In my world of health and wellness, I see a lot of people scrutinizing every morsel that crosses their lips, and analyzing everyone else’s plate too. I also see a lot of people that are still unhappy with their bodies, and often, lives. What gives? They’re eating the kale, drinking the juice, cutting out meat, sugar and alcohol, and going to yoga five times a week.
 
Drumroll…
 IMG_9544Food doesn’t matter that much. It’s more important to be peaceful, satisfied and happy in your life than “perfect” with your food.
 
There are so many mixed messages telling us we should be vegan, paleo, or macrobiotic, that it can be super hard to turn down the noise and find out what really works for us.
 
When you lighten up and approach food in a playful, fun, yet mindful way, you’re naturally guided to the foods that serve you best. When all realms of your life are in alignment, you won’t crave the sugar that’s giving you an insane energy crash every day, or the alcohol that’s making your skin break out.
 
When you’re living fully, awesome food choices come naturally. One of my greatest teachers, Joshua Rosenthal, always asks students to remember a time when they were really in love or immersed in a work project they were passionate about. It’s likely that they weren’t agonizing over food at that time.

Live your life based on your passion points and you’ll never feel neurotic and crazy again.
 
If we’re producing enough serotonin and other feel good hormones and staving off cortisol, we can handle imperfect food, because we will never be perfect, and we want to enjoy all of life’s pleasures, many of them being food. On the other hand, when stress hormones are pumping through our body, even a banana might make our stomachs bloat or our faces swell, leaving us totally uncomfortable for the whole day.
 
Stress hormones hinder digestion. We can’t process food when we’re in a state of fight or flight, the natural stress response.
 
When we learn to deeply relax ourselves, we’re 80% of the way to ideal health. We automatically gravitate toward fried or super sweet foods when we’re stressed, and wonder why we feel so terrible. Manage your stress first, and then you’ll have the peace of mind and clarity to naturally make beautiful food choices, including mindful, well-placed indulgences.
 
And while you’re handling that stress, take some time to lovingly look at your relationships, career, and overall lifestyle, and get real with yourself.
 
Are you really happy? What do you really want? Be bold and declare it, and it will come to you.
 
When you’re living your purpose, it’s hard to make a “bad” food choice. Yes, you might choose to order French fries sometimes, but you’re probably going to eat a much smaller amount than if you were a stress basket.
 
Your body in its natural, beautiful state is not designed to process large amounts of rich food.
 
The greatest tool I can give you to begin managing your stress and bring your relationships, career and any other aspect of your life into focus and alignment is diaphragmatic breathing. When you begin connecting with your body through your breath in this deep way, the weight falls off, your skin is radiant, you feel incredibly energized, and you have the focus and insight to make the choices you need to make to be your highest self.
 
I talk more about the physical effects of this breath work over at Mind Body Green, and I invite you to join the party there too. There are different styles of this breathing technique, but the primary goal is to breathe deeply into your stomach, allowing it to rise and fall. I like to practice diamond breath, which was taught to me by an amazing yoga instructor, Sue Neufeld:
 
1. Place your hands in a diamond shape over your lower abdomen, thumbs meeting at your belly button and forefingers pointed down.

2. Breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth or nose.

3. Do this twice a day for five minutes, once in the morning when you first wake up and once before bed to unwind and prepare for restorative sleep. You can also use this tool during the day when you feel stressed or uncentered. Doing this exercise for any amount of time will benefit you greatly. Start with just one minute and work your way up. You will see the benefits and want more.
 
Now I’d love to hear from you. Are you confused about your food choices? Do you feel like you’re doing everything right but still feeling terrible? What’s one step you will take this week to turn down the noise?
 
Leave me a comment below and we’ll work it out.
 
In the spirit of having fun with food this week, I’m sharing an awesome taco recipe with you. Tacos are outside my usually-paleo approach, but I still love them and eat them occasionally. What’s your favorite type of taco?

Share below!

Shrimp Tacos
Serves 2
 
Ingredients
½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ red cabbage
1 shallot
1 cup white beans
1 chipotle pepper + 1 T sauce
1 avocado
2 jalapeno peppers
3 garlic cloves
1 T white balsamic vinegar
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 t honey
Olive oil
Macadamia oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
 
Method
 
Thinly slice cabbage and shallot and combine with apple cider vinegar, 1 t honey, and sea salt to taste. Allow to pickle for 15 minutes, or as long as you have.
 
Prepare and mash your white beans, whether using dried or canned. Add chipotle and sea salt to taste until a thick paste forms.
 
Char your jalapeno peppers on a grill, your stovetop or a dry pan. Be careful! Allow them to cool and remove the seeds if you prefer your sauce less spicy. Roughly chop jalapenos, mince your garlic cloves, and add both to blender along with 3 T olive oil, 1 T white balsamic, 1 t honey, and sea salt and black pepper to taste.
 
Peel and devein your shrimp. Bring 1 T macadamia oil or other high-heat oil to high heat and sear your shrimp off for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through, depending on size. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper while cooking.
 
Warm your tortillas in a dry pan, then assemble your tacos by spreading the white bean paste on your tortillas, then adding your pickled cabbage, shrimp, sliced avocado, jalapeno sauce, sea salt and pepper.
 
Add a mojito or margarita and enjoy!

Photo: Brad Ogbonna