Health Notes: Food and Fashion.

Is Food the new Fashion?

Photo: Torkil Stavdal : www.torkils.com

Living Well = Being Well?

In times like this we still want to feel our best. The times when there is enough money around we tend to somehow show it through our fashionable – and expensive- choices.

We shop when feeling down and dress up when going out. We are socially active and represent ourselves as having it together.

What then happens when it all falls apart and we cannot afford the anti-depressants of shopping and the self-esteem lifting of socializing?

We go inward. For some, this means to retreat to the couch and watch TV with chips and chocolate. However, this does not do the trick of countering depression or boosting the self-esteem. Quite the opposite. The fats and sugars wear us down and out and cause a downward spiral which only gets harder and harder to break every day. The staying in and being inactive causes a deepening of the feelings of being incapable and with that an even greater barrier to being social.
If any of this sounds familiar you are not alone. That might not help you much though. But what will help you is getting a new perspective.
Food is the new coping skill of the people in the know.
Food will help you feel better sure. I probably don't have to tell you that. But what you might not think of is that food is also becoming the new fashion. It is becoming the new way of you expressing who you are and what you believe in. It is becoming how you can mingle and be social without shopping for the latest fashion and still be fashionable.
How about that. Taking better care of yourself and gain in your well-being. That is a new level of self-esteem that is far more lasting than the latest fashion you can buy in a store.
Restaurants are certainly becoming more and more food fashionable too. It used to be the scene that was hip, cool, and notable. Now it is about the food. Food is sustainably grown and harvested. Vegetarian and vegan food, and even raw food, is gaining attention from a broader audience of eaters.  Chefs are looking to make a difference and are shopping at the farmers markets to serve the freshest and most local. The decor is no longer as important as the quality of the food. The presentation and the taste of what is on the plate is gaining the attention, not the chair that is chosen by the designer. The designer is the chef. More small restaurants are emerging again where the chef himself is the owner - and sometimes even your server too.
My point is. Eating well is no longer for the privileged few it is for all of us. We all need to see our food as our daily basis for living well, being well, feeling well - it is simply a well choice.
So my suggestion is - Enjoy your food, find the best you can, buy local and sustainable, eat organic as much as possible. Now that is a fashion you can use to make you feel better.
Eat well, Be well,
Jeanette
-ex-fashionista gone foodista

Recipes:

The appetizer dish above is from local heirloom tomatoes, layered with homemade guacamole with some smoked salmon in it, optional roasted baby artichoke hearts
-and a few sprouts to accessories.
We served it for our guests at a recent dinner and they seemed to love it.

Guacamole for 4 people:
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
2 small cloves finely chopped garlic
1 finely chopped jalapeno
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 finely sliced scallions
pepper to taste, pinch of salt, and
the juice of 1/2 a lime, but we used 1/2 tbl. of mirin instead

add some coarsely chopped chunks of smoked salmon unless you want to keep it a vegan/vegetarian dish.

Cut the heirloom tomatoes in thick enough slices to hold up for stacking
- about 1/4"

One time we added baby artichokes hearts,
which were bought marinated and then roasted.

It is quite a filling dish, you can make it lighter by not adding so much guacamole between the layers and instead have more layers of tomatoes.

Enjoy :)

Changing Habits with Ericksonian Hypnotherapy

Coming to terms with what is and what has happened in your life is essential for success in creating a new eating and living style that fits you. Often our self-defeating and limiting beliefs become practices of self-sabotage instead of self-care. It stands in our way for breaking through habits that no longer serve us. Talking through our story is certainly important but we also need to move through it and use it to lift us in future action. One tool I have found working well is hypnotherapy. The way I work with it is from the perspective of encouraging the tools and resources you already have but that you are not using because of ...
We tend to have reasons and excuses for not doing what we already know will help us and those need to be spoken and heard. But if they become a limiting belief system we need to shift that way of thinking.

Ericksonian hypnotherapy sessions are an integration of counseling and hypnosis. Each session is tailored for you as an individual, working with what is holding you back from living the life you want.
It is not a quick-fix, but it is a powerful tool for change.
Typically a couple of sessions are needed and can be very powerful with the integration of new eating and life habits.

4 sessions of integrative counseling and hypnotherapy sessions
(each is 90 min. long) - $ 750

email for more info: jeanette@pathforlife.com

&

Join A Healthy Revolution = Community:

Community and communication: www.pathforlifecommunity.com

On this site you can also buy my new book Secrets to: Appetite Control,
-How to Feel More Satisfied from your Food.

You can also stay in touch via the Path for Life Facebook Group.

"There are probably things in our lives from which
we could unburden ourselves"
Matthieu Ricard

PATH FOR LIFE self-nourishment center
How wellness is nurtured and habits change for good.

Path for Life is a resource for learning, creating awareness, and experiencing the wellness-effects of changing food and self-care habits. We offer guidance and support to assist the path for healing and change. And we know that change is an emotional journey. We give you the knowledge, support, guidance to help you gain the awareness you need to make the changes you always wanted.

The 9 Step System integrates the healing factors of food choices and emotional wellness. Path for Life provides a thorough integration of food knowledge, a gently awakening to your emotional behavior patterns, along with steps for implementation and tools for new choices and solutions.

for a consultation - contact jeanette@pathforlife.com

Monthly Health Notes Archive:
The Scale of Health Issue, July 2009
The Immunity Issue, June 2009
The Community Issue , April 2009
The Hope and Love Issue, Feb 2009
The Less is More Issue, Dec 2008
The Breast Health Issue, Oct/Nov 2008
The Eating Issue, Aug/Sep 2008
The Fresh & Fruity Issue, July 2008
The Summer Ready Issue, May 2008
The Earth Issue, April 2008
The Stress Issue, March 2008
The Cold and Flu Issue, Feb 2008
The Diet Issue, Jan 2008
Becoming 2008, Dec/Jan 2007-2008
The YOU Issue, December 2007
T
he Root Issue, November 2007
The Grain Issue, October 2007
The Toxic Issue, September 2007
The Antioxidant Issue, August 2007
The Milk Issue, July 2007

for more Health-Notes go to our site.

click here to go to the Path for Life web site >