Let's Talk About Food...

Let's talk about food...

I post a lot of food pics and even recipes sometimes in my stories. I absolutely love to cook and find cooking to be very therapeutic for me. But it certainly has not always been that way. My relationship with food has been a rocky, confusing, ever-changing, and educational journey.

In a tiny nutshell:

I was a super picky eater as a child. My family would joke that I would only eat plain white colored foods. I would struggle with disordered eating on and off for most of my teenage years – and it still creeps its way back in when I'm feeling anxious or depressed. My food habits changed A LOT when I became a strict vegetarian (no meat, fish, or eggs) for 10 solid years and finally started caring about what I was putting in my body. Along my journey as a vegetarian I learned about eating an Ayurvedic diet through my yoga training and learned that what we eat can bring us IN to balance or OUT of balance; that food can be medicine. As stress, trauma, anxiety, and depression started to barge its way into my life, I learned that my well-rounded vegetarian diet wasn't providing me the proper nutrition I needed to fight the severe stress I was under and I needed to make some uncomfortable changes if I was going to get well again. I slowly started adding animal fats and proteins in and very quickly started to get better. Those animal fats and proteins got me well and at some point stopped serving me in the way they once did. So I reevaluated and now am back to *mostly* vegetarian, occasionally vegan and gluten free eating.

I eat what I have learned through educating myself, working with experts, and steady reevaluation, is good for me. And it changes with the days, months, seasons, and years. It's taken all this time for me to create and sustain a healthy balanced relationship with food. I still have my struggles with it on tough days. But having food as my ally everyday is a privileged gift in my self-care toolbox I will never take for granted. I could never have found a new relationship with food on my own - it really took a village. I'm so grateful for those who offered their support and knowledge along the way.

How has your journey with food been? For many, it can be a really confusing and frustrating journey. Just know that there is no one right way for everybody all the time. Also know that there are many qualified experts out there to support you when you find yourself not knowing where to go.

That's why I'm SO excited that we have the support of Sofia as our Holistic Chef on my upcoming retreat. With her training in cooking natural foods combined with her training in nutrition she can't wait to help you create a holistic diet tailored to your needs, so you can truly feel your best - body, mind, and heart. Sofia will be leading several holistic cooking classes during retreat as well as catering our meals. She made these beautiful mushrooms into THE BEST vegan spaghetti squash Bolognese ever! Together we will be offering so many nutritious habits, tips, tools, and amazing recipes for you to take home to add into your relationship with food. If you're wanting to learn more about supporting yourself with food - Our retreat team has A LOT of education and experience to share with you! Please read more about Chef Sofia and check out all of the magic about our upcoming retreat here - https://www.embracewonderyoga.com/heart-of-florida-retreat

Get in your $300 deposit before Jan 20th to lock in the best early bird rate! As always, please message me if you have any questions about food, retreat, or anything else.