Soul Food

Think for a moment of a food from your past, one that makes you feel great after you eat it for no specific reason. Maybe it is macaroni and cheese, slow-simmered tomato sauce, ice cream cones or French fries. Eating comfort foods (every now and then) can be incredibly healing, even though your rational brain might not consider it highly nutritious.

Food has the power to impact us on a level deeper than just our physical well-being. What we eat can reconnect us to precious memories, like childhood playtime’s, first dates, holidays, our grandmother’s cooking or our country of ancestry. Our bodies remember foods from the past on an emotional and cellular level. Eating this food connects us to our roots and has nurturing effects that go far beyond the food’s biochemical make-up.

Acknowledging what different foods mean to us is an important part of cultivating a good relationship with food. Today, when we celebrate lovers and relationships, it’s important to notice that we each have a relationship with food—and ask yourself if that relationship is a loving one.

Do you restrict food, attempting to control your weight? Do you abuse food, substituting it for emotional well-being? Or do you ignore food, swallowing it whole before you’ve even tasted it?

What would your life be like if you treated food and your body as you would treat your loved ones – with gentleness, playfulness, communication, honesty, respect and love? The next time you eat your soul food, do so with awareness and without guilt, and enjoy all the healing and nourishment it brings you.

Tagged: comfort food, diet, diet foods, exercise, food, foodie, foody, health, holistic nutrition, natural healing, nutrition, weight loss