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Thoughts on Feeling Guilty

Posted on April 4, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

When I say “bad” foods,

What are the first things to come to your mind?

Are there any foods you restrict solely because you feel you lack the willpower needed to stop eating once you start?

If you DO allow yourself to have that food and you DO overeat,
how do you react?

Do you box up the culprit and hide it away somewhere?

Do you swear to have more self-control next time?

Guilty Me

Do you feel…guilty?

We all have them…foods we don’t necessarily trust ourselves with. I, for one, have a lot of them: cereal, granola, cookies, hummus, crackers, nut butter, pretzels…

Basically, anything I have ever referred to as “crack” here on the blog!

On the surface, it may seem like just another joke, but deep down, I really have a problem when faced with certain foods. And it’s something I’ve been working on since I committed to becoming an intuitive eater. In the past, I have restricted these foods…they’ve been hidden, thrown in the trash, and well, I already confessed the pre-meditated murder of
Mr. Sweet Potato Butter. 😉

But the more I denied the food, the more novelty it gained. So, whenever I DID allow myself to have the item, it was like,

“Aww, hell…GAME ON!!”

Crumbs on my face, a tummy ache, and one guilty Heather later…
I was right back where I started. 🙁

A lot of you have mentioned/joked/honestly confessed that you believe if you began a journey in intuitive eating, “essentially” eating whatever you want whenever you want it, that you would basically binge on all of your “bad” foods.

Well, I came up with a solution to that problem!

Enter “CRACK” pretzels stage right:

Enjoy those “forbidden” foods in smaller portions….

Incorporate them into meals where they’re flavor is highlighted but not the
star of the show….

Savor each and every bite…

Until one day, you realize it is JUST another food and has absolutely NO POWER
over you!

And if, say, three weeks into your intuitive eating journey, you are surprised with a gift of a different brand of “crack” from a certain beautiful blonde Swiss and then proceed to KILL a quarter of the jar in less than a day…

Just stop, take a deep breath, and remember this:

We are human.

We make mistakes.

You’re still learning.

And today is a NEW day!

If you want to feel guilty, feel guilty about not calling your mom today…about forgetting your friend’s birthday…about not taking the time to stop and smell the roses…but do NOT waste your time feeling guilty about food.

Actually, wait…don’t feel guilty about ANY of that!

Call your mom right now…buy a BELATED birthday card (and a bottle of wine…boozed up friends are quicker to forgive)…and bury your nose so deep in that rose you end up snorting a ladybug! 😉

Because life is just too damn short for guilt…

PERIOD!

Special thanks to Meg, Melissa, Ashley, and my IE Coach, Jamie for reminding me that guilt is a wasted emotion based on judgement of ourselves and judgement does not serve us in any positive way WHATSOEVER!

What are some of your “bad” foods?

What guilt will you throw away today to free your time for more positive self-loving thoughts?

Posted in Personal, Thoughts | Tagged food labels, intuitive eating, pretzels | 89 Comments

The Trials & Errors of Intuitive Eating

Posted on April 3, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

So seriously, you all are the BEST EVER! It’s taken me over THREE days to read all the comments on my “coming out” posts and I just have to say your support, empathy, and commiseration regarding my struggle with calorie counting and my commitment to intuitive eating has meant the WORLD to me!

Before typing those posts, I was SO nervous about being judged…afraid that I would be thought of as a fraud in respect to my relationship/approach to food…ashamed to admit that I had let the numbers on a nutrition label dictate so much of my life. Now I see that not only did I have nothing to worry about, but I’m not as alone as I thought I was. And it has thrilled me to NO END that so many of you are interested in hearing more about my journey in intuitive eating!

I’ve mentioned how the last few weeks have been a bit of trial and error so I thought
I’d use today to share a few pictures to explain what I mean.

And well, since I’m about to throw a whole lotta food your way…

Why not hand out a few noise makers, hang up some streamers,
and call it a party?!

Be sure to hop on over to Peas & Crayons, thank our gracious hostess, and then crash a few other foodie parties while you’re over there! 😉

So let’s get to it, shall we?

First up we have a beautiful Cho-nochromed breakfast!

I hadn’t had an apple Chobani in MONTHS…after I started getting more strict on my macros, it was hard to find “room” for a yogurt with added sugar…especially since I love to pair them with crunchy (and sweetened) cereal.

So yeah, I was set! I had my yogurt, some apple granola mixed with puffed kamut, a side of coffee…all things were a go!

WRONG!

The yogurt was sooooooooooo sweet! It literally felt like I had just popped a handful of sugar cubes in my mouth! So, I made a quick swap…

I also made a cereal switch…because for some reason I thought it was wrong to have interfruitial activities going on so early in the morning! 😉

Funny, the pear has the SAME amount of sugar, but the apple seems so much sweeter to me…and I it USED to be one of my favorite flavors!

Next up, a marinar-astic lunch!

Spinach, spaghetti squash, steamed carrots, lupini beans, jarred mushrooms, marinara and a little nutritional yeast.

It was so unbelievably salty! The only reason I was able to finish it was because I went through and fished out all the beans (and drank a crap-ton of water). I was SO excited when I found these at the Atlanta farmer’s market…they were FULL of protein, low in fat, and the sodium content was something I felt was low enough to be “worthy” of a
meal of mine.

WRONG!

After I finished my plate, I tossed the entire jar of beans in the trash!

A few days later, I made the same thing with a few alterations…spaghetti squash mixed with hummus and nutritional yeast topped with sautéed FRESH mushrooms and onions.

Not only did it make for a gorgeous photo, but it was absolute
foodie HEAVEN!!

And last but not least a pumpkin-ified ~~dessert~~ dinner!

Pumpkin puree mixed with peanut flour topped with cereal, thawed blueberries, pepitas, and “healthy” chocolate sauce.

Not sure what happened here…too much pumpkin or just too much “roughage” in general, but after this bowl that was only sort of enjoyable, I had the WORST stomach pains for the rest of the night! So again, I was…

WRONG!

I thought for sure I’d have to swear off my precious pumpkin from here on out…omg, shoot me for even muttering such words! :O

Luckily, a few days later, I got brave enough to try again…this time with strawberries and a cereal with a little less “oomph” to it. 😉

And I was PERFECTLY satisfied!

I guess it just goes to show you that a nutrition label doesn’t tell all. Sometimes, no matter the number, a certain thing might just not be right for YOU and the only way to know for sure is to try. Not every meal is going to be out of this world amazing. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error (read: guessing) to figure out the flavors/combos you are truly craving, but honestly, that should only help you to appreciate those moments where you DO get it right!

What’s the last flavor/combo craving you got wrong?

What’s the last flavor/combo craving you got RIGHT?

Posted in What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged asparagus, blueberries, cereal, Chobani, Greek yogurt, healthy chocolate sauce, hummus, mushrooms, mustard, nutritional yeast, peanut flour, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes | 73 Comments

Avocado Cabbage Sushi

Posted on April 1, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Alternate title:

“How a First-Time Sushi-Making Food Blogger Celebrating Meatless Monday
Plays Sushi Chef!”

Yeah, I figured that was a bit of a mouthful! 😉

Put your paws up for not eating anything WITH PAWS (or hooves, or wings, or fins, or pinchers…) on MEATLESS MONDAY! Be sure to head on over to my namesake’s blog at Better with Veggies to see what everyone else is whipping up for the
first official week of MMAZ!

Anyone happen to notice the cabbage-filled sushi rolls in yesterday’s collage? Well, those just happen to be my very FIRST homemade sushi rolls! I was a little nervous making these so I was sure to make out a list so I didn’t leave anything out…

Step 1: Go to the International supermarket and buy a pack of chopsticks and an Asian-y plate for the sole purpose of this post.

Also, grab a pack of seaweed salad “just in case” you need it as a food prop.

Step 2: Load up your veggies and roll them up in a nori sheet. Then UNROLL them, straighten your asparagus, re-stack your avocados, and ~~curse a little under your breath~~ pick off rogue bits of carrot so you can take a picture.

Step 3: Hold your breath as you s~~low~~ roll your roll BACK up and use a bread knife to SAW it into pieces since your “good knife” is at the bottom of a sink full of dirty dishes.

And if WHEN you have a few rejects?

Step 4: Laugh at yourself and take a picture.

Then ~~eat~~ destroy the evidence!

Step 5: Take 56 pictures of your sushi masterpiece all the while realizing you know absolutely NOTHING about food styling for sushi rolls. After 15 shots, ditch the bowl of soy sauce and break out the emergency seaweed!

Um, I SAID ditch the soy sauce!

You’re not listennnnnnnnning.

Thank you!

Step 6: Be sure to strategically place your new shiny chopsticks so that they are included in nearly every shot.

Except for the one where you actually have to PICK UP the sushi…then go with the kiddie ones you stole from the Japanese restaurant.

Step 7: Laugh at yourself and take a picture.

Step 8: Try to get fancy and play stack-a-sushi.

Be sure to include those chopsticks in the frame.

Step 9: Pat yourself on the back when you accidentally get a “cool looking” shot.

Decide that you better not press your luck much more, pack everything up, shut off the camera and enjoy dinner ~~at the kitchen table~~ while standing in front of your lightbox.

And as you wipe your mouth on your sleeve and look down at the THREE plates and a FORK you just dirtied up for ONE person for dinner (not to mention the mess in the kitchen)…

Step 10: Laugh at yourself and take a picture.

Avocado Cabbage Sushi

by Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: steam roast entrée vegan vegetarian avocado Japanese

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1 cup shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
2 nori sheets
1/2 avocado, sliced
4 spears asparagus
1/4 cup shredded carrots
soy sauce for dipping

Instructions

1. Set oven to low broil.
2. Spread cabbage on a baking sheet, lightly mist with cooking spray, and roast for 6-7 minutes or until wilted.
3. Steam asparagus by preferred method.
4. Remove cabbage from oven and allow to cool until able to handle.
5. Arrange nori sheets on a flat surface.
6. Add cabbage, asparagus spears, avocado, and carrots.
7. Using your hands, carefully roll nori around the veggies (I spritzed a little water on the end to help it seal).
8. Cut into slices using a sharp knife with quick strokes (or carefully saw into it with a bread knife ;))
9. Serve with soy sauce.