Food & Emotion vs. Emotional Eating

Saturday morning I decided to put our initials into the pancakes forming our family's acronym with a special pancake love note for my husband.

Most of us understand that there are dangers associated with emotional eating.  However, emotional eating is distinct and separate from evoking emotion with food.  With emotional eating, healthy coping skills are lacking and food is used as an emotional salve, emotional numbing agent, or even a substitute therapist. 

Evoking emotions with food is a hallmark of good culinary culmination.  Chicken soup that is so hearty and soothing it transports you back in time to your grandma's kitchen, or eating a salad of heirloom tomatoes that have such vibrant flavor it takes you back to a warm August afternoon are just a few examples.  Food nourishes us in many ways, and nutritionally is just one.  Food also nourishes and sustains us in cultural, familial and historical ways.  So don't be afraid to communicate some emotion with food whether it be a love note written on a pancake, or passing on a favorite recipe to a friend.  In fact, the more we accept this connection, the less we will be tempted to abuse food with unhealthy, disconnected, emotional eating. 

Stay tuned for more info on my upcoming class series on healing the relationship with food.