Eden Tree

Eden Tree

19 April 2014

Nourishing the Body and Soul - Comfort food is important for good health!



 
Let’s be honest, when you’re not feeling good or you’ve had a tough week, the last thing you want to do is count calories or eat a bunch of health food. You’re craving the warm, comforting meals your mother and grandmother made.

Comfort food is about more than providing nourishment for the body; it feeds the heart and soul. When we are fighting illness and fatigue, we need more than just food to keep our bodies going. We need to fuel our hearts and minds for the fight for wellness.

Only half of what makes hot soup healing when we’re sick is the soup itself, the other half is the love of the hands who prepared it.

My whole-food journey began with a sick body. My stomach hurt constantly. My new ‘normal’ included near daily upset stomach and nausea. Medications from my doctors made it easier but didn't really fix the problem. My diet was a big part of my problem. Continuously uncomfortable, I craved the meals of my childhood: mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, shepherds’ pie, chili and more. Problem was these were the very same foods my doctors encouraged me to avoid because they were irritating my system; and were loaded with fat and calories.

“Health food” as a term has such a bad wrap. It calls to mind tasteless, unappealing foods with no personality. This is why so many people fail to stick with a healthy diet. They think of health food as punishment and they become mentally fatigued by the food long before they’re bodies are bored with their bland flavor. Let’s face it, eating is fun. Good food puts a smile on our face and buoys our spirits. When you are sick or your body is fighting illness, keeping your spirit strong is an important part of the fight.

I started looking at the recipes I love and began making small changes to make them more healthy. I swapped out whole grains for processed white flour, subtracted processed sugar everywhere I could, and tried to add vegetables and fruits to every meal. Getting to a completely plant-based diet rich in whole-grains took time. Still, I did it without having to give up on the things I love.

You can do the very same thing. One of the reasons I began sharing my recipes with you is to show you eating right and eating for wellness can be delicious and fun. I would never encourage you to completely give up the recipes you love, and that make you feel loved. Eating a whole-food, plant-based diet is healthful for the body. But eating comfort foods is healthful for the soul.

Yes, you're going to have to make changes, but they don't need to be drastic. Simply take a good look at your family recipes and ask yourself some questions to help you craft them into healthier versions:

1)      Is all that oil/butter really necessary? – Years ago when your mother and grandmother were writing their favorite recipes, pan had no Teflon coatings and were made mostly from cast iron. The extra fat from oil and butter kept the foods from sticking. Today’s cookware is wonderfully non-stick. The natural oils in vegetables like onions and peppers make sautéing them in oil unnecessary. They will brown nicely on their own. Put them in the pan first when you’re making other dishes and they’ll coat it with their natural oils to help fry all the other ingredients. PLUS, reducing your oil use makes dollars and health sense: If you were to subtract just one pat (tblspn) of butter from your daily meal prep, you’d save $35 by the end of the year! And you'd have cut 11 pounds of fat from your diet!!

2)      Do I need all this salt? A dash of salt wakes up the flavor of vegetable dishes and helps sauces to better marinate. But do you really need it for flavor? There’s a whole world of wonderful herbs and spices. If your recipe calls for aromatic herbs like Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, or Garlic; chances are you don’t need to add much salt for flavor. Considering how much salt we get from other foods, try replacing some of it in your recipes with a delightful herb or spice.

3)      What is one ingredient I can change that would make this meal healthier? – Whoa, Nelly! This is the mother of all healthy cooking questions! Big lifestyle changes happen from making small changes. This small change makes a huge difference! If you swapped out one unhealthy ingredient in every recipe for a healthier substitute, you’d see a big difference in a short amount of time. What kind of small changes? Well, for example: if your mother’s recipe called for plain white rice. Substitute it for a much healthier version like sprouted brown rice, or my personal fave: Bulgar wheat. You’ve just added a ton of healthy fiber and protein and all you did was swap one ingredient!

Take a good look at your favorite comfort food recipes and ask these simple questions. You’ll see from my blog that I’m a big fan of comfort food. My recipes include many of the American favorites: meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, chili, and pasta. And don’t forget dessert! It’s one of the most important meals of the day! I’ve crafted recipes for delicious cookies, cakes, and crumbles. I will never ask you to give up good food; I’ll just help you craft them into food for good health!

Do you have a favorite family recipe?? Not sure how to make it healthier?? Email it to me! 


I’ll be happy to share with you ways to make your favorite meals into healthy fare for both body and soul!

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