Hey everyone. So I haven’t written a post myself in a bit, and usually when I don’t post it’s because of two reasons. I don’t have time, or I’m not sure what I want to say. Granted this blog is considered a food blog, it’s also a place where I find parallels and intersections between food and philosophy, or I may simply want to tell a story. Well, today I was talking to a very close friend of mine (some of you may know her as “Veggie Girl”, which she is no longer hehehe). We were actually reunited the other day at her dance competition!
Anyway, so I was talking to her and we were discussing bodies. At one point I had mentioned that when I think about all of the tasks our bodies do, in a matter of time that we can’t even grasp or imagine… well, that is something that inspires me to respect it. You see, with my soul and ego I have more control over the cause and effect. But with my physical body, I can’t entirely decide how my body will respond. I definitely play a role though. What I subject it to whether it’s food, environments, thoughts, or what have you… all play a role in how my body functions. So that’s what I want to share today. The idea of respecting my body, and what that means to me as of late.
I’ve been becoming more intuitive with knowing what to do when I feel out of balance. I’ve also become more aware of what may throw me out of balance, and gravitating towards certain foods depending on how I feel.
I know that when I consume things that are fresh and with not too many ingredients I tend to feel a lot better. Only recently have I noticed how eating certain things can affect my mood, which has been very helpful. I’ve also noticed that sometimes during the week I’ll want something grounding like sweet potatoes…
Or finally get an A/C unit for that matter!
Towards the end of last year I started to feel this physical anxiety that wasn’t going away. Everyday I would feel this lump in my throat along with shallow breathing. Through meditation, getting out of a stressful environment, revamping my outlook, getting back into physical activity, and mindful eating and hydrating I’ve been able to overcome this. Honestly, those physical feelings of anxiety were unbearable, and I used to hope that each day would end quickly because at least I didn’t feel those things in my sleep. If I could stay asleep. The things I’ve been learning in the courses at IIN have also been extremely helpful and encouraging, and seem to be just what I need to hear at this point in my life.
I had seen something similar to this posted as a stress-relieving infused water recipe…
It has strawberries, watermelon, rosemary, and a bit of sea salt in it. If you want to check out the exact recipe, I shared it on the Perricone MD blog last week. Check it out over here. Also, I found out some incredible facts about strawberries when researching them for last week’s Perricone MD informative article. I’m still amazed by these berries.
Infused water always tastes like such a treat.
This was a creamy and delightful beverage–recipe spotted over here.
It’s mostly made up of avocado, pineapple, and three forms of coconut.
Some more “mood food”
1) I’ve been making smoothies for breakfast, and started putting greens in to see how it affects my energy levels and skin (so far so good!), 2) I was in the mood for lively flavors to go alongside the blackened tilapia: apple, cucumber, fresh chives, and lemon juice, 3) a grounding dinner at the beginning of the week: steamed sweet potato with coconut oil, served with lightly steamed spinach dressed in vinegar and olive oil, and cold fresh green peas, 4) cucumbers soaked in apple cider vinegar and honey… later tossed in some cold green peas, fresh mint, and almond slices.
My roommate has been making lots of gazpacho lately, and inspired me to make one as well.
This recipe has no tomatoes, and calls for surprise ingredients like mint and almonds.
I also used some croutons I had made out leftover challah bread for half of the batch for my flatmates. The other half was sans bread since it tends to sit like a stone in my stomach.
I foresee many more gazpachos this summer.
These have just been some recent observations, and I think it’s so interesting to see what intuitive eaters gravitate towards or perhaps stay away from.
I’m curious… taking a look at what you’ve been doing, what are some intuitive choices you’ve made recently?
I love your words, photos and recipes so much.
I used to suffer from crippling anxiety (still do sometimes) and a huge thing I had to work on was eating regularly and cutting back on sugar in all forms. Remembering to eat grounding foods and protein really helps with this for me!
Love the photos of you and Liz!
Thank you so much my love
One day you, Liz, and myself will be a trio in the same place. Imagine that!
I totally believe that reflecting and being introspective are a vital part of each of our own “medicine cabinets” so to speak.
cute pics! both are beauties! so glad you posted that cuke mint gazpacho! i have been (shhhh dont tell anyone yet…dairy free vegetarian with some eggs/oily fish) for the last 4 wks. i haven’t felt better it’s so strange! i also started taking a food derived womens once daily vitamin with chasteberry in it.
my intuitive eats are wildly creative and i’ve been craving variety lately. each week i buy fruits and veggies that i didn’t have before. for example this past week i had spinach and romaine, tahini, beets, banana/strawberries/apples, sardines, crab etc. for the upcoming week i will get something like collards, swiss chard, avocado, sweet potato, honeydew/grapefruit, tuna, shrimp.
Thank you, thank you! Hehehe I won’t tell anyone ;D but I love to hear that you are feeling better! Which daily vitamin are you taking? Also, have you tried the gazpacho yet?
I’ve been doing that recently too! On my grocery list I just write “Fruits” and “vegetables” (as if I’ll forget those lol), but I kind of just let my fancies at the moment decide what to get. I bet a tahini and honey dressing of sorts with cold roasted beets would be delicious! I got an avocado just yesterday and ate it with a steamed sweet potato! And seared some tuna today! LOL I think it’s funny how much in alignment we are. I love it
xo!
Awww, so glad you got to see Liz. I try to see that beautiful girl every time I’m in Ohio. I think it’s so wonderful that you are so in tune with your body. I feel like SO many people in this world are completely out of tune with how their body works and what it wants, which is why people suffer so much from weight gain/loss/dietary problems/self esteem, etc.
We should go on road trip to Ohio! I’m much closer now that I’m in NYC, but the thought of going out of town sometimes seems like… I would have A LOT to catch up on whenever I get back.
And I agree. It’s a complex situation that involves a lot of things from people comparing themselves to others, studies that are misleading, and not taking into account the concept of “bio-individuality”. That’s one of the reasons I blog though. Is to share my perspective as my perspective, and not necessarily say that this is how others will thrive. Also, to share the adventures! It’s fun for me, and sometimes seems like a puzzle.
beautiful post! hurray for a Veggie Girl meet up too!
Thank you! Yes!! I was so happy to be reunited with the beautiful Liz ;D
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Katharina-
I had some old taro last night with Japanese Kewpie mayo and black pepper, and a second serving adding La-Yu chili oil. Unexpectedly gourmet! I know what I want next with it – your tahini honey!
Jim
Ooo that sounds yummy! Did you end up trying it with a mix of tahini and honey?
-Katharina
Katharina-
I finished up the taro that night and then the next day you made your remark in this string about tahini and honey dressing. I’ve got the tahini and honey, but I’m fresh out of taro. I’ll try it when I get more taro; would you put anything else in the dressing?
I tried taro a year or so ago that I made into poi and it didn’t excite me, although I liked it best when it had fermented a little bit. When you mentioned taro a couple months ago, I bought some more, put it in my refrigerator and forgot about it. When I took it out, it still was good. I just treated it intuitively and ended up with a delight.
I don’t have digestion problems but I found that the taro was particularly soothing to the digestion – a real comfort food.
Jim
I once made a dressing using red miso (you can use white as well), honey, tahini, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, a bit of vegetable oil of choice, and some course salt to taste. I’m trying to think if I added anything else. I bet chopping up some spring onions on top would be a nice addition
I’ll have to make a note about the taro root. I’m recovering from a bout of food poisoning that hit me last night. When I start eating more than just nibbles of what I can stomach, I’ll be putting this on my list.
Katharina-
Hopefully you’re feeling better!
I have all of your ingredients already and I am looking forward to trying the combination.
Get well soon,
Jim