Focus
Once upon a time it was an evolutionary advantage to craving and seeking out calorie dense foods. Our taste buds were (and still are) primed to explode with the sweetness in fruit, our mouths to water contemplating satisfying starches, and our brains braced to fire up on fats. In whole foods, these crave worthy sugars, starches and fats are packaged with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Let's also not forget the effort it took us to find and collect these foods, or their seasonal scarcity. This made us very sensitive to environmental cues - to the sight and smell of food, to the promise of calories to come. Now, in our modern food environment, there is an abundance of highly refined sugar, starches and fats, engineered to taste good and hijack that survival instinct that demanded more. These new era calories are stripped of most vitamins, minerals and fiber, but are convenient, highly accessible, inexpensive and heavily promoted. How can we resist?
Well said
"It's not actually about needing calories; it's about desiring the reward of food." Ashley Gearhardt
Fact
Every day children are exposed to 9-10 fast food advertisements and this does not include ads on social media, or subliminal product placement. Food And Addiction Science and Treatment Lab.
Spotlight
Research shows that fast food advertising activates the reward centers in the brain more effectively than other types of advertising. It sends us hunting for food and not only the specific fast food that we have ogled as it temptingly revolved in space, but any similar food in that category. Any highly refined combination of sugar, starch and fat.
Practice this
Look away! As much as possible, avoid the insidious seeds planted by fast food advertising - do not stare at billboards, be tantalized by TV commercials, or pay any attention to the product placement in your current TV bingefest. Acknowledge any manipulation and question your motivation when you find yourself foraging in the kitchen during an advert break.
Feast your eyes on healthy foods and snacks - a big bowl of fruit on the counter, a fridge full of easily accessible, pre-prepped whole foods. Accept that if you see it, you will eat it and control your environment accordingly.
Recipe
Tahini sauce is delicious drizzled over salad, in summer pasta, over roast vegetables, in your sandwich (no no mayo) and even as a less-substantial-than-hummus dip. Experimentation with different herbs provides countless variations -https://cookieandkate.com/best-tahini-sauce-recipe/#tasty-recipes-28888
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