This morning my mother and I both celebrated how we have lost five pounds in the two weeks since I launched my LivingLatinaLite challenge. I was surprised to find out she too was trying to lose weight. A reminder of how we are never alone.

This project is forcing me to be very honest with myself. I am coming face to face with my patterns of eating recklessly – at times I’ve used food as an escape from my emotions. I’ve soothed my sadness with saccharine and celebrated with savory entrees. I’d stuff my feelings down. When I was anxious, food made me feel safe.

It was my drug of choice. I loved the high I could get. It’s the reason why I’ve ping-ponged on the scale in a 75-pound weight range for 25 years. Just like any addiction, I’ve worked really hard at hiding it. But this is my time to come out and let go. After all the more you resist it persists.

As a writer, I would stay up late and eat my way through assignments when I was stressed. Social situations where food was involved were also extremely difficult. It meant I was not going to be protected in my home – I wouldn’t be in control and therefore I might lose control. It’s an understatement to say I just thought about food a lot. I thought about it all the time. And it was usually with feelings of fear, anxiety, and sadness.

Food is good for us; it nourishes us. Because we eat every day we should feel really good about it. But when negative emotions are associated with it is where problems arise, leading to possible self-destruction.  Only recently did I truly find the courage to change.

Here’s a tip I came across to help me. I hope for those of you who may find yourself eating out of emotion, you can find some use.

HALT!  Stay out of the kitchen when you’re:

(H) – Hungry

(A) – Angry

(L) – Lonely

(T) – Tired

When you find yourself reaching for food in one of these states, set a timer for ten minutes, grab a glass of water, and wait. More often than not you will be grateful for the opportunity to sit with your feelings a bit longer, and find another way to channel them by the end of those ten minutes. And many times we think we’re hungry but we’re actually thirsty.

I no longer feel shame in my shortcomings. I face them, surrender to a power greater than myself for help, and move forward. I truly believe we were all put on this earth to be our best selves.

“It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the greater God who made him.”

Abraham Lincoln

Check out today’s recipe!

Un Bonito Bok Choy Fricase de Pollo (Beautiful Bok Choy Chicken Fricassée)

A light, savory dish that’s quick to prepare and won’t make your feel stuffed.

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 shallots, sliced

3 medium mushrooms, sliced

4 chicken thighs, skinless and remove all fat

¼ cup tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons alcaparrado or mixture of olives, pimientos & capers

1 Tablespoon chopped oregano

1 culantro leaf, sliced

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

½ medium eggplant, thinly sliced

4 bok choy stems

Start by adding olive oil to pan over a medium-low flame. Add garlic and shallots. Simmer for several minutes.

Add tomato sauce, alcaparrado, oregano, and culantro. Stir. Add chicken broth and muchrooms.

Place chicken in pan and increase to medium-flame. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Then decrease to low flame, add sliced eggplant and mushroom and cook for another 5 minutes. Add bok choy and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve over brown rice. See my March 24^th blog entry – The Perfect Couple – Arroz Con Habichuelas Guizadas — for my brown rice recipe.

Buen provecho!