By Tracey Bennett – The Reckless Foodie
Our relationship with food is an integral and important one. We know that eating healthy food regularly feeds and nourishes our body and helps with many aspects of our wellbeing. However, eating well can often feel a lot more complicated.
Setting boundaries for what we will and won’t do around food is one thing, yet exercising these boundaries can be challenging!
Sweet cravings, in particular, can catch us out. We are then set up for failure rather than success.
We are immersed in the Western culture of fast, processed, and easy to access foods high in gluten, fat, salt and sugar. This environment feeds emotional cravings and leaves us void of nutrition.
We then crave for more of the same high salt, sugar, fat, glutenous fare. These cravings are a vicious cycle that many of us are fully aware of yet even then, we find ourselves reaching for muffins, cakes, chocolates and chippies on the regular.
We then end up wondering why we feel so shattered, flat, lacking in energy and glow, and stressed. This feels so disheartening that we again reach for comfort foods to make us feel better. And on the cycle goes.
THE MAGIC OF BEING PREPARED
The biggest tip I can give you to be prepared with your food. Preparation aids your ability to stay committed to your desires around how you feed and nourish your body.
For example, if you have a fridge full of veggies, quality protein sources, and nourishing wholefood grains at the ready, you can easily and quickly whip up a delicious and nutritious salad for lunch at work or home.
Likewise, if you have some quality dark chocolate available or sweet raw treats made up in your freezer, there is always something to reach for when you have a craving you can’t ignore.
I often have two or three different sweet little morsels in my freezer or fridge so that my family can have something yummy, sweet and healthy if they feel the urge at any time of day or night. Sometimes you just gotta!
I do caveat this by saying that when you have what feels like unhealthy cravings for the things you know don’t work for your body; this may be due to a nutritional deficiency.
One way to pre-empt this situation is to consume green smoothies regularly. You are feeding your body with the ample nutrition it is craving on a regular basis. Then, your body is likely to settle into a more nourished state.
I am now better at recognising what is going for me during these moments of craving. Thankfully, they happen less and less due to all the self-care practices I currently have in place!
Check out my recipe for Raw Chocolate Macaroons here x
