Body Kindness Through Food

Choosing food that supports our health is one of the most accessible routes to self-care, but is not always the one we gravitate towards when we’re feeling tired, agitated or low.

When we look back over a few days’ or weeks’ habits we can often gauge if we were “looking after ourselves” or simply following habits that seemed a little easier at the time or had a numbing or self-medicating effect. One of the easiest ways we can cultivate self-kindness is through the food we eat, but when stress hits it can send us towards what we want in the moment, rather than what we know we need in the long-term.

These can seem the antidote when we feel low in mood or energy, but more than the occasional cake or biscuit as a treat can send us round in craving cycles. It may feel good for a few moments but it's followed by the sugar high which we burn through quickly, closely followed by the sugar low - an energy slump. Ultimately if we do not recognise and break this pattern, we can create a reliance on them to lift our mood – we can feel this as a big pull at those times when we feel overwhelmed or are running on low resources.

Not so kind treats?

We all have those foods that come straight to mind – those that we default to when we are feeling tired, annoyed, upset, hard-done-by or like we deserve a treat. The likelihood is that you have a few to choose from and rotate these on how you are feeling – crisps, chocolate, cake, ice-cream… a particular brand in a particular flavour that just ‘hits the right spot’ – or does it?

There is plenty of research to show that stress sends us seeking for the quick-fix sugars and junk fats, so it is no surprise that most of the comfort foods we head for are seldom something fabulously good for us - it’s the rare human that treats themselves to a bowl of spinach! 

We can become very attached and seek out the self-soothing chemical rush to the brain from a concoction of sugar, saturated fat and possibly chemical additives in cakes and sweets. This can give an immediate chemical rush to the brain from feel-good beta endorphins that is short-lived and followed by a low that sends us wanting more. A treat can seem kind at the time, but ultimately does not move us in the direction of self-care and can set up cycles of craving that we don’t want to be going around, as well as contributing to health issues.

We can notice the effects of such patterns as a route to noticing, understanding and ultimately moving past them - rather than bringing in judgements of whether we are being 'good' or 'bad'. This gives us the mental and emotional space to consciously intercept these patterns.  

Consider these aspects that a ‘quick-fix’ food will give you:

• Sudden, jangling and even jarring rush of energy
• Immediate feeling of instant gratification, but an energy slump several hours later
• Increased cravings for these foods
• Reliance on foods for mood, energy or to simply ‘feel normal’

Further down the line you may recognise any of the following patterns:

• Eating so-called treats until you feel unpleasant
• Not really even sure if you truly enjoy them
• Feeling a cycle of wanting, having and then regretting
• Blindly eating without even really knowing why
• Feeling defensive about them, even when reading this?!

 The foods that you turn to in crisis may well be entrenched in a long-term ‘comfort and reward’ cycle, set up when you were a child and something you turn to when you feel that small voice nagging that you ‘deserve it’ or need to soothe quickly. Turning this around, as adults we can consider how we might deserve nourishment, rather than consuming more of the things that are detrimental to our health.

We can also notice when something is a treat - occasional and we don't rely on it for mood or energy - rather than more ingrained as a habit that we only feel 'normal' with when we regularly eat it. 

The kindness of healthy food

Home is where we can have most control and choice over what we eat. It is well studied that those who have unhealthy food in the house will eat more of it; when you can see or reach the biscuit tin or packet of crisps easily, even more so. Finding those snacks or easy to grab foods that you both like, and they support your blood sugar balance, digestion, immunity and heart health can be the antidote to mindlessly consuming things you may regret or feel guilty about later:

• Vegetable sticks and houmous or other dips
• Fruit you really like
• Nuts, or nut and seeds mixes - with some coconut or unsulphured dried fruit 
• Dried fruit for sweet cravings - unsulphured figs, dates, prunes are really good and support your microbiome
• Yoghurt mixed with fruit purees, cinnamon or berries - a little sweetness of you need from good quality honey or maple syrup
• Lentil or other bean-based snacks as crisp alternatives 
• Snack bars made simply from dates and nuts, or make your own as 'bliss balls', adding cinnamon, fruit, ginger, coconut to taste
• Good quality dark chocolate rather than milk

Ensuring we have the ingredients handy to rustle up something that will satisfy taste can be the difference between the healthier choice or defaulting to the jam on toast or bowl of pasta. Keeping foods like fish cakes, good quality veggie burgers or falafel in the freezer means you can always make a meal. Hopefully there are some vegetables or salad hanging around that you can turn to and add a quick and simple dressing to for a light meal or snack.

Here are some dressing and flavouring ideas of ingredients to keep in or buy regularly so you can treat yourself with kindness even when energy or time is low:

• The easiest and quickest dressing is a splash of extra-virgin olive oil and a smaller splash of apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, straight onto the salad
• Olive oil, cider or wine vinegar, Dijon or wholegrain mustard and a tiny bit of good quality honey, mixed together in a jar
• Tahini, equal quantity of water, crushed garlic, juice of half a lemon (or more to taste) and a splash of soy sauce. Add a little bit of chilli too, if you like.
• A good-sized dollop of hummus, baba ganoush or other dips
• Healthy sprinkles: Lightly toasted or raw seeds or nuts, crispy onions, pickled or black garlic, capers, soaked seaweed, anchovies, fennel or cumin seeds, sprinkle of goat’s cheese, a little rock or sea salt

With the dressing applied, a salad will last in the fridge for two consecutive meals, so you could have for lunch, dinner or even breakfast, or dinner and then the following day’s lunch.

You can keep key ingredients in the house to create other meals, adding up to a larder of flavourings – such as olive oil, sesame oil, tamari, spice mixes you like – that can easily be used for stir-fries, dressings and other quick meals.

The salad recipe below is truly delicious, chosen for its full sensory taste and luxurious feel. It also support health aspects like blood sugar balance, digestive support, immune modulation and liver function, so you can eat with full enjoyment!

FENNEL, MANGO AND AVOCADO ASIAN STYLE SALAD

The exciting taste mixture here keeps you wanting this as much as any less healthy comfort food. You can play around with ingredients to your taste or simply as you have in. The dressing can be kept for other salads or steamed vegetables and you can use garlic and ginger pastes or purees for convenience. Both the tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) and sesame oil are great simple stir-fry additions with garlic, ginger and sesame seeds.

SERVES 2-4
PREP TIME 10-15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
For the salad;
1 bulb fennel
1 ripe mango
1 large avocado
½ butterhead lettuce (or 1 little gem lettuce)
10g coriander leaf
5-10g fresh mint
1 chilli
½ lime

For the dressing;
1 tbsp. mirin (or 3 tsp rice or apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp honey)
1 tbsp. soy sauce (or tamari)
1 tbsp. sesame oil (or ground nut oil)
½ lime
½ clove of garlic
1 inch ginger root
½ tsp ground pepper
2 tbsp. black and white sesame seeds

METHOD
1. In a dry frying pan, lightly toast the sesame seeds and set them aside.
2. Prepare the fennel by removing any fibrous outer layers or brown bits then finely slice the fennel, removing the woody core.
3. Cut around the stone of the mango and avocado, scoop from the skins and cut into approximately 1 inch cubes.
4. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the avocado and toss gently to coat evenly.
5. Finley slice coriander, mint and chilli and place in a bowl with the fennel, mango, avocado and roughly torn washed lettuce leaves.
6. To make the dressing, peel and mince garlic and ginger and add to a small bowl with the remaining dressing ingredients and whisk briefly to combine.
7. Add 2 tbsp. dressing (or more if desired) to the salad and mix together.

SERVING SUGGESTION
Top with a few slices of chilli, fresh picked coriander leaves and a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds to serve.
Serve as an accompaniment to summer rolls or topped with soy marinated chicken breast or tofu or some cashew nuts.

STORAGE
This salad is best served fresh but will keep a day in the fridge if the avocado is coated with lime juice but the salad isn't dressed until serving.

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