Comfort Food Without Sacrificing Your Health
Ever wonder why it’s easier to slim down in the summer and just as easy to put the pounds right back on in the winter?
For one, summer weather calls for less clothing, revealing more of our true shape, and the winter weather makes it perfectly appropriate to wear sweats, big coats and basically “hide” under our clothes. Summer comes, the layers come off, and the cycle continues.
How do we break the cycle you ask? Choose comfort food that is waistline friendly. More importantly, food choices shouldn’t only be driven by potential weight gain/loss, but by overall health and wellness benefits the choice provides. Protecting your heart health, gut health and sense of well-being should always trump your motivation to lose weight. Having a goal of a healthy body will naturally produce a slim body. That said, does healthy comfort food really satisfy in the same way our dream come true comfort food would?
Answer, yes!
Making healthy choices, that are also delicious and satisfying, is a double win. You won’t have the temporary pleasure, followed by guilt cycle, that often occurs when eating foods high in fat and calories, but low in nutrition. Whereas, healthy comfort food choices, still provide the comfort, but will not leave you feeling stuffed and running for the antacid tablets. If you really must indulge in one of your favorite comfort foods, exercise portion control. In addition to portion control, try adding a raw component (like a fresh green salad, minus heavy dressing) to your meal. The raw greens will help aid in the digestive process. Another idea is to add a bright, fresh component and make that portion on your plate the largest. For example, steam a bunch of broccoli and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. Another trick is to treat veggies like protein. For example, sear chunks of cabbage, as you would chunks of beef, before you pop them in the slow cooker to make stew. Instead of heavy cream or ½ and ½, use cashews to make a delicious cream sauce!
In the winter, part of what makes comfort food so inviting is the cold weather and the fact that it gets dark early. Once the sun starts to set our minds are programmed to want to snuggle in and eat something rich and warm. If you plan to have a heavier dinner one night, aim to eat lighter and more raw foods for breakfast and lunch. Perhaps a green smoothie for breakfast and a green salad with lots of raw veggies, and a light dressing, for lunch. Overnight oats are a great breakfast idea, especially in the winter. It’s a meal you can easily prepare the night before and is a great way to start your morning with a healthy, warm breakfast. Overall, have grace with yourself. Life is meant to be enjoyed! Delicious food is part of the joy of life, just not at the expense of your health.
One of the biggest issues with overall health and weight management is that people don’t move the way they used to in order to gather the ingredients for and to make the meal. Take out, fast food, microwave use and even boxed meal kits have taken much of the movement out of creating a meal. Exercising is vitally important to health and wellness, but it isn’t enough to pencil in exercise a couple times a week and call it a day. More natural movement needs to be brought back into our daily lives. The process of preparing a meal from scratch provides many opportunities for movement. For example, during the course of preparing a meal, you may engage in stretching to reach something on a high shelf, grating carrots, stirring, washing dishes, moving back and forth around the kitchen, bending and stretching to get out pots/pans/utensils. If a component of your ingredient gathering also involves movement, even better! Set a goal that feels realistic for you to cook, from scratch, x number of nights per week. If this concept is brand new for you, start with one night per week and work up from there! Habit takes at least 21 days to stick, so make a promise to yourself to cook at home weekly for at least a month and see how it feels. Below are some suggestions for recipes to get you started. You’ll notice that the Vegetarian section has quite a few warm, comforting, healthy meals! Enjoy!
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Buttermilk Roast Chicken or Roast Chicken (served with Fancy Carrots, Slow Cooker Cinnamon Apples and No Mayo Coleslaw
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