Want to get out of mindless snacking habits?
“I can’t stop snacking when I am stressed!” 😩
“I don’t know why I am reaching for snacks after dinner when I’m not even hungry”
I hear these types of comments a lot from my clients. 🤔
There is a biological reason for emotional eating.
When you are stressed, your body goes into fight or flight mode.
Your ‘rational’ part of the brain 🧠 literally shuts down.
On top of it, the stress hormones make you crave for high-fat, sugary "comfort foods" 🍩 🍦so you can feel less stressed (at least while you are eating!)
Managing stress therefore is important but it doesn’t come so easily. You have life! The everyday responsibilities of parenting, working, shopping, cooking, relationship, friendship and everything else that goes on in your life can be overwhelming. Self-care tends to be at the bottom of the priority list…
So what can we do?
One of the remedies for emotional eating is to practice mindfulness.
No, I don’t mean you have to sit in meditation everyday.
Mindfulness is a practice of ‘remembering’.
Next time when you are reaching for your snacks or drink, take a pause and ask yourself- “Am I actually hungry?”; “Am I bored?”; or “I am stressed and need comfort?”
If you are able to take a pause when you are reaching for your snack, it alone can have a tremendous impact even if you end up having that snack.
When you can notice that your body is craving for something and assess how your emotion affects that craving, you are already taking the first step towards change.
Another tip is to have healthy snacks around.
Stock up on fruits- late summer fruits are delicious! Stone fruits and berries will go away soon so eat them up while you can!
If your kitchen is filled with healthy snacks, you are more likely to eat them instead of other options that you may regret later.
These are just a couple of tips to start making a shift from mindless comfort snacking. Let me know how it goes!
Today’s recipe features one of my favorite autumn vegetables- butternut squash. You can substitute with other squashes (I personally love Kabocha squash!) See recipe below :)
For your health,
Ai
Easy Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 apple or pear, chopped
sea salt
1 large butternut squash, cut in half
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 375F
Sprinkle the cavities of the squash with salt and pepper and tuck a sprig of sage into each. Place cut-side-down on the baking sheet and roast until completely tender.
Heat olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat, add the onion, carrots, and apple/pear (if using) and cook for about 10min.
Add roasted squash flesh (you can spoon them out of the skin), stock, salt and pepper and bring to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Transfer the soup to a blender, in batches, and purée (or use an immersion blender). Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Add more broth if the soup is too thick.
Serve the soup in a bowl, top with cream (or crème fraîche or coconut milk) herbs, seeds, etc. and enjoy!
