Pocket Snacks 9.4.24: 5 Steps to Enjoying Seasonal Treats without Food Guilt 🎃
Here's your weekly dose of digestible snacks from me including
a mindset tip, a media recommendation, and an actual snack/food/recipe I've been loving!
MINDSET TIP/SHIFT
This fall (the temps are starting to drop here 😍) and every season to come, I am focusing on…
🍁 Enjoying seasonal foods and treats without the 3 most toxic ingredients: fear, guilt, & shame 🙅🏼♀️
For me, avoiding seasonal treats, telling myself I’m not allowed to have them... it only makes me crave them more!
Instead of trying to be “good” and “disciplined” or any other title diet culture gives to its subscribers, I focus on habituation!
🍁 Habituation explains why we quickly adapt to a repeated experience - and subsequently experience less pleasure each time.
Example: the first time your partner said, “I love you,” how did you feel? After hearing it several times throughout your relationship, how does it feel now when you hear it vs the first time you heard it?
Habituation explains why leftovers are less appealing to us on day 2 or 3. When you eat a food over and over, it simply loses its appeal. It becomes routine, something that isn’t nearly as big of a deal! Scientists describe food habituation as a form of neurobiological learning, in which repeated experiences of eating the same food causes a decrease in behavioral and physiologic responses.
The only way you will come to believe that you will be able to stop eating is to go through the experience of actually eating, especially foods you’ve felt out of control with in the past!
The more you practice this, the more confidence you will have!
One thing I notice in so many people, especially those who have been dieting and restricting for years, is a lack of self-trust. But by making peace with food, you are taking back ownership of your eating signals, and you can heal one of the most basic trust issues and go on to a healthier relationship with food!
5 Steps to Making Peace with Food
TIP: I recommend challenging food fears when you're not overly hungry so you can be mindful during the experience. A good time to do this might be after a meal or 1-2 hours after your last meal or snack.
1️⃣ Make a list!
Pay attention to the foods that are appealing to you, maybe even off-limits in your head. Make a list of them!
2️⃣ Assess your list.
Put a check by the foods you actually do eat, then circle remaining foods you’ve been restricting.
3️⃣ Slowly tackle the list.
Pick one forbidden food on your list. Give yourself full permission to eat it. Go buy it at the store or order it a restaurant! You can start by having this food with or after a meal.
4️⃣ Be a food anthropologist!
Check in with yourself as you’re eating one of the foods from your list. Does it taste as good as you imagined? If I was sitting across from you while you were eating it, could you describe the flavors, texture, and aroma of it to me?
If you like what you're eating, allow yourself to savor and enjoy it.
If you don't like it, you do not have to eat it!
5️⃣ Habituate & Neutralize!!
With enough time and practice, you'll be able to keep enough of the off-limits food in your kitchen so you know it will be there if you want it!
If that’s too scary right now, order it at a restaurant as often as you like!
MEDIA REC (cookbook)
What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers
So… I love food, but I'm not a great meal planner and I don't consider myself a very good cook. If you relate, this cookbook is for you! I often tell my clients that my secret to building meals and snacks is basically making sure I have staples on hand so it's easier to throw something together without too much effort 😉
Book Description:
Perfect for beginners and those seeking easy cookbooks for simple meals, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking is the ultimate "I don't want to cook" cookbook. With its focus on efficient, flavorful recipes and minimal ingredients, this easy dinner cookbook appeals to time-constrained parents, working professionals, and anyone who craves delicious homemade meals without the fuss. Readers seeking uncomplicated cookbooks for beginners will appreciate Caroline Chambers' approachable style, clever shortcuts, and flexible recipe options, making this book a go-to resource for satisfying meals on even the most exhausting days.
This book is inspired by Caroline's Substack newsletter of the same name - click here to subscribe to What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking.
SNACK/FOOD/RECIPE (recipe)
If you're not quite ready for summer to be over yet, this recipe will help you hold on to it a little longer! 😎
Recipe Description:
On a hot, sticky summer day, this colorful, no-cook salad of prosciutto, melon, mozzarella and arugula belongs at the center of your table. Eating salty prosciutto with sweet melon is so classic, the combination of cured meats and fruit dates back to ancient Rome. Wrapping slivers of melon in prosciutto is still a go-to antipasto throughout Italy, but this rendition adds peppery arugula and creamy mozzarella to make it more of a salad. Make it a meal alongside braised beans and focaccia, or whatever’s coming off the grill.
Click here for a downloadable PDF of this recipe 😋
Did you enjoy this week's batch of snacks? Let me know!
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Xo, Eden
- PS -
Click here to download my latest free resource -
The No Period, Now What? Playbook!
What's inside:
1 - How and What to Eat to Regain Your Period
2 - How to Shift Your Relationship with Movement
3 - How to Find Helpful Providers to Support You
4 - Additional Resources:
Books, Podcasts, Instagram Accounts, Etc. to provide extra support
- PPS -
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