I think most of us have been there before when we have been stressed, emotionally down or bored next thing we found ourselves mindlessly devouring a box of chocolate, searching the pantry for some salty crunchy chips or search on Pinterest for food recipes and pictures.

We all eat food for reasons other than physical hunger. This is called emotional or non-hunger eating. When food is being used to manage any intensity of feeling. We use food and food thoughts as a distraction from any thoughts, feeling or situation we would rather not experience. ‘If I don’t want to be mindful, I can escape and go mindless with food or food thoughts’. Emotional eating is normal and happens on a continuum. We celebrate with food, we nurture with food.

Let me give you an example; you experience an angry feeling, next you have a food thought and you reach for a box of chocolate. Consciously or unconsciously we start to connect with food. It is the chemistry between food, mood and brain. Some foods work for us as mood regulator. You start eating the chocolate and anger goes away. The smooth creamy texture of chocolate in your mouth and its sweetness lightens up you taste buds and your brain registers the feeling of pleasure and joy. So you get hooked or addicted to food because food works. It is similar to taking aspirin every time you have headache. You know it works because you have experienced it before.
Feeling down can reduce your ability to perceive and taste of food and amount of fat in food. Back to you chocolate box, you keep eating without realising how much fat and sugar you have just ingested. Then anger starts creeping back and you eat more. Now in addition to the anger you have to deal with guilt and shame associated with over eating. Automatically your brain starts labelling chocolate a forbidden or naughty food. You feel worse as you think you don’t have control.

So what can you do if emotional eating is a problem for you?

Here are some strategies for you to take control of emotional eating . Try them out next time you feel stressed and vulnerable and feel free to add to your list.

• Make a conscious effort to become more aware of (more mindful of) how and why you use food as a distraction from other things in your life.
• Respect your body: stop and ask: Am I really hungry?
• Reflect: Pause for few minutes and reflect on your day to recognise the trigger for your negative feeling. Whatever the reason for your emotion is, just remind yourself eating would not make it better, if anything non-hunger eating will make it worse.
• Remove the stressor: remove yourself from the stressful environment. If you are at work step out of the office to get some fresh air. If you are at home, call your friend and go for a walk, go to the beach or take the dog for a walk. This will clear your mind and help you perceive and process the event without exaggerating the actual intensity of it.
• Raise your heart rate . Do some exercise, walk, swim, ride, box, hop, jump, skip, dance, anything you find fun. Exercise strengthens your brain’s ability to control anxiety, it can reduce the level of stress hormone called ‘Cortisol’. Exercise is also some appetite suppressing effect
  Re-prioritise yourself. Schedule some “ Me Time”. Find something that is relaxing for you . it is important to regularly pamper yourself and let your body and brain to unwind and recover.
• Rest: make sure you are taking enough sleep at night. Go to bed early to let your body and brain get enough rest.
  If you need more support to develop ways to self-soothe without using food, seek professional help and speak to a health coach specialised in manful eating

Diets take away the things we love, then makes us hate ourselves for loving them.
The mental game of eat healthy or die. We all have already seen or personally experienced the damages that chronic dieting cause including but not limited to:
Binge eating behaviours, preoccupation with food, feeling of deprivation. It decreases your metabolic rate, causes poor sleep and might put your body at risk of nutritional deficiencies.
And most importantly it is not a lifelong sustainable habit as it affects your socialisation.
Mindful eating is much more than “eating slowly or eating without distraction. Its also about eating with the intention of caring for yourself paying attention to the joy associated with food and its effect on your body and mind.
Here is few tips for you to get started with your mindful eating journey.

Reject the diet mentality and set your intention:
Mindful eating is eating with intuition, intention and attention.
I guess everyone’s intention is feeling better!

Honour your hunger:
Keep your body biologically nourished with a good balanced diet. When you are super hungry, all good intentions of intuitive eating become a strange and irrelevant.

Make peace with food:
Give yourself unconditional permission to eat and enjoy food. Constantly depriving yourself from eating particular food can lead to feeling of uncontrollable cravings and when you finally “give up” you experience over eating and overwhelming guilt. Stop labeling foods. Consider all foods and snacks to have neutral morale value . Food is neither good or bad.

Connect with your food:
When eating a meal or snack use all your senses. Feel the texture of the food with your fingers, in your mouth. Pause to pay attention to the smell and the colour of the food. While chewing your food slow down, close your eyes and observe the taste and the unique crunchy sound it makes in your mouth.

Feel your fullness:
Trust your body and listen to it’s signals when tells you it is time to stop eating as you are no longer hungry.

Discover satisfaction factor:
When deciding what to eat for meals or snack, consider what your body needs. Ask yourself these questions:
What do I really feel like having?
What does my body really need?
How do I feel after eating that particular food?
Use nutrition information as a toll to guide your choices but keep pleasure and satisfaction the prime goal.
When you constantly practice mindful eating you will reconnect with your body and mind and will become an expert in balancing eating for nourishment with eating for pleasure.

My final tip is try to cope with your emotions without food:
Be mindful of triggers for emotional eating. Try not to suppress them but observe them, acknowledge hem and recognize them. Food won’t fix any of these feelings. If anything , eating for emotional hunger will only make it worse as ultimately you have to deal with the source of the emotion as well as the guilt of overeating. Make yourself a priority. Find ways to nurture and comfort yourself. Get enough sleep, exercise, work on your relationships and enjoy life.

All whole grains are “ Ancient” they all trace their root back to the ancient time. Grains and grain foods are staples in the diets of cultures around the world, and have made an important contribution to our daily diet since beginning of cultivation. Their consumption is encouraged in dietary guidelines both in Australia and around the world for their significant role in our health and wellbeing. Research shows people who eat whole grain food regularly are 20 – 30% less likely to develop heart disease , diabetes or excessive weight gain over time.
Ancient grains such as quinoa , Amaranth, Buck wheat, Freekah, Ferro, Teff and Millet are being promoted by dietitians as they are healthier and more nutrition packed compared to refined grains. . As well as providing a variety to meals, these grains are bursting with essential nutrients for health and well-being.
Whole grains love your whole body. They provide your body with energy and protein variety of minerals and vitamins essential for health of your muscles, brain, skin, bones and digestive system.

Teff is a tiny grain traditionally grown in Ethiopia that packs a big punch nutritionally – it’s high in dietary fibre and iron, provides calcium and protein and is gluten free.

Here is a great make ahead ,kids friendly Teff falafel recipe recipe for you. Happy cooking!