Simply Laura Lea. Laura Lea

or uncomfortable after eating. Consistency is

       key here, and it takes less than five minutes.

      Sample Entry: Today I ate oatmeal for breakfast,

       tofu tacos for lunch, an apple dipped in yogurt for a

       snack, air fryer broccoli plus kabobs for dinner, and

       ice cream with 3 or 4 spoonfuls of almond butter for

       dessert. I felt great—energetic, happy, and satisfied

       until after dinner. I ate my ice cream quickly, then

       I kept going back for almond butter. My stomach

       was a little bloated and gassy, and I felt overly full.

      Caveat: If you have struggled with an eating

       disorder or disordered eating, this might not be

       the right tactic for you. Work with your therapist

       or medical professional to determine if tracking

       is a good fit.

      Work with a professional: Dovetailing on the

       above, if you have developed “food rules,” work

       through them with a licensed therapist, dietitian,

       or other medical professional. Many people who

       have a tumultuous relationship with food choose

       meals according to their own self-generated food

       rules. I have personal experience with this. When

       I had an unhealthy relationship with eating, I had

       a rule that I couldn’t have fruit in my breakfast

       and mid-morning snack; it had to be one or the

       other. I also had a rule that if I had almond butter

       with my breakfast, I couldn’t eat any other nut

       butters throughout the day. I could eat more

       almond butter; I just couldn’t eat peanut butter

       or cashew butter. As ridiculous as this may sound,

       these rules felt very real to me, and they prevented

       me from eating intuitively. I cannot recommend

       strongly enough that you seek professional counsel

       and help if you feel that you have a disordered

       relationship with food.¹¹

      ¹¹ Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. All information I share has been gathered through my own experience and research. Please consult a medical professional before making any changes to your diet and wellness routine.

      Practice mindful eating: Researcher Ingrid

       Elizabeth Lofgren writes, “Mindful eating is a

       nonjudgmental acceptance of physical and emotional

       feelings while eating or in an eating environment.”¹² Studies indicate that mindful eating is associated with weight loss, increased fiber intake, and lower transfat and sugar consumption. To practice mindful eating, give yourself time and space and as few distractions as possible when you eat. Eat slowly. Chew. Notice the flavors, the textures, any sensations associated with enjoying the food. Swallow and reflect on the experience. When I practice mindful eating, I have a much easier time noticing when I am comfortably full and stopping there.

      Live in the present: When I allow what I’ve been

       eating to determine what I will eat, I often ignore

       my body’s actual desires. Perhaps I’ve been on an

       indulgent vacation, so I feel that I “should” be craving

      a kale salad. And yet, my body wants something

       heartier and more substantial, like a burger and

       fries. In my experience, if I go for the kale salad

       anyway, I will be left unsatisfied, rummaging around

       the pantry grabbing handfuls of snacky foods.

      As my favorite podcast-host Elizabeth Benton

       says, “Every choice is a chance.” Don’t focus

       on what you’ve done; focus on the moment you’re

       in. Be gentle and forgiving with yourself—you are

       not the decisions you’ve made, and you’re never

       stuck or “too late.” Whether it is with food, your

       career, your relationships, or anything else,

       you will lose your way. You will make mistakes.

       Because you’re human, and imperfection is knitted

       throughout the human experience. What matters

       is the perspective you choose to have every day.

       When I treat myself with grace and generosity,

       I am more likely to make a choice that is healthy

       for both my body and my mind.

      ¹² Ingrid Elizabeth Lofgren, “Mindful Eating: An Emerging Approach for Healthy Weight Management,” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 9, no. 3 (May 1, 2015): 212–16, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1559827615569684.

      Breaking Down Cooking Mindset Myths

      This is for all of you who bought this cookbook

       because food pictures are fun to look at, or because

       someone told you to, or because you love the idea

       of cooking, but you have no intention of actually

       making the recipes. As much as I appreciate your

       support regardless of intent, you now have the book,

       and I want you to get more out of it than a thirty

       minute flip-through.

      In this section, I am going to break down some of

       the main mindset barriers that I see when it comes

       to cooking, one by one. (These aren’t only from my

       perspective, but also from the perspective of clients

       with families.) If you purchased my cookbook with

       no plan of actually using it, my guess is that your

       reasoning falls into one of the following “Mindset

       Myths.” And guess what? I had to work through these

       myths myself when I began cooking. So I switched my

       perspective and created new “Mindset Truths” about

       cooking, and it completely changed the game for me.

      Cooking Mindset Myths:

       Cooking isn’t sustainable.

       Cooking isn’t fun.

       Cooking takes me away from things I’d rather be doing.