Sometimes a craving for a food that isn't healthy comes out of nowhere. A craving often comes when we aren't really hungry. And we know this habit of reaching for food when there is no hunger can lead to difficulties with our health and well being.
Today, Connie shares a 5-step process to help break free from poor food habits.
Join us to hear more.
So, how does change really happen? We can learn things to do when a pattern shows up. There are lots of strategies and behavior modification techniques to deal with habits. But so often they help us with the situation in the moment, but don't often lead to lasting change.
It seems to us that lasting change comes from insight. Seeing something new. Really seeing how things work, how life really works.
Here's something you can try to find lasting change and freedom from poor food habits.
Step 1: When an old craving comes up, relax. Relax your shoulders and let your thinking mind relax. Just pause and give it a moment without the continued focus on the craving.
Step 2: Welcome it. See if you can welcome whatever is pushing you to have the food. Welcome the feeling. See if you can welcome it like an old friend who's knocking at your door.
Step 3: Feel the feeling you're having free of any thoughts or ideas ABOUT what it is, where it came from, what to do about it, how to make it go away. Just feel the feeling free of any thoughts ABOUT it. See if you can feel the energy of the feeling. Does it have an energetic vibration? Get curious. What is it really?
Step 4: Give yourself permission to see what's driving it. Sometimes this reveals the old, conditioned thinking that's driving you toward the food. Sometimes you'll see something and sometimes you won't. But with this step of opening and giving permission to see the conditioned thinking behind it, the habit starts to unwind.
Step 5: Go on about your life. No need to hang on to any meaning or analyze what it's about. Just go on about your life and the impact of the unraveling will show up naturally.
An example of how seeing creates lasting change is to think about how we go from believing in Santa Clause to not believing in Santa Claus when we're young.
At first we believe Santa Claus brings us gifts because that's what we're told. And everywhere we look, it looks like that is true. And, I remember how, even when I saw several different Santas in different department stores, I was confused. But I never stopped believing the story. I wanted to believe it. There was support from others to believe it, so I did. In spite of evidence to the contrary.
Not until I had the insight, the new seeing that maybe there was no Santa Claus did that change. When I started looking at my experience from this new perspective, I began to connect the dots differently and could no longer believe in Santa. It no longer made any sense.
With that insight, when I was ready to see it, my belief in Santa Claus changed completely and could never be seen that way again.
That's the process of lasting change through insight. That's the process that can help us find freedom from poor food habits.
The recipe this week is a Mexican Potato Hash. We love Mexican dishes and potato dishes, so what could be better? Give it a try and let us know what you think below.
To your Amazing Health,
Connie and Bill
Mexican Potato Hash (Serves 2-4)
- 3 large potatoes, diced and cooked in ½ cup filtered water
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup filtered water
- 2 jalapeño peppers, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained
- small can chopped green chiles
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large tomato, diced
- ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
- Large container of spinach (11 ounces)
Add potatoes to a pan with ½ cup filtered water and boil until tender but not falling apart, 5-7 minutes. Drain and set aside. An option to boiling the potatoes is to air fry them for 20 minutes at 350º and set aside, adding them with the tomato, cilantro and spinach at the end.
In a large pan, sauté onion and garlic with ¼ cup filtered water until onion is soft.
Add jalapeño, red pepper, corn, beans, chopped green chilis and spices. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes.
Now add the tomato, cilantro and spinach. Stir well and cook for 5 more minutes or until spinach wilts.
Serve and enjoy.