I don’t know exactly when I started carrying dessert in my purse. It probably started years ago. When I first began eating wholefoods for my recovery, I did not have any sweetened treats. I ate mostly vegetables and followed what could be considered an anti-cadida nutritional protocol. This involved no fruit or sweeteners. I was very surprised that my cravings for sweet changed into cravings for salt (sea salt — the real thing — that is).
However, after some time, I began to feel deprived. I loved desserts and sweet treats. One year, I went home for the holidays and my parents had the most beautiful cake and pies and after banishing sugar cravings from my life, they came roaring back. Because the desserts looked so good. Because everyone else was enjoying them with such delight. Because it separated me from everyone else. For the first time in months, I felt like I had to work really hard to avoid those desserts. And it made me feel sad. It brought back those old feelings, “why can’t I just be normal, like everyone else?”
What is Normal?
Then it struck me…what is normal? It’s certainly not the abundance of sugar we have on the dinner table today. It’s not all the processed foods in our diets today. I realized that the vast majority of food on hand today is not “normal.” It’s simply convenient. Being manufactured, it contains very little of Mother Earth. It does not give our body and brain what it needs to feel energized, strong and healthy. It requires no participation in the process of nourishment. It requires no time…and it’s very abundance seduces us into thinking that taking time for our nourishment is ludicrous. It satisfies us on the surface (taste buds and a temporary abatement of hunger), but robs us at the deepest levels of nutrients, calm and cellular satisfaction.
So I decided to create a new normal. I decided that if I could create a dessert recipe I loved, I could have my own deeply nourishing treats and participate in the dessert portion of the meal with my family. The next year, I returned home with my first-ever healthy dessert recipe: Halva. Packed with nutrients, it was tasty enough for my family (and even kids!) to enjoy. Thank heavens I made enough to share!
What Do You Have in Your Purse Today?
This is probably what started it. I decided I wanted to have a good snack and treat with me for dinners out, road trips and at friend’s dinner parties. I began to bring extra so that I could share the love and nourishment I had created with my friends and family. It became a big joke: “What do you have in your purse today?”
Over time, I found that having sweet treats really took my health to the next level. It’s when I started realizing that eating is meant to be a pleasurable, fun experience.
So here’s the question: Is your nutritional protocol enjoyable and satisfying? Do you feel like your meals are fun? Are you giving yourself the time to make nourishing foods and treats for yourself?
How would you like to plan ahead for the holidays?
Check out my Halva Recipe — it’s fast and easy and ‘husband approved’ – 5 to 10 minutes and you have a nourishing treat.
This article started from a conversation we had on Facebook!
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