“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” –Jane Goodall

Satisfaction

“Satisfaction is a total experience, when you are truly satisfied, nothing is missing. The idea of wanting it because you won’t be able to have it next week is unrelated to satisfaction. Wanting is in the future, satisfaction is in the present. Wanting focuses on what you can’t have, satisfaction notices what you do have and allows that to be enough.”

~paraphrased from Geneen Roth

I recently read a great book call “Emotional Sobriety” by Tian Dayton. Dayton discusses a number of ways to achieve emotional freedom through self regulation and meeting one’s individual needs. I am going to quote Dayton from chapter 23 in which she describes the amazing capacity of the human being to heal and change;

“Our evolutionary mandate is to thrive. We are wired to heal. Just as a broken bone can knit itself back together, a broken heart can mend. We are designed to live with a degree of unpredictability and challenge; we’ve been equipped to roll with the punches. Nature knows life is tough; that’s why she has built a medicine chest right into our DNA. All of our traits-this ability to care and be cared for, to get sick or hurt and to get better-have been selected throughout our evolution for their adaptability and resilience. That is the DNA that’s in us. Thriving and healing in this sense is natural. If we can get ourselves onto a good and wholesome track, nature will help us do the rest. Nature wants us to heal, survive, and succeed.”

To summarize Dayton, she states that emotional intelligent individuals have these traits in common:
1) They are able to self-reflect and take charge of their own lives.
2) They take responsibility for their own attitudes.
3) They have goals and work toward meeting them
4) They consciously maintain good habits.
5) They have good boundaries.
6) They know their own shortcomings and insecurities.
7) They avoid unnecessary conflict but speak up when necessary.
8) They have realistic expectations of life.
9) They take responsibility for their own moods.
10) They have and live by good values.
11) They are grateful and appreciative of what life gives them.
12) They maintain strong relationship networks.
13) They are active and get involved in life.
14) They tend to have a positive belief system of some kind.
15) They live in the present.
16) They have a balanced and mature outlook on life.

Once these key traits are nourished “We’re no longer visiting a new body, we’re living in it. We’re in the present rather than the past. We have found and learned how to value and maintain our inner peace. We’re comfortable living in our own skin. We’re in our bodies rather than our heads. Our thinking, feeling, and behavior are congruent. This is emotional intelligence.”

“How we eat is a metaphor for how we live, our feelings about receiving pleasure, being nourished, and taking time for oneself.” ~ Geneen Roth

“Realize a larger sense of identity…we go from an exclusive identity with the ego to recognizing something larger that is including the ego but is resting in something bigger. We are never getting rid of anything we are just larger.”

~Tara Brach

The following quote is from Chris Sandel, of Real Health Radio. I am directly quoting him because he stated this important point so well!

“When assessing your diet please focus on the results you are getting and not just the foods you are eating. Even if you are following the list of foods that may be suggested not all of them are going to be perfect foods for you no matter how amazing they seem on paper. Real health comes from reading the feedback that your body is giving you and making the necessary changes to improve it. Not blindly following something because you believe it is ‘healthy’.”

It is your body, your life, and your in control of listening to your intuition! Color your life with variety and find joy in eating!

“Be yourself, and never stop being!”
~Erica Van Mieghem mindful thought while brushing teeth

This quote inspired me today:

“Food is meant to fuel your body, heal it, and also provide your mind a moment of contentment.”

~Akiva Elstein, owner of Navy Restaurant in New York City

The delightful sensation of a ripe piece of fruit hitting the taste buds and creating an overall satisfaction in mouth feel, smell, and taste is quite the treat! And for all that pleasure to come in a completely unprepared, unprocessed package I can think of no better hunger quencher. The most beautiful parts of a fruit can vary quite dramatically. The fruit that tempted Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden was quite attractive in appearance, a red lush, shiny apple. What if she had seen a kiwi with its hairy brown outside? I do not think Eve would have been as tempted to sink her teeth into a kiwi. However, anyone who has cut into a kiwi would know that its flesh is quite as lovely and juicy as an apple.

Fruit may be the teaching us a time old moral of not “judging a book by its cover,” or fruit by its skin. But there is something to the skin of the fruit that does visually communicate the   nutrient density and ripeness of the succulent ovary.

“On a per-pound basis, smaller fruits contain more nutrients and flavor than larger ones. This is because in most fruits (and vegetables) the nutrient and flavor components are concentrated in the skin or just under it; the smaller the fruit, the more surface there is in relation to total mass.” Rebecca Wood, The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia 

In addition to showing nutrient density or beauty below the surface, the feel and color of the skin also guides us as to when is the best time to harvest.

“The starches in some fruits, such as avocados and bananas, the so-called climacteric fruits, become sweeter after harvest. This is not the case with nonclimacteric fruits; if they are picked while immature, they’ll remain immature. A peach, for example, that’s harvested while still firms lacks flavor, aroma, nutrients, sweetness, and pleasure.”  Rebecca Wood, The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia 

Below is a list of nonclimacteric fruits that need to be bought when ripe, as they do not become sweeter after harvest:

Apple, Apricot, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cantaloupe, Cherry, Fig, Grape, Nectarine, Peach, Pineapple, Plum, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Strawberry, Watermelon.

The following climacteric fruit can be purchased firm and will become sweeter after harvest:

Asian pear, Avocado, Banana, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Lemon, Lime Mango, Pear, Persimmon, Tomato.

The succulent fruits listed above have given animals of all kinds a clear seasonal, visual, dialog that will only enhance the enjoyment of the beauty that lies skin deep.

Note: the skin should not be taken off in most cases to experience the full spectrum of nutrients and fiber that the fruit has to offer.