Most of us know the feeling…..when our emotions are too much to handle and we want to deny or bury them with food.  Or if we just don’t know what we are feeling and food is the comfort we have always turned to.  I am an emotional eater.  After turning to a mostly living food lifestyle, I still tend to indulge in the sugar treat, but it only makes me feel crappy.  Alas, even the emotional eating part of my life has changed.

When you feel your strongest cravings for food, chances are you are at your weakest point emotionally.  You may find yourself turning to food and not even know why.  Maybe you understand you are doing it for comfort, or to help you face a problem, handle stress, fight boredom, express anger or deal with anxiety.  Most of us do it unconsciously.  Whether consciously or unconsciously, it will affect your physical and emotional well being.

Emotional eating will sabotage your weight-loss efforts and will lead to eating too much, especially during this holiday time.  You may overeat for many reasons; unemployment, health problems, bad weather, fatigue, work stress or relationship problems.  Eating for these reasons can often lead to eating too much of the high fat, high calorie and the sugar rich foods!  Some people actually eat less during high emotional times.  I tend to eat less during depressing times.  Like with the recent passing of my father, even though I think about food constantly, my stomach won’t allow overeating.  I’ve had many moments where I don’t even remember eating.  And I look at my plate and it’s gone and I didn’t even enjoy it.  You could be reaching for some food right now as you read this and not even thinking about what’s happening.  You may also reach for food instead of dealing with a painful situation.  I’m trying to cry when I need to and take advantage of alone time, but also find comfort in family and friends.

Do the emotions you’ve tried to deny by eating actually go away? No, they often return and will drive you to overeat again, unless you deal with them.  It is an unhealthy cycle.  However,  you must first realize you are doing it.  Try not to beat yourself up for eating without thinking.  Let’s go over some techniques to help you the next time you reach for food instead of that kleenex.

• Think before you eat.  Do you want to eat because you are emotional or because you are hungry?  Is your stomach grumbling?  Did you just recently eat?  Give this craving a little time to pass.  Take a walk or drink a glass of water first.
• Try to deal with stress in other ways.  If you eat to calm stress, try yoga, meditation or listening to relaxing music.
• Get support from friends or family or a group.  These people will help and can sometimes talk you through what you are really feeling.
• Writing down how you are feeling when you think you want to eat or keeping a food diary can help.  This may help you see the patterns and help you connect your mood with food.
• Here’s something I do:  Don’t keep those snacks you tend to over indulge with around the house.  If I don’t have them, I can’t eat them.  Or I will just buy one cookie, instead of a whole box.
• It’s ok to enjoy an occasional treat.  Don’t deprive yourself.  That will just increase your food cravings. 
• Healthy snacks.  You can never have enough around the house.  Choose raw, such as fresh fruit and veggies.  I don’t use salad dressing usually.  A big salad with every veggie that’s available.  Add some fruit or lemon juice for a dressing.  Mix well.
• It’s hard to fight boredom.  We have so many coping mechanisms. I find laughing to help with boredom.  Always have on hand a funny movie or a classic sitcom.  How about playing your favorite artist really loud and dancing around the house?
• Are you getting enough sleep?  It’s hard to feel stable with your emotions if you are also tired.  Naps are good and you should not feel guilty.
• If you still can’t get a grip on your emotions, seek professional help.  A therapist will help you understand your emotional eating and help you learn new coping skills.

And here’s the most important one: If you have an emotional eating episode, forgive yourself. Write about it and plan what you can do to prevent it in the future.  Focus on the positive and what you are learning.

As always, I wish you a healthy and happy holiday.  Keep in touch with your feelings.  Make the choice to feel joy.  PEACE

 

People always ask me…”Is it hard not having all your stuff?”  I say “No, I always travel with my Vitamix!  That and my toothbrush.  Good to go.”

Happy Holidays….Ring in the New Year!  Yes, my Vitamix is always with me.  Thought I’d help you out with some recipes for this season.  Of course, I use my Vitamix most for green smoothies.  It always surprises me that I can drink these on cold winter mornings.  Your body gets used to having them and starts to crave them.  The past few days I was able to purchase some great organic cukes from the local store and have been juicing them in my Champion.  A great start to a day filled with healthy eating.  Then a great way to end the day is with some raw ice cream from the Champion using the blank screen.  It’s tough to eat healthy, especially during this time.  Try eating raw veggies or drinking water before your big meal.  If I start the day with something healthy and then eat a big salad for lunch, I feel a lot better if I splurge a little at dinner.   Plus I’m not as hungry.  My body has already gotten a lot of good nutrients and vitamins for breakfast and lunch.

Banana Cream Pie (Raw)  This is for my brother!

Crust:  3 cups walnuts, soaked and dehydrated (you can buy these in health food stores)  1/4 cup dates, pitted and soaked (3 hours or more)  1/2 tspn Bragg Liquid Aminos or pinch of salt

Filling:  2 cups young coconut meat, 3 medium ripe bananas, cut into pieces  2/3 cup macadamia nuts, soaked   10 dates, pitted and soaked  2 Tblspns psyllium husks powder  1/2 cup water of one young coconut  2 Tblspns alcohol-free vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean  4 ripe bananas

For the crust: Using your food processor, finely grind the walnuts to a crumble.  Add the 1/4 cup dates and Braggs and process until combined.  The mixture should be slightly sticky.  Press the dough into a pie plate.  You can dehydrate overnight if you want a crunchy crust.

For the filling:  In a Vitamix or strong blender, combine the coconut meat and coconut water, bananas, macadamia nuts, 10 dates, psyllium, and vanilla.  Blend until very smooth and creamy. Stir in the sliced bananas and spread this filling evenly over the crust.  You can decorate the top with sliced bananas, tossing them in lemon juice to prevent browning first.

This is so easy, right?  Even if you do not eat a raw diet, all of these ingredients are found in your local store.  Treat your family and loved ones with something they’d never expect.  And they will be sure to love it.

Did you happen to catch one of the episodes of “Dinner Impossible”, where the chef was at Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in VT and he made these really weird ice cream concoctions?  Well here’s one that sounds weird, but is rather lovely!

Banana Ice Cream with Date Carob Sauce (Raw)

6 bananas, peeled and frozen

Sauce:  1 cup dates, soaked  1/2 vanilla bean, chopped  4 black olives, pitted  3 Tblspns raw carob powder  1/2 tspn ground cinnamon  1 cup water

Use your Champion with the blank screen to process the frozen bananas.  They will come out looking and tasting like soft serve ice cream.  For the sauce, in your blender, combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  If it’s thick, add water.  Add anything else that sounds interesting to you for a sauce….strawberries, orange…you get the idea.

Thanks, Chef Kelly Serbonich for these great ideas!

Here’s a recipe from a Paula Deen magazine.  It’s simple and you can use store bought pudding or make your own with raw ingredients and freeze.  Use the recipe above for the vanilla ice cream and add carob for the chocolate.  I hope you’ll try the living food way, this is a great start.  You can also eliminate the nuts if you’d like.

Frozen Striped Mousse

1 3.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding  2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided  2 cups milk, divided  1 3.3 ounce package instant white-chocolate pudding  1/2 cup finely chopped pecans.

In a bowl, combine chocolate pudding, 1 cup cream, and 1 cup milk.  Beat until thickened.  In a separate bowl, combine white chocolate pudding, 1 cup cream, 1 cup milk and beat until thickened.  Take 8 (7 ounce) paper cups and spoon 2 Tblspns chocolate into them. Add a layer of nuts then a layer of 2 Tblspns of the vanilla mix and repeat again.  Freeze overnight.  Invert the cups and peel back the cup.  Garnish with chocolate sauce or fresh fruit.

 

Enjoy your holiday!  And remember….less is more.  It’s nice to share.

 

 

 

Last time I talked about fasting.  A great way to allow the body to rest.  Our bodies use so much energy digesting food, that a one day fast a few times a month, can certainly help with healing, not to mention you could learn a lot about yourself.  What’s the difference between a fast and a cleanse?  Here’s what Wikipedia says about a cleanse…”Body cleansing or detoxification is a treatment in alternative medicine which proponents claim rid the body of accumulated harmful substances that exert a negative effect on individual health.  Critics argue that such cleansings are often unnecessary, and are based on questionable or disproved scientific claims.”  Do I think they are necessary?  Read on………

Certainly the object is to relieve the body of the stuff that accumulates over the years.  I’ve heard stories of not just waste product, but one woman said she released a crayon that she had swallowed as a child during a cleanse.  Not convinced?  Here’s more…..My parents and brother were working at a well known health retreat where detoxing with raw food, wheatgrass and green drinks, is the first step to healing.  My Dad tells a story about a woman who was diagnosed with a tumor in her uterus and before surgery; she was going to give this process a try.  One day my Dad is walking by her room and she comes running out screaming “I passed the tumor!  I passed the tumor!”  Sure enough, that’s what she actually had done.  She took the mass to her doctor for diagnosis.  Get ready for this…..not for the squeamish……The mass was a tampon that had remained in her body for probably years and the body was protecting itself from this foreign body the only way it knew how.  Hence, the tumor.  Ok, so now you may be ready to set an intention for your cleanse or fast, right?

There are many forms of cleansing.  I chose the raw food way.  It took about three months.  Eating living food for three months, I believe, totally cleaned out any leftover waste product that was in my colon.  It also cleans out the emotional “crap” in your body.  Again, the body needs the rest from digestion in order to start the healing process.  Toxins like undigested food, left in the body, will start to look for something to feed off of.  These toxins also give off waste product of their own, and cancer cells in your body will feed off this waste product.   

There are many varieties of cleansing from dietary restriction to supplements.  Herbs and supplements can speed up the process of detox.  You can also buy products that are for specific areas of the body, such as the colon, liver or kidneys.  You can use teas, drops, pills or liquid for your cleanse.  Wheatgrass juice is intended for rapid detoxification and well as general health.  It is a living food.  It will immediately go to where it is needed in the body.  When I did my wheatgrass cleanse, I expelled mucous that was the color and scent of a common household cleaner.  I have a cleaning business and was inhaling way too much of this product over a ten year span.  Cleansing can also reduce and eliminate cravings from food to tobacco.  It can help with weight loss, increase your energy and alleviate some chronic diseases. 

I’ve seen in my reading, many medical doctors saying that cleansing is totally unnecessary because the human body can maintain itself.  I certainly would’ve agreed to that a long time ago.  However, now humans smoke, drink, abuse drugs and take in more processed and genetically engineered food than ever before.  Faster is better.  The faster chickens grow…..the faster tomatoes grow….well you know the rest.

So back to can the body heal itself? Absolutely, that is what it is intended to do!  But not if we continue to abuse it.  A cleanse is the perfect way to give your body a break.  Taking out processed foods, sugars, caffeine and alcohol are just for starters.  Does that mean you can never have a drink or eat a cookie?  Of course not, everything in moderation…..harmony.  Start to wonder.  What is it that you need?  What could be building up inside of you?  Are you attached to it?  Are you ready to release and start healing today?

Today, I wish you release of the physical as well as the emotional stuff that is holding you back from total health.

As always, please consult your primary health care physician if you suffer from any serious medical condition.  These statements are for informational purposes only.

Stress……some of us deal with it better than others, some have more stress than the rest of us, and some have stress thrust upon them!  Stress can show up in many different ways; upset stomach, tension headache, acid reflux, neck pain, eye strain, panic attacks, feeling frazzled, high blood pressure, forgetfulness, sadness, anger, overeating, undereating, increased smoking or drinking, worry, depression, skin disorders, sleep problems and ultimately heart disease and autoimmune disorders.

“Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger – whether it’s real or imagined – the body’s defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response”, says healthguide.org.  We all have some version of stress.  Some is ok, stress can help you in times of emergency or when life requires you to be on your toes.  Chronic stress and emotional stress are the triggers for health problems.  The body doesn’t know the difference between physical and psychological stress, so it will react the same way to everyday stress as it would to a life or death situation.  

How do you react to everyday stress?  Do you hold it in, you know, way down in your stomach, do you react or do you respond to the situation?  There is a difference between reacting and responding.  Reaction is just the way it sounds….you react.  That could be with anger, frustration, yelling, blame, or any of the symptoms listed above.  A response is a conscious solution to the problem.  When something frustrating happens, taking a deep breath, looking at the problem and thinking…”OK, this just happened.  What am I going to do now”? 

But it doesn’t always work that way, does it?  The body responds to stress quickly.  Negative thoughts creap in, the tension starts.  So how about some alternatives for the moments when the answer isn’t there right away?  Here are some things that I always work for me for those “life’s uncertain” moments. 

Change your mind:  Change your mind, change your life.  Positive thinking can go a long way.  Fake it till you make it.  Change the negative thoughts in your head to positive ones.  Yes, you can!

Laughter:  Watch a classic comedy movie.  Laughter can stimulate your organs, soothe tension and stomachaches and activate and relieve your stress response.

Have a good social support: Friends and family who are there to give you a sense of belonging, self worth and your friends can be there to alert you to potential stress situations.  Be grateful to your friends and family for “being there” for you.

Relaxation techniques: Yoga, meditation, and tai chi can slow your heart rate, lower blood pressure, increase blood flow, improve concentration and reduce anger and frustration.  If you can’t make the time for a class, just sitting still and closing your eyes and counting will help. That old saying, “count to ten” when you are ready to explode, is a great way to go.

Exercise:  A simple 20 minute walk can go a long way to relieve stress and its effects.  I just got back from my walk and my mind is fresh for writing. 

Healthy eating: Wheatgrass juice will clear the mind, clear the fog of the day.  Eating a living food diet gives the body the energy to heal. 

Understanding your sources of stress can lead you to the solution.  Will the above work for you or do you need something more?  Seek help from a physician or therapist when it seems life’s ups and downs are just too much for you to handle alone. 

Here are some natural alternatives to take for stress relief:

Nux Vomica: can help with irritability, sleeplessness and headaches.

Bach’s Rescue Remedy:  Natural stress relief.  I always have this on hand.

Find out what works for you.  Daily stress can be reduced in intensity.   Listening to a stress reducing cd in your car on the way to and from work can help to alleviate the stressors of the day.  When you arrive home, changing out of your work clothes and just spending 5 minutes or more sitting and breathing. 

Relax, breathe….I wish you peace

Staple, a basic dietary item.  In my life, it’s not flour, rice or corn, it’s almonds, dates, a sprout bag (ok, that’s not food) and some sort of frozen fruit.  As long as I have these few items, I can eat for a day or more.   Of course, I have more than that in my kitchen, but I always have these items on hand and here are some great recipes for you to make with these items. 

Nut Milk

–Two cups water in your blender—-I use the Vitamix.  The BlendTec works well also.   I like my pulp as smooth as I can get it.

–One cup Raw almonds–they say raw almonds are getting hard to find.  I still can find them in my local health food store.  I actually just found them in a big box store, though they were not organic.

Put ingredients in your blender and blend until milky white and the almonds are well ground.  Squeeze through a nut milk/sprouting bag into a container.  The pulp can be stored in a separate container for up to a week in your fridge.  I will use the milk the same day or one day later.  Since this is fresh nut milk, it won’t last long in your fridge.  But this is easy enough to make every day.  You can add more nuts and water or less nuts and water, depending on how much you want that day. 

Here’s what you can do with the milk and pulp.

Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Idea number 1:   Cereal–2 tablespoons nut pulp.  That’s all I can have since too many nuts tend to upset my stomach.  Add cut up banana, cinnamon, agave or honey, soaked raisins(these are quick, one hour or more), and any other fruit you have on hand or that you would like.  I let the mixture set for a bit.  This lets the honey absorb and makes it the consistency of oatmeal.  Enjoy for any meal.  Serve room temperature.

Idea number 2:  All of the above plus add some cold nut milk.

Idea number 3:  Nut pulp, finely diced apple, soaked raisins, cinnamon and honey/agave to taste.  This is a great treat for the kids too!   I just made this! 

Idea number 4:  Raw Chocolate Milkshake–2 cups nut milk. 1 Tablespoon raw cacao.  1 half frozen banana.  4 soaked dates(dates you can soak for a couple of hours or overnight).  1 Tablespoon agave or honey(optional).  Place all ingredients in your Vitamix or blender of choice.  Blend until smooth.  Alternative ingredients to add into your shake: Soaked walnuts, blueberries, strawberries, coconut.  Won’t the kids love a chocolate milkshake that’s HEALTHY!

What great ideas.  Easy is my middle name.  If I had a bigger kitchen with more counter space, I’d definitely purchase a dehydrater.  But as you can see, with many staple ingredients that last on the shelf or in the fridge/freezer forever, you can make raw, healthy meals and treats in no time at all.  And the best part?  I made up these dishes.  I didn’t follow any specific recipe.  It’s what I’ve come to enjoy and when I figured out the tastes I liked and what my stomach could handle, the rest was cake!  I mean, easy!  Yes, I still love cake.  I cannot deny that fact.  Is it anyones birthday this week? 

Have a great time experimenting with your food.  I wish you this week…ease of preparing your meals and snacks and healthy digesting.

Donna Bergonzi-Boyle

 

What happens when you “go raw“?  Below are some great answers to that question.  These come from Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach.  I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me sharing.  Because it’s nice to share.

1. You Wake UP!

2. You become more sensitive (things feel much better or worse depending on what they are)

3. You get to hear your own voice more clearly

4. You start to be kinder to yourself and the world around you

5. You start to believe in a more “magical” way of living and being (because you can feel it running through your veins)

6.  You feel more pain when things aren’t a good fit for you (and don’t use food to block that fact out)

7.  You have more energy to take action

8. You are generally more positive and upbeat; you begin to believe (and witness) that anything is possible

9. You start to meet others like you and learn through what they have to say and what they have done that there is another way

10. You begin to feel brave enough and vital enough to take the action required to make some big changes, if required, in order to be true to you

Ok, you are asking yourself, what does this have to do with coffee?  Because this next raw green smoothie recipe tastes just like coffee!!!!  I discovered this by accident.  Most of my raw treats are by accident or found by adding or subtracting something from a recipe.  You just have to let go of that fear of being wrong or not being worthy of feeling good.  So, here’s that recipe:

Uncoffee Smoothie

Handful of collard greens

Handful of spinach

One frozen banana

1 1/2 cup water

One shot of flax oil

3 frozen strawberries

Throw it all in your Vitamix or BlendTec and enjoy

Here’s another one that tastes like those Orange frozen drinks you find at fairs.

Raw Orange Smoothie

1 1/2 cup almond milk….here’s what I do for this.  Take about a cup of raw almonds and about 1and 1/2 cups of water and put in your blender.  Blend until it breaks down the almonds(it will become white, like milk).  Drain the milk through your mesh bag.  Save the nut pulp for a great substitute for morning cereal, and put the nut milk back in the blender.

The juice of two oranges (or if you are using a Vitamix or BlendTec….THE WHOLE ORANGE)

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

That’s it.  How simple, right?  All for you to get started on a living food journey that’s all your own.  It’s really about your journey.   What’s your journey look like?  I am not, by any means, 100% raw.  There are days when all I do eat is raw.  I always manage to get in some sort of smoothie in the morning.  If there’s enough, I’ll drink through the day.  That fills me up.  Then I have something cooked for dinner.  It’s a small portion of cooked food.  The more cooked I eat, the worse I feel.  That’s where I am at this moment.  I’m working on number 6 from the list above right now.  We’re really not that different.  Me and you.  The journey up the mountain is different for everyone.  The view from the top is the same!  I take a lot of small steps. Sometimes I’m pushed to make a large step forward, but that’s only with a lot of prior warning.

To end my entry today, here’s that recipe I promised for Halva:

1 1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup raw tahini (I just grind sesame seeds)

3 Tablespoons honey

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon carob powder

Place almonds in your food processor until ground.  Add tahini, honey and vanilla and process thoroughly.  Put 1/2 of the mixture in a bowl and set aside.  Add carob to remainder and process.  From here, either roll both parts together into a ball, form to a pie plate or eat right out of the food processor.  Now that’s what I love about my raw food!

Be happy and healthy.

Donna Bergonzi-Boyle