Author tells how to create a healthy love affair with food

Real Moms Love to Eat author Beth Aldrich sent these healthy eating tips, and they seemed like such good, common sense advice I wanted to share them. I've shortened the tips, just because of the limits of  reading on a blog, but if you like her thinking,  follow her on RealMomsLoveToEat.com. 

Aldrich describes her philosophy as falling in love with your food.  The full title of her book is actually: "Real Moms Love to Eat: How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food, Lose Weight and Feel Fabulous."

(On a personal note, I cut out sugar and processed food 18 months ago, and though I didn't lose a pound (drat!) I would never go back. I feel so much better mentally and physically.)

It’s wonderful to take pleasure in food, she says. It’s even OK to eat the things we shouldn’t every once in awhile – just be sure to savor every bite.  Aldrich makes the point that, “Eating in front of the TV is not savoring."

 

Aldrich offers ways to kick off the romance:

• Make it all about YOU: Get back to the basics, remembering the pleasure inherent in the food experiences of your childhood. Think of the simple joy you had crunching into a sweet apple.
• Get naked with raw foods: Our earliest ancestors were hunter-gatherers who foraged for and consumed a wide variety of caloric intake, mostly consisting of raw veggies. Your body will thank you not long after you include more raw food into your diet.
• Tame your cravings dragon: One of the swiftest paths to an unhealthy snacking binge is ready-made, highly-processed sweets and baked goods. The craving-attack occurs when moms are busy and haven’t planned their meals for the day and it leads to a spike in blood sugar, a crash and then – another monster-sized craving. Have healthy options ready to go. Nutrient-dense whole grains such as quinoa, whole-grain toast with sesame butter, and oatmeal will turn that dragon of yours into a pussycat in no time.  
• Hungry for more lovin’?: Think you could force yourself to eat an ounce of dark chocolate every day? High-quality dark chocolate – the kind that doesn’t have all the fillers – actually has lots of benefits, not the least of which is … it’s chocolate! Dark chocolate contains natural chemicals that serve as mood boosters and elevate serotonin levels, which enhance our sense of well-being. Health benefits range from keeping blood vessels elastic to increasing antioxidant levels. 

“The wrong way to look at the whole-food diet is as an obligation,” said Aldrich.