Day 32 - Clean Your Plate Syndrome

I was eating a delicious salad and not enjoying it as much as I would have liked. The thick balsamic vinaigrette with a hint of honey that I loved was nixed by the deli and a sour, runny version put in its place. The food critic in me was amazed at how the sauce could make or break the tone and satisfaction factor of the meal. How disappointed I was that it was not meeting my expectations.

My table was right next to a window overlooking the parking lot. People were arriving and leaving with my oddity-of-self watching them, having no concern of politeness for staring. I loved trying to guess what the conversation was like before each exited their car.

After glancing down for a long moment at my meal I saw out of the corner of my eye a threesome coming toward the window. It was an elderly man with a weathered leathery face. With him were two young boys, one that looked around four years old and the other most likely my daughter's age of around eight or nine. The man took position next to a tree by the entrance and instructed the children to play in the dirt below. With not a single moment of hesitation they began an imaginary game, eyes wide and excited to be set loose. The man pulled out a piece of cardboard. It was from a cracker box and when it was turned over it said, "Out of Gas" with a smiley face below. The way he revealed it spoke volumes. He hesitated for a brief moment, as if exposing it would cause a barrage of stones to be thrown his direction and then hung his head low while people passed. Out of gas means out of money. Out of money means little or no food. How could I sit here and enjoy this meal (or be critical of its taste), when just feet away from me children may be going without?

With these realities near or in our experience one 'how of eating' belief can become difficult to heal; the 'clean your plate' belief. This is a syndrome characterized by a need or desire to finish everything that is on our plate, without regard for our own physical needs, because of deep-rooted beliefs of lack.

Do you find that you always finish what you serve yourself or what is given to you? Do you ever ask yourself why? Why do you finish what is on the plate if you are actually satisfied or full? Here are the most common answers from clients who have the Clean Your Plate Syndrome:

• Out of pure habit.
• Because my parents taught me to clean my plate.
• Some people are starving so I should be grateful and consume whatever I am given.
• It tastes so good! I just want to eat as much as I can because it is pleasurable.
• I get distracted and just eat until there is no more.
• I paid for it so I am going to finish it!
• It feels satisfying to finish something.

Some of the time we insist on eating until everything is gone because of cost; we want to get the best value. Other times it can be because of distraction; we rely on external cues like our fork hitting an empty plate to tell us when to stop. The most common clean your plate belief though has to do with something deeply emotional and personal; the fear of not enough. 

The morality of 'finishing' is deeply embedded in many of us. Perhaps our parents went through the depression or even something as traumatic as the holocaust and taught us that tomorrow we truly may not have what our body needs - so we better eat today. We may even have experienced first hand starvation or going without food for long periods of time from poverty. Some clients were part of a big family and felt like the runt puppy in a litter, not feeling capable or strong enough to get the milk they needed. Whatever the source the bottom line is that we get the signal that 'tough times' can creep up at any moment and preparing, by holding on to each morsel today, is the best defense.

Healing your Clean Your Plate Syndrome is actually a powerful method to become a healthier more, 'in tune' eater. Here are ways that an intuitive eater views these beliefs:

• Children are starving in Africa: Who has not heard this argument from their parents? The reasoning does not make sense. Consuming more from our plate does not have any consequence on people who are starving. If you really do care about the state of humanity then take the energy that you have from not stuffing yourself (and eating until you are satisfied) and use it to fund-raise or volunteer in your community.
• Being wasteful is immoral and selfish: Cleaning your plate is wasteful in its own right if you are not truly hungry anymore. The food is not digested and utilized as well and thus provides less true energy. You may end up putting on more weight or eat so much that you purge. Your health suffers and society takes the bill. True waste comes from individuals who are not achieving their highest health potential. The beauty of awake eating is that the more you tune into your body's signals, the more efficient you become at ascertaining your dietary and portion needs. 
• It tastes good: When we are truly present for the pleasurable sensations of food and our body we know when to stop. The issue is usually that we appreciate the food and at the same time disregard the friendship and camaraderie of the body.
• I have accomplished something: I tell my clients that we are artists and food is our sculpture. If we are using food as a way to feel a sense of completeness then what does that say about our life? Why are we not gaining enough satisfaction and creative reward from accomplishing other tasks in our life? True achievement comes from leaving food when you know that your body has had enough and moving on to the reason why we eat in the first place - to enjoy other things.  
• Others do not have, so I should be grateful for every bit: As was the case for me at the deli. Yet again, this reasoning does not stand up to common sense. Would ignoring my body's cues and continuing to eat when I am no longer hungry be a sign of gratitude? That would be like continuing to fill up the gas tank in our car even though it was overflowing while we say how much we value it. The value level comes not from the amount taken in or whether we 'finish' off the supply but rather from utilizing its potential energy in the best, most efficient way possible.

Studies have shown that nearly all of us serve ourselves amounts of food that really have nothing to do with anything. We serve portions depending on the amount that is in the pot or dish, how many choices there are, who we are with and where we are. These are all external factors that have no precedence over what the body really needs. How do we bypass this and discover what amount of food will truly nourish us and not weigh us down? Letting go of the Clean Your Plate Syndrome! Here are some simple tips:

• Trashcan Your Food Exercise: Go out and buy a food item that you know you are only going to eat a portion of, acknowledging that you are going to throw it away when you are comfortably satisfied. Do this a couple times a week until you get comfortable with honoring your internal signals.
• Taper Down Exercise: At every meal practice leaving just a teaspoon-worth of food on your plate gradually increasing amounts as you get comfortable. Sometimes I do this and notice that I have more energy and feel more empowered by doing so (as long as I am honoring my body's needs).
• Appetizer Dining Exercise: Instead of using big dinner plates at your next meal, use small snack plates. Serve yourself small portions of the food, knowing that you will go back for seconds, thirds or fourths should you feel the need. This will allow you to get used to serving smaller portions and not feeling the need to pile a plate high (and then end up having to throw a portion away should you honor your fullness.)
• Two-Time Sit Down Exercise: Click here to read about it. This exercise can help teach you how to listen to your body while also detaching from the power of 'accomplishing' the whole meal.

The Clean Your Plate Syndrome does nothing for us, people in need or humanity as a whole. It teaches us to rely on external factors when eating and perpetuates the true cause of imbalances, eating disorders and health issues; pushing away our own intuitive nature and internal sensations.

Nat

Day 31 - I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, Diddly Dee

Yesterday evening I was famished. It was already 6:00PM and I needed to pick up my daughter from gymnastics, go to the grocery store and make dinner. I thought, 'Geez, that is going to take a good hour and a half. I am hungry now!' I could go and get take-out somewhere or buy something easy to throw into the oven but I knew that my body was in need of something special. All that I could think about was a warm bowl of golden coconut curry. I was going to make it happen.

I ended up making the most delicious thai-inspired meal that night. As my family and I sat down at the table to eat I was transported to eden. The way the creamy coconut milk base coated my tongue and throat was divine. The moist pieces of chicken paired with slightly crispy disks of carrot and medallions of mushroom fulfilled a richness that I had been needing all week. The rain pittered-pattered outside and inside I was warm, comforted and satiated. I ended up needing only half a bowl that nourished me well into bedtime.

The next morning my skin was more radiant and the fatigue I had experienced the day before vanished. I honored what I wanted, listened to my body and could see that my body was thanking me for listening to its needs.

How many of us disregard what we feel we need because thoughts like, 'that food is too fatty, too rich or has too many calories' filter their way in?

What your body is telling you is always taking you in the direction of well-being if you can learn how to decipher its messages.

My craving for creamy coconut was absolutely no coincidence and I knew it. Coconut is truly a superfood.

TOP 10 REASONS WHY COCONUT IS A SUPERFOOD

1. High in Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes and Antioxidants. The majority of Americans are deficient in antioxidants and other nutrients. These substances fight stress!
2. Easily Digested. Coconut doesn’t require any pancreatic enzymes for digestion! It contains certain fatty acids that have been used in clinical treatment of patients with digestion and absorption problems. This is great for people who have a hard time digesting fats, or whose gallbladders have been removed.
3. Immunity. Coconut's lauric, caprylic and capric acids provide amazing immune-enhancing benefits! They are proven antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal agents that strengthen your immune system. It helps your body fight disease organisms such as: 
1. Viruses like herpes, measles, and HIV
2. Bacteria, such as listeria (food poisoning), streptococcus, and staphylococcus.
3. Protozoa (parasites) like giardia lamlia.
4. Healthy Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA). MCFA's are saturated fats that the body can digest and burn easier than long chain fatty acids (like in cheese, meat, dairy). MCFA's are a different form of saturated fat that does not increase triglycerides, cholesterol levels or your risk for heart disease.
5. Sports Endurance Energy. The MCFA's in coconut are immediately sent to the liver to be used for energy unlike Long Chain Fatty Acids (from animal products) that can contribute to stored fat. In this way, coconut actually increases metabolism and energy without weight gain.
6. Promotes the Absorption of Other Nutrients. Coconut assists in digestive system function and healing, while promoting the absorption and utilization of fat soluble vitamins. By eating my turmeric rich curry and beta-carotene packed carrot with coconut I increased the absorption of fat-soluble compounds (like vitamin A) that otherwise may have not been utilized.
7. Electrolyte Drink. Coconut water contains more electrolytes than any fruit or vegetable. Because of it's unique chemical composition it is able to rehydrate the body and give it the strength and energy it needs for endurance and athleticism. In fact, it has 15 times the amount of potassium as most sports and energy drinks!
8. Anti-Aging. Coconut is the richest natural dietary source of cytokinins that have shown promise in strengthening the elasticity of the skin and slowing down general degeneration in the body.
9. Cardioprotective. Due to the high potassium content, coconut can stabilize blood pressure and improve circulation.
10. Heat Stable. Coconut can be used at high temperatures without becoming damaged or oxidized. Many natural fats actually have a low smoke point (meaning that they become damaged when cooked at even a relatively low temperature). Extra virgin olive oil breaks down easily when frying and can actually increase our need for antioxidants to fight the damaged fats. Use coconut oil to fry, cook and bake.

For decades science was telling us that coconut was bad. We now know they were wrong. What could have prevented this misunderstanding? Listening to our body and following its beautiful signals.

Day 30 - Effects of Distracted Eating

The second principle in The Awake Eating Method is Be Present and in counseling sessions this seems to be a concept that is met with a lot of resistance. People often ask, why must I change these habits? Are they really affecting my weight? I enjoy not being present when I eat. Isn't enjoyment a part of what you are trying to teach me?

The Be Present Step entails releasing distractions and coming to terms with what is happening in the moment, which is eating. It is the second pillar in a four-pronged system in creating a rock star eating experience - be receptive to your environment (followed by enjoying your food with no apologies and feeling the pleasure of the body). Here are some of the pointers for Step 2 out of the eBook:

• Release distractions: Turn off the TV, computer, radio. Close the book, magazine or newspaper. Pull over in the car (or any other machinery!). 
• Sit down. Snacking at the fridge or grazing off of a buffet is not creating a present moment awareness.
• Create a beautiful environment. Use candles, place-mats and people that you love as the setting. 
• Observe your food throughout the eating process. Look over the presentation, color, texture and amount. 
• Breathe. Let go of thoughts about the past or future and recognize eating for what it is; a biologically embedded moment for nourishment and self-love.

So, what is the big deal about our eating environment? Buckle your seat belts because here I go...

Most of us are asleep eaters who have divorced the beauty and pleasure of food for the interruptions and brief amusements of life. We are having affairs with constant diversions, taking us away from the innate pleasure and beauty of eating.

• 91% of us typically watch TV when eating meals at home
• 62% of us are often too busy to sit down and eat
• 35% of us eat lunch at our desk at work
• 26% of us practice regular 'dashboard dining' of eating when driving

When we are distracted we eat more and feel our body less. It is almost as though we are alien abduction victims who find that we are transported to the end of a family-sized cracker box.

Effects of Distracted Eating found in studies done by the Director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, Brian Wansink, Ph.D.:

• People who watch TV are more likely to be overweight than people who don't.
• The less TV people watch the skinnier they are.
• People who watch TV end up eating vastly more. In a study the subjects that watched TV for an hour (as opposed to a half hour) ended up eating 28 percent more popcorn.
• Children and adults snack more when watching TV and do so even when not physically hungry.
• Radio can distract us. People who listened to a lunchtime radio mystery ate 15% more than those who didn't.

Dr. Wansink found that the bottom line was that the more distracted we are the more we end up forgetting. In other words, the more we multi-task with food the more that our mind literally forgets that we even had it in the first place. His conclusions on distracted eating:

1. It makes us eat.
2. Forget how much we eat.
3. Extends how long we eat.
4. And we do all of these, even if we are not hungry.

Awake eating is about using the moments of eating fully to our advantage. It is a time to 'check in' and say hello to the body. The physical effects of awake eating are obvious. You become more attuned to your body's natural needs and desires (which are always sending you in the direction of well-being) and are able to acquire more enjoyment in the eating process, diminish cravings and eat the amount of food that is needed to create a healthy and beautiful body.

Have you ever wondered why you feel alone? Maybe you feel that this world is really just a scary and unwelcoming place? This may be because you disallow the observation of prime sustenance in the union of food and body; external and internal world; world and self.

When we become present we are transforming a mechanical, linear action of refueling into an act of nourishment. It is the difference between having sex and making love, walking to the post office or going on a revitalizing hike, laughing to blend in or laughing sincerely from the belly. Eating with your attention and awareness can literally transform the way you see your body, your whole being and the world around you because you are present to see the abundant substance that is there to feed you.

Personal Tidbit

Out at a sushi restaurant I felt incredibly self conscious about dinner with my daughter. I should have felt insecure about other things. I was snapping pictures left and right with murmurs and comments coming from the opposite table as the numerous flashes blinded the party. I could have felt apprehensive about the fact that I forgot to lock the restaurant bathroom door prior to our meal, perfectly adjacent to the dining area, only for it to be opened all the way by a gasping and nearly entombed elderly woman (with an expletive by me to boot) who seemed to have arthritis and could not manage to close the door (followed by another expletive).

What was on my mind was how little dinner conversation was present at the meal. I had this vision of how the meal should go, especially since we were investing in an 'eating out' experience. I imagined us laughing, giggling, talking about the meaning of life, all-the-while we are fully immersed in each others stories and anecdotes of the day. I tried to conjure up tête-à-tête by bringing up school or her recent playdate. I even resorted to asking about her career choices and long term plans (wow, I have become more like my father than I could have ever realized). As my daughter's chocolate cake was plated in front of her I realized how I had not been applying the Be Present step. That whole time thoughts were running amuck in my head and in addition to the elderly lady's table talking about my use of the Lord's name in vain, I was downright focused on everything but the food. That chocolate cake was a godsend to the meal. I saw my daughter, with no apologies, ignore me with every cell in her body as she savored and reveled in each bite. Good for her.

The interesting thing was that even though I had the highest quality food - I was ravenously hungry for nourishment by the time we arrived home. Is it a coincidence? No. I was not present so my mind had no idea what I really had received. Potential energy from food truly is reliant on our awareness. Distracted eating makes us focus on food later even if we are not hungry. We are trying to make up for the richness that we missed.

Nat

Day 29 - Awake Eating Improves Insulin Sensitivity!

As an adjunct to my post yesterday of, The True Meaning of a Calorie, I was just emailed by a colleague an amazing study that demonstrates the power of relying on our own internal body wisdom rather than external cues (like calories).

It is well known in the health world that dietary restraint (which is what most Americans use as the primary method of altering body composition) actually has a 95-98% failure rate. This means that dieting, counting calories and eliminating and restricting certain types of foods is not working. The researchers in this study wanted to figure out if teaching basic skills about hunger awareness could reap benefits in blood sugar and beyond. Of course I am interested. Awake, intuitive, conscious eating has a power that I have seen bypass any external method or program.

This study, published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, was designed to assess whether training a group of subjects in the skill of identifying initial hunger would prove effective in regulating eating patterns and improving blood sugar markers. In previous studies it had been shown that waiting for hunger before eating was associated with a significant decrease in energy intake.

The basic criteria was training individuals to understand the feelings of hunger. The subjects were asked to only eat when they could identify true physical signs of hunger. The subjects reported that their hunger came in the form of gastric pangs, sensations of emptiness and hollowness and mental or physical weakness. Through many methods of identifying physical hunger, the subjects at the end of the study were using only the subjective sensation alone of initial hunger as when to begin a meal. 

In the trained subjects, significant decreases were found in insulin sensitivity index, insulin and BG peaks, glycated haemoglobin, mean pre-meal BG, standard deviation of diary BG (BG as recorded by subjects' 7-day diary), energy intake, BMI, and body weight when compared to control subjects. In other words, the subjects trained in listening to their bodies (rather than trained in the diet mentality alone) ended up eating less, losing weight and having a healthier blood sugar and cardiovascular profile over the five month period than those who didn't.

Here is a link to a table showing the effects: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnume/2010/286952.tab2.html

The more that we attune to our naturally embedded biological signals of hunger, fullness and satisfaction, the closer we become to our natural, unlimited state of health.

Nat

Mario Ciampolini, David Lovell-Smith, Riccardo Bianchi, et al., “Sustained Self-Regulation of Energy Intake: Initial Hunger Improves Insulin Sensitivity,” Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 2010, Article ID 286952, 7 pages, 2010. doi:10.1155/2010/286952

Day 28 - The True Meaning of the Calorie

The numbers float in our head like a scene out of A Beautiful Mind. We have seen them on the back of every box, can and bag; featured in magazines, newspapers and periodicals; devoted to by our society in news headlines; entire books dishing the details of their imprint on every consumable. They may have shadowed the previous pleasure and satisfaction that we got from our meals just because we think that they do, in fact, exist. The calorie. A once elusive concept that had no precedence over our food decisions has now become our religion. Our commandments with the God of calorie is to monitor, identify, label and judge.

Can you imagine how it must look to in-tune-with-their-body indigenous people if they were catapulted into our society without knowing about our divine calorie God? How would it seem to them as we went through the grocery store aisles evaluating the food based on the number that a lab coat gave it? Would it make sense to them, after using their internal senses of sensation, hunger and fullness since the dawn of their inception to suddenly believe a written number on a label instead of their internal instincts? I am sure they would wonder why people read and conjecture through the choices, when they have been taught to simply listen to the body.

What really are calories and why do they get so much press?

Calories are really just a unit of energy labeled by science. They apply to anything that contains energy potential like gasoline (a gallon of which contains 31 million calories). We know them mostly as when applied to food.

A calorie is the amount of energy that is required to raise the temperature of one gram of water to one degree Celsius. I know. How bland. Wait for my definition below. What you see on the food labels are not actually calories at all but are actually kilocalories. If a can of soda contains 200 calories it is actually 200,000 regular calories or 200 kilocalories. No matter; they are just a form of energy-potential measurement.

Our bodies burn the calories from food through metabolic actions where enzymes break each food component (protein, fat or carbohydrate) down into smaller molecules that can travel into the bloodstream and be stored or reacted to with oxygen to be used for immediate energy. 

The number of kilocalories in a food represents the potential energy that it possesses. Potential energy is key to understand here because the power of the calorie can only be implemented properly when traveling alongside other constituents. For example, 200 kilocalories of licorice and 200 calories of almond butter are very different forms of food that create vastly different energy consequences. Here are some of the elements in food and the body that change the impact of potential energy:

• Additives, chemicals, pesticides, etc
• Enzymes
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Fiber
• Water
• Antioxidants
• Metabolism
• Organ reserves
• Emotional state
• Physical activity
• Brain function
• Intact digestive system
• The list goes on and on!

There are innumerable aspects that change the equation of the calorie. It is an incredibly flawed and limited system. When essential pairings that are formulated by nature to assist in the food's utilization and breakdown are not present the dynamic changes and potential energy can create a deficit, or energy withdrawal.

In addition, the number of calories that we need to function and thrive is different for each person. Throw away the 2000 calorie standard. To give out a number would be like estimating exactly how much fuel a car needs in America today. Each car has a different weight, energy requirement and internal demand; in addition to that each car's fuel needs depend on how far it is going and how its driver will function. These demands change every day are in a constant state of flux.

The truth of a calorie is this: a calorie is a unit of measurement that was derived to attempt to understand the complex and mysterious synergy of energy changing form. This scientific standpoint, although useful in many other realms beyond health and weight management, has actually become counter-productive in diet. A calorie is a limited marker that does not take into account the equation of so many vast variables, known and unknown. The truth is that a calorie is a false gauge that we now trust more than the ultimate guide; our body's natural, intuitive voice. No one can tell you how much energy potential you can create and utilize; and yet we do this everyday.

Imagine how indigenous people feel when they see how we approach eating food. Truly, our relationship with food shouldn't be based upon what science is clumsily trying to convince us is fact. Rather, when we are attuned to what we require from our bodies, the amount of food we need to accomplish our goals is an enjoyable eating experience. Food; real food; whole food is meant to fully be enjoyed and appreciated so we can tackle our daily tasks at hand with passionate vigor.

Part of the Awake Eating Method is about truly savoring your food for the pleasurable experience it is supposed to be, instead of a stressful event of caloric understanding. To discover your highest physical potential all you need to understand are the sensations inside your body. No other measurement is needed.

Nat

Day 27 - My Favorite Pesto Pasta Recipe Ever!

Hearty Whole Grain Almond Pesto Spaghetti
Adapted from Cafe Fernando- Istanbul

Ingredients:

16 oz. Whole Grain Rice Pasta
1/2 cup of Organic Raw Almonds
1 Bushel Fresh Basil
1 tbsp Grated Lemon Zest
3 tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
3 Garlic Cloves
1/2 tsp Salt
5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Place almonds in a food processor or powerful blender (I use my Vita-Mix) until finely ground. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, basil and salt. Process until finely chopped.
2. With machine running, gradually add oil and process until smooth. The pesto is done!
3. Cook the pasta as you normally would, according to directions, strain and mix with pesto, adding more olive oil and salt to taste.

I use the above almond pesto on steamed vegetables, chicken and as a salad dressing (mixed with red wine vinegar). Enjoy!!

Nat

Day 27 - The Customizable Anastasio Hodgepodge Salad & It's Origin

There are two things predictable about my father. The first is that he will always call once a week to check in. It's like clockwork. If a response is not received within a couple days the potential onslaught of a brigade to my last whereabouts may be deployed to ensure that I am not lying dead in a ditch somewhere. I love it. My own personal Italian Mafioso.

The second is that when you go to his house for dinner it is only inevitable that he will showcase his brilliant HodgePodge Salad (HPS) - a salad that has a significant meaning to the Anastasio family.

I remember when he first introduced me to it. I had been eating salad for quite sometime. They consisted of lettuce, canned beets and tofu... every single time. I never thought of anything else. I had memories of restrictive dieting where the bland and lifeless side salads were my only belly-comfort in the course of a week. It took a tremendous amount of will power to swallow every diluted and tasteless bite; I thought it nearly impossible to ever truly love something so torturous. Then I ate HPS. I could never go back.

My father was initially no different than me in his contempt for health food. We both were accustomed to casseroles, burgers and desserts as the mainstays in our diet. Vegetables consisted of a couple thin slices of lettuce atop a sandwich, or a piece of tomato on a macaroni and cheese platter; maybe some steamed carrots slathered in butter.

It was not until his health declined so rapidly that HPS came into our life. With the first signal of colon cancer and then soon after type II diabetes, my father divorced the core menu of his diet. Because both conditions were so intimately linked with diet, he focused on finding a way to incorporate a fiber-rich, nutrient-dense meal into his everyday life that was satisfying and delicious.

He started by using lettuce or greens of his choice like a bedded canvas on the bottom of a rustic wooden platter. He would then use kitchen utensils to thinly slice or grate vegetables into a artistic display. The avocado would be displayed like stacked halved butterfly wings, thick and abundant in one pile near the corner. A mound of rich and dark olives and slivers of beets would co-mingle next to a mountain of tuna fish salad and a heaping ladle of bright orange carrot gratings. Drizzled with a divine vinaigrette concoction it was a gateway drug to pure vitality.

This HPS work of art saved my father from dying too early and along with other lifestyle changes cured him of both diseases. Because of this HPS and I are tight. I have a respect for her daily delicious power that is unwavering.

HPS is not like any other salad. She is an invention designed to alter your viewpoint on the idea of a 'salad.' She is not a diet salad but rather a medley of your favorite rich and fresh foods bursting off the plate. You can use her as a canvas for expressing your love of color, texture and varying temperature. Sweetness with creamy, sour with salty, cold with warm, crunchy and dense or chewy and light.

I have adapted HPS to suit my favorite foods. I have a list below of the foods that I combine and use on a regular basis. There are probably a lot more, so add to it as you go on!

Remember that Awake Eating is about not only enjoying your environment (Step 2) and enjoying your food apologetically (Step 3) but also about enjoying the way your body feels (Step 4) after you eat. An Anastasio HodgePodge Salad can do just that!

Nat