • Purple  Instead of using beets here is an alternative method of creating Purple Try boiling red cabbage until you get a dark, concentrated broth. Lots of pretty purple color can be achieved without much change in flavour using the broth to replace other fluid.

Monday 5 August 2013

Are you being Tested ?


I love this picture, found on the Internet, this beautiful produce looks good enough to eat, doesn't it!
Small Mixed Box                                                                                $37

Since I have started addressing my food choices I have met with a lot of resistance, confusion & even criticism,  in restaurants, with friends who knew the old me & especially when socializing or sharing a meal with some family members! Becoming a vegetarian was "big" for them to relate to as they are all avid meat eaters, but moving on to a Vegan lifestyle, has thrown them a "spinner" from left field..."what on earth can I feed you" is the common cry! Funny how it affects others but also my own behavior; when we have different view points or choose to be different, it can really set a cat among the pigeons. I have found the temptation to step into line & not cause waves, can be overwhelming, I even find my addiction to please others so great that I sometimes find myself taking my own meal or taking a plate of something I can share & at least eat, if there is nothing vegan prepared by the hostess!....how ridiculous is that? Emotions bubble to the surface like an effervescent mirage of  " I don't want to cause anyone extra trouble in making something special, feelings of embarrassment or feelings of being so different from the rest of the gathering...an alien in the midst of so called friends or aquaintances"...the list of emotions that come up is actually longer, but I won't bore you with them all!
 We’re tested everyday, no matter who we are and what we do. This applies to our values, our philosophy on life, what we believe is ethical & moral, what we stand up for, our Spiritual beliefs....it doesn't mean we have to preach to others or try & convince them of our ways, but we can be the example & be willing to share our beliefs with others, if we are asked.  We’re tested by the Universe, our Law of Attraction, to see if we’re ready for the next phase, we’re tested by potential and current friends & acquaintances, even our partners, to see if we are living what we speak about!  And Yes..., we even test others in this way too —  I know I have been known to do so!
When you make the change to a different lifestyle, you are setting an example, so you will be tested to see if you walk your talk. Yes, we may know that everyone would benefit from knowing some "Truth".....perhaps including at least a little more raw food in our diet in this case, or on a spiritual note, knowing about " Divine Truth" (www.divinetruth.com ) & receiving more of God's Divine Love which supports us in really knowing ourselves & assists towards improving our Soul Condition".  Many people who might hear you talk about these things become interested on some level. That’s why it may cause initial interest, but people want to see that you believe in it first;  they may observe you from afar to see if it is working for you, often before they check it out through researching it for themselves, or before they take it on board properly.
They want to see it’s not a fad, that it’s not just another phase you’re going through! Certainly in my life I have gone through many of these phases so I can't really blame those who know me, of being a little skeptical!  I would like to think that healthy eating & desiring to receive more & more of God's Divine Love isn’t a phase for me personally, ( even though I still fall over at times) & that it has become part of who I am & who I desire to be. It’s not something you can unlearn when you know about it, even more so, when you have actually experienced it — you can’t forget the energy, how much better you feel, how much more inspired, passionate about life & how more connected to God and more loving you feel. This becomes part of who you are, it can be with you for life.
So when you walk your talk, when you’re non judgmental of other's choices (or of yourself if you eat that processed sugary snack in a weak moment!) , and when you follow a path that people may not see the truth in (yet), you give them a gift. You give them the gift of example, and you make it easier for them to see the doorway, ultimately leaving it for them to decide whether they want to go through it or not; if someones not yet ready to change or include something new in their life, then it is unloving to be pestering them or seeing them as "your project" to change them, placing them on your "hit" list!! Only joking, but I'm sure you know what I mean; we have all probably been a little over zealous when we discover something amazing on more than one occasion, & been inclined to drive those around us mad wanting them to look at the information or even change their current beliefs! 
You’re a pioneer, you are maybe in the top 10% of the population  because you dare to be different. (just an estimate!) You have dared to ask questions of your own, you have experimented for yourself and you have decided what is best for you. How awesome is that?