Eating For Emotional Stability During Turbulent Times
Day 1: Hydration
Can I share something a little personal with you?
I LOVE helping people reclaim their wellness by teaching them what to eat and how to prepare it.
After launching COOK TO HEAL in September, doing live Cook-a-Longs every week, working with people 1-on-1 as a Functional Nutritional Therapist, continuing work as a full-time private chef… I get more requests now then ever on how to stay healthy and stable during these difficult times.
And I’m tired of saying “no” and declining calendar requests one after the other.
And I know that the best way to help them is by building a foundation of health knowledge and actionable steps to take in their lives, not just a one-off conversation.
So, all this week I’m releasing free and public information on the topic I get asked about the most- Emotional Stability.
Over the last decade I’ve immersed myself into any information I can find on holistic paths to reclaiming vitality, spaciousness, freedom, perseverance, and groundedness- all based on the choices that you make when you eat and drink.
I want this information to reach as many people as possible because it is incredibly simple and truly life changing.
Day 1 is all about Hydration. This is the foundation and starting point of every successful health journey. You can expect an email and short video from me each day this week.
I’m so excited to share with you just a little of what I’ve learned.
Day 2: Sugar
The “Rollercoaster” of Emotions is fueled by Sugar.
When we eat too often, eat too much sugar, and eat too many refined carbohydrates and processed foods, our bodies get stuck in a self-perpetuating vicious cycle.
This “roller coaster” is all too common now-a-days.
Does this sound like you or someone you know?
Wake up startled out of bed by your alarm clock and scramble to get ready for work and your kids to school
Quickly eat a high-carb, low-fat breakfast and chug your coffee
Feeling drained by mid-morning you refill your coffee and grab a pastry for good measure
Despite having just snacked you feel famished and eat a full lunch
By mid-afternoon brain fog has fully set in and you are ready for a nap
You reach for a quick pick-me-up: chocolate, anything with caffeine, or some crackers
You grab a quick dinner or push through and make something easy
To end the day you enjoy a couple glasses of wine to calm your nerves
You toss-and-turn before finally falling asleep
Wake up startled out of bed by your alarm clock and scramble to get ready for work and your kids to school
This cycle absolutely takes a toll on our physical and emotional health. By finding balance in what we eat and our relationship with sugar you can find stability in your day-to-day.
In today’s video about Sugar you will learn 3 tips to calm this “rollercoaster”.
Day 3: Fats
It’s day 3 of Eating for Emotional Stability 😌and we are having a blast talking with our community about some super powerful action steps to take for your mental and emotional health.
And we love hearing from you. 👏Please keep the replies coming.
If you know someone who needs this information, share it. 👊A great place to do this is on Social Media!
🧈Day 3 is all about fats.
🥥That’s right, those beautiful, delicious life giving substances that do so much to provide you Emotional Stability.
🥑Fats are extremely important in our diets. The human brain is about 60% fat and every membrane of every cell is made up of fats, along with every organelle inside of cells. Hormones, Neurotransmitters, and other active substances in the body are comprised of fats. 🤩So when it comes to eating those fats, we NEED to make sure we are getting only the best. 💯
There has been a great deal of problematic misinformation spread about fats.
Fats, at the worst, are still unfairly pronounced as evil and, at best, lots of people are quite confused on what’s “good” and what’s “bad”.
The food industry certainly hasn’t helped us, as they saw the low fat propaganda as an opportunity to create many low fat and no fat foods.🍦And they created an empire. 🏰
Most processed and refined “vegetable” oils and fake butter replacements are pushed as a healthier or more ethical option. 😳Which again, adds to the confusion.
Problem is the public doesn’t know how these fats are made, what exactly they contain and how these fake fats affect our wellbeing.
And, yes, that includes emotional health!
Vegetable Oils, fake butter spreads, hydrogenated oils, shortenings, margarines and canola or rapeseed oil are alien to human physiology and must not be consumed by humans.
⚠️These franken-fats 🧟♂️are cheap to produce and very profitable for the food industry.
⚠️They are exposed to high heat and light which change the chemical structure of natural, delicate seed oils, making them hazardous for your body.
⚠️They appear similar enough to the body that it still try to use them without any of the benefits that natural life-giving fats provide. The low quality fats take the space of healthy fats.
⚠️Processed, refined and industrial fats and oils, on every level, damage the body in some way.
So what to use instead? We call in the wisdom of grandparents and great grandparents for this one.
Use traditional animal fats, cold pressed olive oil, and high quality coconut and palm oil. For your cooking stick to Saturated Fats as these are the most stable type of fats and undamaged by heat. When it comes to polyunsaturated fats (sesame, pumpkinseed, sunflower seed etc.) they MUST be stored in dark glass containers and kept in the fridge, and never use them for cooking.
That’s what today’s video is all about. It’s me in the kitchen, showing you the skinny on fats.
We can’t wait to know what you think.
Day 4: Intuitive Eating
Confessions from a Nutritional Therapist
I’ve never met a client who didn’t have the best intentions to eat healthily, want to lose weight, or feel better.
So, what’s the holdup?
Why are more people than ever admitting that they know they can do better but still eat food that makes them feel bad?
The biggest problem is PROCESSED FOOD.
Processed food is engineered to be hyper-palatable and trick your brain into thinking that it hasn’t had enough and that you need more.
Eating is all about following your instincts, but unfortunately, modern food companies have made eating automatic.
If you don’t put constant effort into what you eat, someone will do it for you. Companies achieve this through advertisement, location, and, maybe most importantly, by selling you on the myth that “cheap and convenient” make your life easier.
It does not.
This food will have long- and short-term consequences. Look no further than the rising rates of diabetes, heart disease, and mental illness.
What’s the solution? FOOD!
Eat life-giving, Earth-healing, nutrient-rich, whole foods.
The Act of Eating is sensual, and when we engage in it fully, with all five senses, it becomes Ceremony.
My clients rely too much on me, telling them what not to eat. Instead, I strive to teach them how to ask themselves what to eat.
Be in constant communication with your body and what its many needs are.
When in doubt, your nose knows.
Be realistic: why do you want that particular food?
When we ask these questions of ourselves, and we know without a doubt that these foods will serve us then, absolutely, enjoy the ice cream cone or eat the cookies.
Just make sure you are doing it for yourself and not in spite of yourself.
Learn more about Intuitive Eating from Kate in today’s video on Eating For Emotional Stability.
Day 5: Breakfast
We've been brainwashed to believe that boring food is healthy food. That cereals, "whole grains," orange juice, toast with jam, bagels, bananas, and oatmeal are the "healthy options" for breakfast. It couldn't be farther from the truth.
How many of you start your day with something sugary, sweet, and full of carbs like listed above? If your hand is up, then changing your breakfast to healthy fats and greens is the most important choice you can make for your Emotional Stability.
Just like bread, oatmeal and cereals are grains that act on your blood sugar like any other short-burning carbohydrate fuel. You will be hungry again soon. But not the satisfying kind of hunger, no! That annoying hunger that pecks at you until you finally succumb to that sweet behind the counter, the guzzle of espresso, the 5-hour energy drink, or whatever your go-to pick-me-up is.
These modern conveniences and quick-fixes create more problems in the long term. We know that addressing your pain at its root is the best way to go. This starts with breakfast.
With 15 minutes (today, I did it in 13), you can create a real-food meal that will:
☕Keep you full and energized long beyond your mid-morning coffee breaks.
🍩Eradicate your desire for sweets
In today's video, I'm in the kitchen, showing you how to make a nutrient-dense breakfast full of healthy fats and proteins. It doesn't always have to be bacon, eggs, and greens, but some variation on this formula is often our go-to. I couldn't help but share. 🤗
🧈Fats are the KEY to all-day energy, emotional Stability, AND the antidote to blood sugar dysregulation.
🧈Fats support the integrity of each and every cell in our bodies and make up the organelle inside the cell.
🧈Healthy proteins and fats are the fuel that builds our hormones and neurotransmitters.
🍲Vegetables are hydrating, mineral-rich, and cleansing for the body.
🐖The leftover fat from your pasture-raised animal protein is the perfect thing to cook your vegetables in! And it keeps breakfast a one-dish-wonder (Because who wants to clean multiple pans before noon?🕛)
🍳Today, I steamed the eggs with mustard greens, but you can use any style of egg: scrambled, boiled, baked, or fried alongside any leafy green.
The reason why you are not feeling your best throughout the day might have to do with your breakfast. I challenge you to stick with a nutrient-dense breakfast for 7 days and let us know what changes you see.