Its time to talk about what we choose to eat and how it can begin to shed some light on our emotional state of being and inner drives.

We are so often being driven by our subconscious that we fail to realize just how far it has driven us somewhere. We keep eating or fueling ourselves ignoring the facts we are actually tired, overwhelmed, or in another difficult state of being. Its no wonder weight problems and food difficulties have become an issue to much of society.

Its amazing what I learned about food and the body these past few years. Its no wonder a huge bowl of greens surrounded by color makes me smile inside and out.

When we decide to make the leap from a Standard Diet to Vegan and then Raw Vegan… it becomes very interesting how differently we begin to view food.

Our senses awakening and body becoming more aware of the increase in energy and vitality. It can be felt almost instantly mentally and physically. Meal by meal, growing more and more at each stage of our diet change. Especially if we reach the point where we are primarily consuming raw fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and sprouts.

Who doesn’t spring forward from a smoothie bowl or cup of fresh fruits, salad, amazing mixed veggie platter or lettuce wrapped sandwich…?!? I believe we can almost all relate to this! Yet how often do we find ourselves still drawn to cooked, denser foods, or dishes we grew up with?

When eating cooked foods, a sauteed pan of veggies, burger, falafels, pasta, stir-fry or pizza all taste and sound absolutely amazing… butttttt….. and a big BUTTTTTT….

Have you ever looked back at the photos of your food? Ingredients become a bit undefined, if ya know what I mean. The vegetables colors are lost, a lack of luster and the entire dishes ingredients are often faded completely…. our veggies looked so much prettier before we cooked and killed them

What I mean is.. pizza is just straight comfort food…. you can receive so many more benefits from these vegetables and components when they are not cooked and withered away to some nostalgic memory and meal. We are literally cooking the life out of our foods and we can see it happening. The colors change as the nutrients become lost.

“Life comes from Life” not a Lifeless bowl of food… its no wonder we find ourselves tired after eating sometimes!

I heard a statement once, well two statements that got me thinking alot…..

First…
If youre not hungry enough to eat an apple, youre not hungry 😉

Second…
All cooked foods are comfort foods… hmmm right? 🤔

So I started to pay attention to my thoughts behind my cravings… and I noticed some things….

I cut out cooked foods…. but randomly I crave certain things. So in my head I always repeat those two statements followed by asking myself…. Am I feeding my body, or feeding an emotional need?

If the body, then I ask, what is it in this food that I am craving? Fats, protein, carbs? Breaking it down to try to understand what lies beneath this “fried rice” craving I’m experiencing… since our body just wants nutrients. NOT fried rice, a burrito, or that slice of pizza 🤪

Alot of times its for fatty foods but also sometimes for carbs…

When I am in tune with my body, eating raw foods has always targeted my craving I am having. Immediately the hunger passes and I am left satiated.

Although sometimes I have found myself eating and still my mind and body could not find satiation, my stomach felt like a bottomless pit. Who else has been here?!? 🙋‍♀️

It was in these moments where I was still hungry, knowing I just ate more than enough… I realized it was an emotional calling…

I begun taking conscious awareness of these times and working actively on the issue. Asking myself in these moments I was hit with cravings, why this food? What or when does it remind me of?

Food can be a source of comfort I began realizing. We grow up gathered around a kitchen table, enjoying food with loved ones, these cherished memories then become programmed into us. Our subsonscious minds often storing and associating the food with the emotional or joyous state of being.

We also all have a memory or two of coming home as a child hurt or upset to having our parent make us our favorite meal. Its no wonder how these two can become so quickly and closely related. Food and Pleasure. Comfort and Happiness.

When we’re having a bad day we are often seeking comfort or seeking a feeling of relief to our circumstances. And we all need to eat to live… hence how these two easily fall together hand in hand.

Our subconscious mind driving us, we may find that we are drawn to crave a particular dish. Your “favorite meal” growing up? The one your mom always cooked when you werent feeling well for example. We have so much attachment to food emotionally sometimes we do not even realize its affects or take this moment of conscious awareness. We just simply have this “craving” driving us.

The most important thing I think I learned eating as a Raw Vegan was learning to cope with emotional eating and most importantly understanding my connection to foods and my own cravings on a more deeper level.

At the end of the day… all cooked foods are basically just comfort foods. If we find ourselves starved and we have a banana yet dont want the banana.. look deeper at whats driving these thoughts. You might be surprised!

Instead enjoy those colorful fruits and veggies!! Its not only a way to balance ourselves emotionally, but physically as well. It can be seen within a few days just how much more energy we can have and clarity of thinking when we are filled with living foods versus cooked.

When we are committing ourselves to connecting to actual hunger we can truly help heal and eliminate emotional issues and help to balance our inner beings. While Im sure you can very well do this on any diet. The amount of clarity you can gain, vitality, and energy is unmatched in comparison to what we can receive from eating raw foods.

Again Life comes from Life… not a Lifeless bowl of food… keep rereading that 😉