Teresa Wolfe - Food Scientist

A healthy you equals a healthy planet

Nutrition

Wednesday Rant, 12/4/24: Rewrite Your Food Story This Season

Blog Post, Nutrition, Self Empowerment, Wellness

Introduction

Your food story isn’t just about what you eat—it’s about how you eat, why you eat, and the deep-seated beliefs that shape your relationship with food. This story is often written in childhood, edited by life’s experiences, and narrated by cultural and societal influences. But what if that story no longer serves you? What if it’s time to rewrite it?

In this week’s Wednesday Rant, we’ll explore the hidden factors shaping your food story and how you can start editing the narrative to better align with your health, values, and joy.

Why Your Food Story Matters

Your food story is the subconscious script that informs every decision you make about eating. 

It’s why you might feel compelled to clean your plate, why certain foods comfort you, or why you avoid certain dishes without a clear reason. Understanding and rewriting parts of this narrative that no longer serve you allows you to approach eating with greater awareness, intention, and freedom.

Unpacking Your Food Story

The first step to rewriting your food story is uncovering the beliefs, experiences, and emotions that shape it. Here are some common influences:

  • Cultural Conditioning
    Traditions, rituals, and societal norms often dictate what, when, and how much we eat. While these influences can be rich and meaningful, they can also create unhelpful patterns. Learn more about cultural influences on food choices from NIH here.
  • Emotional Triggers
    Throughout life, certain foods become tied to our emotions—joy, sadness, stress, or nostalgia. Recognizing these connections is key to breaking the cycle of emotional eating. Learn more about the influences of emotional eating from Psychology Today here. 
  • Social Pressures
    Family expectations, peer influence, and societal trends push us toward certain food choices and/or eating behaviors that don’t align with our personal health or values. Perhaps they were good for us when they originated, but our nutritional needs have changed and they no longer serves us.
  • Personal Experiences
    Past traumas, childhood rules (like the “clean plate club”), and formative food memories often shape current habits and aversions. See my previous blog post, “Why Won’t You Eat That?” for further explanation.
  • Mindlessness
    Eating on autopilot disconnects us from the present moment and our body’s needs, perpetuating patterns that no longer serve us. (Think of mindlessly eating in front of the TV as an example.) For tips on mindful eating through the holidays from Harvard Health, click here.

Steps to Rewrite Your Food Story*

  1. Pause and Reflect
    Take a moment to consider the beliefs you hold about food. Where did they come from? Are they helping or hindering you?
  2. Listen to Your Body
    The practice of eating mindfully creates more satisfaction with your meals, and thus you are more holistically nourished.  It allows you to tune in to your hunger, fullness, and satisfaction cues. You can trust your body to guide you toward balance.
  3. Reframe Limiting Beliefs
    As they arise, notice. Consciously replace unhelpful narratives with empowering ones. Instead of “I have no control at holiday parties,” try “I can choose foods that nourish and delight me.” A more loving approach is to allow yourself grace. Try a new perspective, with something like: “I love this food and I only get it this time of the year!  I gratefully enjoy every bite and trust my body will let me know when I am sated, so I don’t eat too much.”
  4. Get Clear On Your Intentions
    Align your food choices with your health goals, values, and the joy of the season. What story do you want your meals to tell? (I personally love this exercise. 😊) 
  5. Celebrate Progress
    Rewriting a story takes time. Acknowledge each step forward and embrace the freedom that comes with mindful eating.

*To learn about your eating style, another aspect of your food story, click here.

For more insight about negative mental dialog around holiday eating, click here.

A Final Thought

Your food story is deeply personal, but it doesn’t have to stay static. 

This holiday season is the perfect time to begin the process of rewriting any unhelpful food narrative with intention, mindfulness, and joy. Break free from the scripts that no longer serve you and embrace a relationship with food that truly nourishes your body, mind, and soul.

Wednesday Rant, 11/13/24: Joyful & Guilt-Free Holiday Eating

Blog Post, Nutrition, Wellness

Introduction:

The holiday season is here, bringing with it the joy of feasting and gathering with loved ones. But for many of us, holiday meals come with a side of guilt and a sprinkle of regret. What if this year could be different? Imagine savoring each bite without second-guessing yourself or feeling weighed down by the familiar guilt-shame cycle. This week, let’s explore how mindful holiday eating can be an invitation to joy and balance, free from the baggage of guilt.

Why Guilt-Free Holiday Eating Matters

Embracing a guilt-free approach to holiday eating isn’t about avoiding indulgence; it’s about shifting how we experience and enjoy food. The goal is to eat with joy and mindfulness, allowing us to celebrate traditions and connect with others without the mental stress that often follows. By practicing mindful eating, you can move beyond the cycle of overeating and self-criticism, discovering a holiday season filled with gratitude and contentment.

Related Reading: Why Loving Your Food Matters

Key Tips for Joyful & Guilt-Free Holiday Eating

1. Slow Down and Savor

With holiday schedules packed, it’s easy to rush through meals. Take time to fully experience your food—its flavors, textures, and aroma. Slow, mindful bites can help you notice when you’re satisfied, reducing the tendency to overeat.

2. Reframe Your Mindset

Replace “I shouldn’t eat this” with “I choose to enjoy this, and that is ok.” Mindful eating is about choosing to be present and making conscious decisions. This positive mindset can ease anxiety and build a healthier relationship with food.

3. Bless Your Food

Appreciate the food for what it offers—nourishment, energy, and pleasure. Recognizing food’s value helps shift focus from “good” or “bad” foods to gratitude for the nourishment and celebration it provides.

Explore More: Mindful Eating During the Holidays: Tips to Savor Every Bite

4. Listen to Your Body’s Cues

A guilt-free holiday season includes honoring your hunger and fullness signals. Start small, savor each bite, and notice when you feel content. By listening to and honoring your body’s natural cues, you can avoid feeling stuffed and uncomfortable.

Check Out: Non-Judgmental Self Awareness and Discovering Your Food Story

How Mindful Eating Supports a Guilt-Free Holiday Season

Mindful eating encourages self-compassion, making holiday gatherings enjoyable rather than a source of stress. This approach not only alleviates guilt but also strengthens our ability to set healthy boundaries and embrace festive foods without fear. Over time, these small acts of mindfulness transform holiday meals into moments of pure joy.

Additional Reading: Breaking Free from Overeating Guilt

Embrace Joy and Balance This Holiday Season

Imagine walking away from a holiday meal feeling content and guilt-free. By embracing mindful holiday eating, you give yourself permission to enjoy the season’s offerings without judgment or regret. So this year, let’s make joy—not guilt—the main dish at every holiday table. Nourish not just your body but your spirit.

Wednesday Rant, 11/5/2024: Using Food to Raise Your Vibration

Blog Post, Nutrition, Wellness

 Using Food to Raise Your Vibration—What Does it Mean?

“Raising your vibration” means boosting your energy and emotional well-being. Food is a powerful, often overlooked tool for this. By choosing foods that nourish deeply, you’re not only supporting physical health but also uplifting your mind and spirit.

How Does Food Affect Your Vibration?

Our food choices impact not just our bodies but our mental clarity, mood, and energy levels. High-vibration foods—those closest to their natural state—are rich in nutrients and help us feel connected and vibrant. On the other hand, highly processed foods often lead to sluggishness and mental fog. For more on making empowered choices, take a look at Why Are We So Confused About What to Eat?

“Let food be thy medicine.” — Hippocrates reminds us of food’s profound impact on our well-being.

Cooking Herbs, Spices, Seeds and Ingredients
Cooking ingredients and spices, herbs and seeds

Steps to Incorporate High-Vibration Foods into Your Diet

If you’re ready to raise your vibration through food, here are some simple steps:

  • Opt for Fresh, Whole Foods: Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins offer energy-boosting nutrients. Minimally processed foods keep you closer to nature’s vitality.
  • Mindfully Source Your Meals: Choose organic, local, and sustainably sourced foods when you can. These options are often nutrient-dense, supporting both personal and planetary health. Read more on the benefits of mindful sourcing in Loving Your Food Matters.
  • Eat with Intention: Take a moment to appreciate your food. Observe its colors, aromas, and textures. This small ritual can enhance the meal’s effect on your energy and mood.
  • Limit Processed Foods: Highly processed foods with added sugars and preservatives tend to lower our energy. Replace these with whole, natural options to stay in harmony with your body’s needs.

For a deeper dive into mindfulness and food, check out Mindful Eating: Nourishing Your Body and Soul.

Experience High-Vibration Eating in the 5-Day Mindful Holiday Eating Challenge

Ready to transform your relationship with food? Join my Eat, Savor, Love: 5-Day Mindful Holiday Eating Challenge, starting November 10. We’ll explore how to align your eating with high-vibration principles and enjoy the holiday season without guilt or regret.

During this challenge, you’ll:

  • Practice mindful eating techniques that harmonize body and mind.
  • Learn to savor each bite, embracing food with gratitude.
  • Cultivate joyful eating habits that make holiday meals both nourishing and fun.

Learn more and sign up here!

Final Thoughts: Using Food to Raise Your Vibration

High-vibration foods are a gateway to more than just physical health; they uplift our spirits. By choosing foods that make us feel alive and eating with intention, we can enjoy greater balance, positivity, and joy. Will you join me on this journey to savor every bite and raise your vibration this holiday season? 😊

Mindful Eating During the Holidays

Blog Post, Nutrition, Self Empowerment, Wellness

A Mindful Approach to the Holiday Feast 

As we wrap up our transformative 5-day Mindful Eating Challenge, our thoughts inevitably meander toward the holidays. Envisage tables graced with sumptuous fare, surrounded by your nearest and dearest. But here lies the question: How can we enrich this holiday season through the lens of mindful eating?

Reflections on Our Journey

If you’ve been a part of the recent challenge or are just tuning in, we’ve been diving deep into the conscious way of consuming food. This isn’t merely about choosing nutrient-dense ingredients, but also enhancing our awareness around the hows and whys of eating—tuning into each bite, each flavor, each sublime moment.

Feasting, Not Frenzy 

The holidays bring an abundance that can be both a gift and a dilemma. It’s an arena where the food is not merely sustenance but an extension of our social and emotional worlds. Mindfulness serves as our guide here, enabling us to fully engage without surrendering to overindulgence.

group of young adults at a lovely table with lots of holiday food celebrating the season.
group of young adults at a lovely table with lots of holiday food and candles raising their glasses in a toast. They are wearing santa hats. There is a part of a Christmas tree in the background and window with sheer white curtains.

The Gift of Mindful Presence

As you approach the holiday festivities, I encourage you to sustain the mindful eating momentum. Let each meal be an occasion, a moment to connect with your inner self as much as with those around you. With this practice, we not only savor our food but also enrich our lives.

Unlocking the Science of Mindfulness and Eating for Holistic Wellness 

Blog Post, Nutrition, Self Empowerment, Wellness

Introduction

If you’re earnestly working on your well-being, understanding the interplay between mindfulness and eating could be a game-changer for you. Let’s delve into how science substantiates this remarkable synergy.

Mind-Microbiome Dialogue 

Ever get a “gut feeling”? There’s science at play. The brain and gut are in continuous chatter, and mindful eating fine-tunes this dialogue. This results in heightened body awareness, allowing you to discern your genuine nutritional needs.

Chemical Messengers and Satiety

By engaging in mindful eating, you influence the body’s hormonal responses that regulate feelings of hunger and satiety. This isn’t hocus pocus—it’s grounded in biochemistry. Practicing awareness while eating helps you decode your body’s true hunger and fullness signals.

Emotional Equilibrium

Let’s face it, eating is often tied to our emotional state—something that science is only now beginning to decode. Mindful eating cultivates emotional awareness, offering a countermeasure to the cycle of emotional eating.

Planetary Stewardship

Being more conscious of how and what you eat doesn’t only serve you—it serves the Earth. Mindful eating often leads to more responsible food choices, thus contributing to a sustainable lifestyle.

Joyful Holiday Eating

Blog Post, Nutrition, Self Empowerment

Chinese family celebrating a holiday meal as an example of joyful holiday eating.
Holidays are meant to be a change of routine.

Traditionally, holidays were created to break up the doldrums of the dark winter months

Once again, the holiday season is upon us.  Traditionally, holidays were created to break up the doldrums of the dark winter months and give us an opportunity to celebrate glorious events and reflect on things bigger than ourselves. Holiday eating is an key part of most of the celebrations.

Worry about over-eating or eating the ‘wrong’ foods is overwhelming the spirit of the holidays.

One of the biggest factors keeping us from thoroughly embracing and enjoying the holiday season is our fear of gaining weight from devouring all the rich foods and fat-laden goodies that are an integral part of the tradition.  We carry this worry/guilt (spoken or otherwise) like an invisible weight on our backs through the holidays and it dulls our enjoyment of the moment.

Make a “pre” New Year’s Resolution and gave yourself permission to enjoy the sights, sounds and flavors of the holidays

Holidays are meant to be a change of routine. Why not play with making a “pre” New Year’s Resolution? Give yourself permission to enjoy the sights, sounds and flavors of the holidays. Joyfully eat the holiday meals knowing full well that this is a change of routine and a temporary shift.  Step out of your “routine” box and allow yourself to relax and embrace the here and now. 

The key is to listen to your body’s wisdom – eat what and when it tells you to eat. 

Great advice, in theory, right?  But not so easily done in real life. Oftentimes, that little voice within tells us we shouldn’t “scarf that extra cookie”, but we do it anyway.  

Hand, mostly covered with a grey sweater sleeve holds a Christmas tree sugar cookie decorated with green frosting and red candy pieces. There is a blurred image of a decorated Christmas tree in the background.
What is your self-talk as you look at this cookie?

SPOILER ALERT! This blatant disregard for what your mind is telling you in the moment does not give you carte blanche to spiral into a pit of negative self-talk! If you eat more than you should, be kind to yourself and just accept that you made that choice.  Rather than beat yourself up about it or spiral into a dialog of self-shaming, tell yourself that it is temporary, that your body knows what it needs and your inner wisdom will bring you back into balance again. When you choose to ignore or disobey your body’s wisdom, do it with awareness.

Enjoy the holiday festivities but do so with awareness and own your choices.

At times you might eat so much at a holiday gathering that you become gastronomically uncomfortable, moody or feel as if your senses are dulled.  Don’t add to the discomfort by feeling guilty. 

Young Asian woman with long dark hair, a white short-sleeved top and grey leggings, sitting on the edge of a bed with white bedcovers. She is bent forward, holding her stomach in pain.
You might eat so much you are uncomfortable.

Notice the discomfort. Learn from it. Trust that it is your body giving you a message.  Pain is a way for the body to communicate with us. Denying minor pain or taking drugs to numb pain clouds our ability to hear our bodies. 

A more positive and permissive approach is to set your intention to embrace the holiday season without worry or guilt, and to honor your body’s wisdom.  Allowing yourself grace and diligently disallowing any negative self-talk is the best path to joyful holiday eating. It helps you to avoid that downward spiral of feeling bad about yourself and robbing yourself of the joys and the opportunities the holiday season has to offer.

Set your intention to embrace the holiday season without worry or guilt, and to honor your body’s wisdom.

group of young adults at a lovely table with lots of holiday food celebrating the season.
Enjoy the sights, sounds, and especially the tastes of this holiday season with friends and family.

Learning to listen to and follow that sensory message is one way your body will assure that the colors, sights, sounds and especially, the tastes of this holiday season remain vivid, distinct, bright and, most of all memorable!

Happy Holidays to you, one and all!

Yummy polish poppyseed cake, with a cup of star anise tea.
Fresh polish poppy seeds cake, hot anise seed tea is comfort food for the holidays.