The Mind of an Eating Disorder

What is your relationship with food?

Do you feel you have a healthy relationship with food, or are there areas that you could work on? Do you listen to your body? To your hunger cues?

Do you obsess over every calorie and macronutrient that you consume?

So many people suffer with eating disorders, even beyond anorexia and bulimia. While these are severe and life threatening diseases, there are other eating disorders. An unhealthy relationship with food, in my opinion, is an eating disorder. I think we all suffer with eating too much occasionally, but how does this affect our mood, our inner thoughts, or our opinion of ourselves?

I am going to do a series of posts over the next few weeks that delve into eating habits, whether healthy or unhealthy, and look at peoples relationship with food. I will obviously draw a lot from my own experiences and my relationship with food, but I will also look into poetry and literature from people who have suffered with eating disorders.

My main goal is to use art to portray different emotions associated with foods. I will do sketches, write, and create a few completed pieces of artwork that tell a story about different relationships with food.

this picture is from EveryBody is Beautiful's Facebook page, go there for inspiration on having a healthy relationship with yourself and loving the body you were given!

I admit that I sometimes have an unhealthy relationship with food and can have negative self talk based on what I have eaten and food can play a large part in my moods. I will delve more into moods associated with foods in my future posts.

Throughout my "study," I hope to look at ways to heal our relationship with food. I think our society has become very detached from our food, which plays a role in eating disorders. Being able to connect more with our food and listen to our bodies is extremely important to creating a healthy relationship with food and a healthy relationship with ourselves. Food is fuel and should be used to nourish our bodies, but we seem to have made it more about comfort, sadness, control, a way to celebrate, social, and many other different things. While food should be delicious and appealing and enjoyed, it should be appreciated for its ability to provide energy and nourishment to our bodies.

Nourish your body, your mind, your environment, and most importantly your soul.

if you fail to plan, you plan to fail...

Okay, so we all like convenience, that's why so many people eat fast food and go for unhealthy processed foods. But how about creating our own convenience foods! Food prep is something that is so important to keep you on track and eating healthy, especially when going local.

Sometimes, you go to the farmers market and get so many different things, but are unsure how to make a meal out of it. These are a few things that I have made from my goodies that I will have in my fridge and ready to take to work or when I am hungry and don't have time to make a meal.

I roasted up some local veggies to have for the week. These are so delicious and so simple, that it is definitely a go to. I used eggplant, zucchini, squash, tomato, peppers, and green onion. I put pink himalayan salt and truffle olive oil on them.

Here, I wanted to try something a little creative, so I made a slaw. I had purple cabbage and granny smith apples from the farmers market, so I chopped them very finely and then added my non-local ingredients of greek yogurt, lemon, pink himalayan salt, coconut sugar, ground pepper, and a little olive oil. I might go buy a sweet white onion to add to it as well. This is very refreshing, crisp, and crunchy, which I love.

I had a little bit of purple onion in my fridge, so I decided to cut some cucumbers thinly with them, add some salt and raw apple cider vinegar to "pickle" the cucumbers.

I really love the way these came out, so I will definitely be coming back to this recipe. I boiled the butter beans, then added chopped peppers, garlic, and coconut oil. Absolutely delicious!

This is called a sunburst squash! It is in the oven cooking right now and I think I am going to try something a little interesting with it for breakfast in the morning.

EAT LOCAL!!!!

Visitors, plus you will want this kale chip recipe!!

I have had a couple people visiting me this week so I didn't want to spend time on my phone or computer, so I took a little break from posting all my local eats. Remember to spend time with the people around you and appreciate it. Don't be sucked into all the screens!

I did however take a few pictures that I want to share!

These have been some of my favorite snacks and breakfasts, talk about amazing. I cannot get enough! Asian pears from the farmers market, mmmmm!!

These are a bunch of local veggies that my friend and I roasted up, they were sooo delicious! Red peppers, banana pepper, zucchini, and okra

Okay, so we were so obsessed with the kale chips that they didn't leave the pan and I barely got a picture. You definitely want the recipe for these babies. 

Local Kale with a Local veggie dressing:

Local veggies dressing recipe:

2 garlic cloves

1 tomato

1/2 zucchini

1 red bell pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

pink himalayan salt

I blended this together and tossed the kale in it and put it in the oven on 425, it turned out amazing! Tasted like pizza or marinara. I would definitely use the sauce as a marinara sauce if cooked or dressing if raw.

This was one of my breakfasts with a local peach, greek yogurt mixed with perfect fit protein and a tiny bit of ezekiel sprouted grain cereal for some crunch!

With people visiting we did go out to eat, but we went to the local co-op so that the money was going straight back into the community and much of the food was local. We also went to a local restaurant that uses fresh veggies and seafood. Eat as much local as you can, but it's okay to make exception, just try to make the best choices, like supporting a local restaurant! :)

beautiful day at the beach!

Today I didn't have to work, so I got to spend the day at the beach swimming and playing with some amazing people. I was definitely getting rocked by some waves! Now back to the local eats :)

Breakfast was an apple, I would have preferred one of my delicious local pears, but I had the apple and needed to eat it. I also had two local eggs, one whole, one just the white. I also had some local figs and bluebs!

Snack was greek yogurt with perfect fit protein mixed in, sooo yummy! Another snack was a local pear and some raw almond butter mmm

Lunch was going to be a local raw salad, but I was headed to the beach with a friend and we didn't have a cooler and I was going to be over at their house, so instead lunch was from a local restaurant, surf house. It was organic mixed greens and some yummy chickpeas with mint.

Dinner was completely local except for some onion and the seasonings. I made okra and butter beans with salt and coconut oil, I cut up one heirloom tomato, and I had a salad of cabbage, kale, and cucumber with apple cider vinegar, mustard, and some coconut sugar! My protein was some fresh caught local shrimp!

"dessert" was this greens powder that tastes a little like chocolate, yum!

So many goodies...

It was a great day at the Farmer's market today with quite the selection! I was very excited about the number of heirloom varieties that they offered and almost everything was pesticide free!

Today at the farmers market I was able to get butter beans, kale, collards, purple cabbage, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, pears, figs, blueberries, peaches, shrimp, and okra! 

Today's breakfast was a perfect fit protein, local peach, and strawberry smoothie!

Lunch was local bok choy, local cucumber, local pear, carrots, and garbanzo bean salad. I made a dressing with raw apple cider vinegar, cold pressed olive oil, salt, and a little coconut sugar!

Snack time was a local peach, local sprouts, and an over easy local egg! I am obsessed with over easy eggs, sooo yummy and farm fresh! This ended up turning into dinner. I added another egg, a local tomato and some garbanzos. mm!

extended vacation.

It seems I have taken quite the extended vacation from my blog and I do apologize for neglecting. However, I am starting this welcome back with a challenge, eat as local as possible for the next month! What this means is, buy everything you can from farmers markets, but continue eating what you already have stocked that isn't local.

I plan on starting this tomorrow and I will be updating everything that I eat daily. I have yogurt and other foods that are not local that I have already purchased (these items are at least purchased from a local co-op so the money is going back into the community!), so there will be a few non local things, and every once in a while I may have a treat, but for the most part, I am trying to go at this 110%. For me, I do plan on still incorporating the raw brown rice protein powder (it tastes delicious and is also non-gmo, vegan and gluten free!!) that I already own in my local fruit smoothies because I want a power packed smoothie. I also plan on using spices, raw apple cider vinegar, olive oils, and coconut oils that are not local.

So get your reusable bags out, find out where your local farmers markets are located and what days/times and EAT LOCAL! You won't only be doing your own body good, but the environment will thank you too!

Just another reason to eat local

Check out this article about how eating locally can actually alter your genes.

7 foods to never eat....

check it out! I love that eating healthy and being careful about what you are eating is becoming so popular!

Green, safe living.

Mary Cordaro for protection against EMF's in your home. She specializes in consulting on healthy, green home building and remodeling, diagnosing and solving “sick building syndrome” as well as EMF protection.

what do you want...

Write It Down.

The Secret opened people up to the idea that if you make visualization boards and write down what you want it will be attracted to you. It is the law of attraction. This is something that I began doing and I really spell out exactly what I want.

I was looking back at something that I wrote, a list of qualities that I felt I deserved in a guy. Not only traits, but even my own shallow desires of looks. It is so bizarre to look back at that and realize that somehow my list was fulfilled. Tall, tan, muscular...hahah....but more importantly ambitious, intelligent, treats me like a princess, and there is so much trust and comfort.

So, WRITE IT DOWN.

Spell out to yourself exactly what it is you want and hopefully you will find that it enters your life.

Thanks Wilmington, Calculus, Shiva Kumar Saksena, and the math lab.

sprezzatura

“It’s the best when the ordinary is extraordinary, I think. There’s this Italian renaissance way of being romantic: they call it ‘sprezzatura’. It is where you try to be as romantic as possible - but through your ordinary life. There’s so much more magic in the ordinary. Life isn’t all fireworks. Romantic things come from inside you.”

be brave.

We all have people in our lives who are very important to us. They make us happy, they make us sad, they make our lives worth living. They are part of our souls and part of what makes life so beautiful. I cherish these people and the people who have given me a part of their heart and life as well. These are the people who you trust and admire so much, that you have truly let them become apart of you. You might not feel whole without them, or you might ache when they ache. This is what makes life living.

Then there are those people who for some reason have this 'power' without being in your life for very long. They aren't supposed to make you feel so happy, or have the ability to make you so sad. Do they even know that they can make you cry? Do you have the same affect with them? It is almost unnerving that they are allowed to be a puppet over your emotions when they haven't earned this privilege. Is this a sign of our weakness, or of bravery and strength?

I always say that we are in control of our own emotions and that we shouldn't let others affect how we feel, but is that really the best mantra? Isn't that playing it safe? The scary part of life is letting people so far in that they can hurt you, but they can also make you inexplicably happy. We are in charge of our emotions and happiness. Yet, it is risking our steady emotions and letting someone else be apart of them that is truly brave and worth commending. It is a risk. It can hurt. We know the strength it takes to let someone in, so when someone does the same, be gentle and kind, know that it is beautiful and courageous of them, and act with your heart.

the sun is shining, but it still feels like a rainy day.

make it so that even on a rainy day, it feels like the sun is shining brighter than ever.

Cancer Cure.

I think this documentary is so important not only for how it gives hope for cancer victims, but also to see how our government tried to arrest the man who came out with this miraculous cure. WATCH

"I'm no beauty queen, I'm just beautiful me..."

I know it is a little disney, but the words to this song are beautiful and something that everyone needs to hear.

el medio ambiente.

DIG YOUR TOES IN THE DIRT OR SAND TODAY.

"...the whole environment is designed to make us feel good, to feel connected to all of everything, to soothe us and make us feel peaceful and happy."

via The Garden Diet;The Three Keys to Lasting Weight Loss.

thank you, thank you

My 21st Birthday was Sunday, May 22nd and it was definitely one of the best Birthday's I have ever had. I want to thank my friends so much for making me feel special and making it so amazing. So many people came to visit me at the beach to give me a weekend that was all about me. I got to have two amazing nights of dancing, karaoke, and obnoxious "Birthday-ness." I wore a crown and was allowed to do whatever I wanted because if it's your Birthday, you can be crazy and it's cool. Thank you guys so much. I love you all!!

Megan's AMAZING Birthday cake that she made especially for me with all organic ingredients

lovely love.

"The best part of you is the sum of

how other people have loved you.

So when you love another you are

sharing what other people have

created in you."

no death should be considered a victory.

The death of Osama Bin Laden is all over the news and while I could talk about the courage of those serving our country, or how it saddens me that these hero's are also subject to killing people, or what this means for our country, but honestly it is death and I think this Martin Luther King, Jr. quote my brother in law Scott brought to my attention sums up the event.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.