Ever notice that you may find yourself doing emotional eating when you get overwhelmed by the chaos in your life? Take a look at your fridge as one of those spots that could use a good makeover and some extra TLC. You’d be surprised how much your body will thank you.
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Does your refrigerator look like a toxic waste dump? How many times do you find yourself tossing out what used to be perfectly good food in the garbage because it’s gone stale, rancid or grown moldy? Better yet, do you even know what you have in the fridge?
Let’s admit it. No matter what type of food you choose to eat, or what program you follow, who wants to consume food that’s not delicious and at the peak of freshness? Do you? Probably not. Me neither.
Here’s why: When you do that, you’re settling big time and sending a message to your body that you’re just not worth having something better. It’s small, and almost invisible, but by making a change in keeping up with what’s in your fridge and ensuring that you always have the foods you love on hand, and keep it uncluttered, you’ll feel better about yourself and have more self-respect.
How Much Does It Bug You?
Now this advice may not ring true for you, and you’ll know that in this way. Here’s a quick test. Open your fridge and notice what you see and how it makes you feel. If it brings up emotions like upset and overwhelm, then a change might be needed. If you’re calm and collected, you may want to seek out other areas of the house where you could be clutterbugging.
In my experience with my clients and in my own life, I’ve discovered that emotional eating is directly related to feelings of scarcity and fear, not feeling safe or good enough.
In that mindset it’s difficult to focus and stay on target. Letting go of things and confronting the cluttered spaces in your home is most likely something that you may find a million reasons to avoid, but it just means that there’s a lot of resistance there and by tackling that resistance, you’ll feel like a million bucks.
My best advice for dealing with resistance is to look for the smallest possible task that you can do that will give you the biggest rate of return.
I always suggest starting to make changes with baby steps. And how fabulous is it to get an instant sense of gratification?
My Binge Bustin’ Recipe for Keeping Fresh and Delicious Food
Since I’ve made the choice to stop dieting, and placed a new emphasis on becoming aware of times when I eat out of stress, I no longer think of myself as a human garbage can, ready, willing and able to eat anything that’s not nailed down. For the most part, I am in charge of what I eat and the food is not.
On the rare occasions, when I notice myself falling into a pattern of consuming more junk food, eating more chips or relying on grab ‘n go foods, it tells me that I need to nurture myself more. For me, that translates into cooking and having on hand the foods I love.
Over the years, I’ve become a very picky eater, intensely aware of the extreme pleasure that I derive from eating fresh food. I have zero tolerance for eating anything that doesn’t taste absolutely delightful.
As a busy mom and working gal, I”ve learned a few tips that make it easier for me to enjoy having fresh and tasty food from home more often. Here are some of my food saving, quick prep and pantry preserving secrets:
Clear the clutter – Sort for freshness. Whenever you open up your refrigerator, freezer and cabinets, make it a habit to toss any foods that don’t mass muster. If those crackers you bought taste like cardboard, it’s time to replace them. Get rid of anything that has gone stale, developed freezer fuzz, a case of freezer burn and focus on keeping foods you really love.
Be honest and willing to let go of some of the things that you bought that you and your family really don’t want. That sugar free cranberry juice you bought on sale that hasn’t been touched is taking up valuable space. Get rid of it.
Buy just enough: Look for trends – In the same way that a savvy businesswoman looks for patterns and changes in order to stay on top of her market, it’s essential to do the same with your supermarket buying habits. Time is precious. If you want to spend more of your day doing things you love, you’ve got to wisely leverage the time you spend in your kitchen. That means having tasty foods ready and available for quick meals. If you have to wade through a week’s worth of leftovers and unwrap everything to figure out what you have, it’s precious time wasted.
Notice which staples and types of meals your family is eating and enjoying. What foods are you buying that nobody is eating? For example: If your milk is always getting sour, your cereal is going stale or your cheese is getting moldy, consider buying the smaller size or investing in a food saver system. Take note of how long it takes for you and your family to consume different types of foods and choose storage systems based on your particular needs.
Leftover love – Devote a separate area of your fridge to bits and pieces of previous meal’s leftovers and label them. If you can freeze something to extend it’s shelf life, then do so. Then in another section of the fridge, place your larger items.
Make it easy – Fresh veggies are always a wonderful addition to any meal, but if you don’t set aside time to wash and prep them appropriately, your hard earned cash in the form of a head of cauliflower or a bag of celery will soon grow mold and get tossed away. In order to avoid that unnecessary pain, I suggest taking a few short cuts.
• Invest in the pre-washed bags of greens and packages of fresh chopped veggies available in your grocery’s produce or freezer section.
• Make Time – Choose a convenient time for you sometime during the week and do some meal prep when there’s no pressure. On weekends, I love to cook stews and soups and do some baking, then throughout the rest of the week, I get to enjoy my fresh homemade goodies.
• Make friends with your freezer – If you take time out to pre-wash, chop and dice or slice your basics like onions, celery and peppers, you can stick them in a bag in your freezer. Meal prep becomes a breeze. Note: For no tear onion chopping: if you chill your onion in the freezer for about 20 minutes before you chop it, it will suspend the gases that cause your eyes to tear.
• Buy perishables more frequently – If you love fresh salad, then buy smaller amounts of it and use it until it is eaten.
• Green bags and Food Preservation systems – I love ’em. Invest in any type of food saver system that extends the life of your produce. It’s well worth it.
• Ready, set, go – Make combinations of veggies that your family enjoys and place them already marinated in sealed baggies in the fridge. My family loves onions, broccoli, red and green peppers sauteed in garlic and olive oil or roasted in the oven with potatoes. For a quick fix prep, I keep my veggies pre-seasoned in the crisper bin in a bag always at the ready.
Now here’s your mission should you choose to accept it. One of things that I have learned about making peace with food and friends with my body, is the importance of reclaiming spaces in my life where I have felt out of control in the past. I’ve learned that oftentimes we eat out of frustration because we feel a sense of being out of control. If every time you open your fridge, pantry or cabinets, you get a feeling that you’re not really taking care of yourself in the best way you can, it’s time to upgrade and give yourself some star treatment.
Give these tips a try. See how reclaiming your space in the kitchen and making it a more functional and efficient place in your home, affects your relationship with food. Notice how often you’re settling for something you don’t really want. How does that feel to you and what are you prepared to do to change it? Enjoy taking back control and reclaiming another piece of your life. Remember in terms of happiness and peace of mind, no change for the better is ever too small.
Loving Food Loving Life Telesummit
Psst. Guess what! I’m so jazzed. I have great news for you if you’re struggling with overeating. I’m going to be participating as a speaker in
Aimee Serafini’s Loving Food Loving Life Telesummit that will run from 4/15-26. LFLL will teach you all the ins and outs of making peace with food and friends with your body without ever having to diet again. For more details, check out the site info below.