Here we go again, another link post to get you out and about in the wonderful world of positive body image blogging. My list is short and sweet but very much worth the read.

Around Here

• I wrote a guest post at Health for the Whole Self this week that you should check out. It is about the mindset I went into intuitive eating with and the mindset I created throughout my process.
• Send me any questions you would like answered on the blog to honoringhealth@gmail.com for the {reader request} series!

Blogs

• Katie wrote an amazing post called Brownie Alert which talks about emotional eating and what comes first, the food or the emotion. Awesome post for anyone who struggle to identify why they eat when they aren’t hungry.
• A Weight Lifted featured an awesome post about how to stop hating your body using a method that is very near and dear to my heart. Check it out to find out what that is.
• Mara does it again with a great post about manifesting the life you want. I know it sounds kind of hokey but I totally believe that we can manifest the life we want with positive thinking and envisioning the life we dream of.

Books

• I have been a terrible book whore this week. I haven’t read a word in anything other than my google reader and my school books. What have you been reading?

Tell me, what have you been up to? Have a post you are especially proud of or something you read blow you away? Leave some links in the comments!

More on This Topic?

• What’s Going On? 7~24~10
• What’s Going On 7~16~10
• What’s Going On 7~10~10

Making peace with food and enjoying what you eat is an integral part of intuitive eating. And through my own process of learning to listen to my body, I’ve learned that creating and sharing recipes is one of my favorite pass times. I love every part of it, from coming up with my next recipe post idea, to the photographing and I especially love hearing your feedback about making them. With that in mind, I’d like to know which recipes you are most interested in. You can choose as many answers as you like and if there is something not listed, let me know in the comments!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

More on This Topic?

• Friday Poll – Emotional Eating
• Friday Poll – Trusting Your Body with Food
• Honoring Health Poll

This dark chocolate coconut milk ice cream recipe is actually a re-do of my first one. I was actually going to get a little crazy and make something new and when I got in the kitchen and starting playing around, I realized that there was some room for improvement in my first version of chocolate coconut milk ice cream. Not that it isn’t awesome, because it is, but I think these couple of tweaks take it to a whole new level. The brewed coffee is the secret here, something about the flavor of coffee really enhances the richness of the chocolate. And lets face it here, when we want chocolate ice cream, we want it to be rich.

And by we, I mean me.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

A Re-Do

Makes about a quart

2 cans coconut milk

1/2 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp brewed, cold coffee

1/2 tbsp chocolate extract

1/2 tsp xanthum gum

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and process until mixed very well. Place the mixture into the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and process again just to be sure it is stirred well. Add to your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions. I have found that with coconut milk ice cream, the longer, the better. I left mine in the ice cream maker for about 40 minutes. Remove from the maker and scoop into a freezer safe dish and freeze until ready to serve. If you eat it right away, it will be more like soft serve but if you freeze it before eating, it will be more like store bought.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

p.s. Be sure to stop over at Health for the Whole Self today where I share some of my insights about my personal intuitive eating journey.

More on This Topic?

• Homemade Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
• Strawberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream
• Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream
• Homemade Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
• Simple Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

As human beings, we are creatures of habit. We get so caught up in the day to day, we often forget to stop and examine what we are doing and why we are doing it. This is especially true when it comes to taking care of ourselves with exercise. When I ask people about their exercise habits, they are keen to tell me the amount of hours they spent on the treadmill, the miles they ran or the number of days they went to the gym.

My next question is always:

Does that bring you joy?

I’m sure you can guess what the answer is most often.

Regular exercise is a wonderful and essential part of self care however, exercise that does not bring you joy is not self care. In fact, it is the opposite.

Ever wonder why you get all hyped up on an exercise routine and eventually give it up completely?

For days, weeks or months at a time?

It is within our feminine nature (sorry to any dudes who may be reading), to want playful, fun ways of moving our bodies. When we don’t honor that side of ourselves, we sabotage our own efforts and just stop moving at all. This can even be true with activities we do enjoy.

I’ve even found this to be true with my yoga practice. Every time I get caught up in the “exercise” of it or view it as something I have to do, I stop. But then, each time I step on my mat, I feel a sense of relief and like I have come home. It is when it feels rigid and forced that I just can’t seem to make it there. But those times where I just feel drawn to my mat are the times when I can just be with myself and feel joyful in my practice.

And feeling joyful is what it is all about. If it doesn’t bring you joy, don’t do it. Find something that brings you pleasure and do it for the joy of it otherwise, you are likely to only sabotage your own efforts.

Feel like dancing?

Hoola hooping?

Skipping?

Doing yoga?

Long walks in the woods (aka hiking)?

Do it.

And get off the treadmill.

(unless it brings you true, childlike joy)

What exercise brings you pure joy? The kind that makes you laugh and smile while you are doing it?

More on This Topic?

• On Being Judgmental
• What Intuitive Eating Means to Me
• A Leap of Faith
• The Missing Piece

Of all the questions I am asked about intuitive eating, how eating sugar comes into play is the most common.

And what a loaded topic it is.

Sugar, even natural sugars like agave, honey and maple syrup can set you up for cravings for more sugar. A little turns into more which turns into more which turns into way too much. The wires get crossed and it can become impossible to distinguish your bodies real signals from sugar cravings. It becomes a viscous cycle that can be really hard to bounce back from.

And because of that, I’d say that you can’t eat intuitively if you eat too much sugar.

But how much is too much? Well, I can’t really answer that because too much is going to be different for everyone. For some, it is a little, for some it is none at all and for others, they can take it or leave it.

In order to figure out what works for you, you need to tune into your body and then start applying some logic. Keeping a food mood journal can be really helpful in getting it figured out but it is important to ask yourself some questions.

How much sugar can you eat without it turning into cravings for more sugar?

Is it once per day, once per week, twice a month, never?

How do you feel when you eat different types of sugar? Does the white stuff send you into an instant downward spiral or does agave give you a little more wiggle room? Is fruit OK but cupcakes make you crazy?

How does eating sugar make you feel physically? What about an hour after you eat it? Four hours later? The next day?

These are questions that only you can answer by experimenting with your body.

In the end, it is really about making a choice to honor your health. If you can eat cupcakes all day long and feel in control of your choices, rock it out. Enjoy one for me but if it makes you feel lethargic, sets you up for more cravings and generally makes you feel like crap, don’t eat it. And if you eat it anyway, eat it with the awareness of what is going to happen afterward.

Now, I’m not saying that sugar is evil and that you should avoid it at all costs. In fact, making peace with sugar is a really important step in getting to a place where you can make a logical choice about what works for you. In order to do that, you have to be tired of suffering through the consequences of eating it. And if you aren’t there, that is OK, too. Eventually, and I am speaking for myself here, too, you will get to a place where feeling your best is more important than the instant gratification of sugar.

Where do you stand with sugar? Do you feel like it controls your food choices and gets in the way of listening to your body?

p.s. only a few more days to register for the hunger and fullness teleclass!

More on This Topic?

• You Won’t Know Unless You Try
• Friday Poll – Trusting Your Body with Food
• Are You Scared of Eating Fat?
• Deprivation vs. Choice
• Trying Again

I had pan fried potatoes for the first time about 10 or so years ago, I know, it is kind of a shame that I’d never had them before. Now days, it is one of my favorite ways to prepare them. As with most anything else I make, the ingredients are simple and you probably already have them in your pantry. They come out similar to roasted potatoes but the outside is even crunchier, similar to a french fry. As you can see, we douse them in ketchup but they would also be just as delicious with a creamy dip like ranch dressing.

Pan Fried Potatoes

Serves 3 to 4

1 lb small red, organic potatoes, scrubbed

2 tbsp grapeseed oil, plus more as needed

house seasoning, to taste

Slice the potatoes into thin circles or half moons, depending on how large your potatoes are. They should be about 1/4 inch thick for best results. You may use a mandolin but a sharp knife does the job just as easily. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once the potatoes are sliced and the oil is hot, add the potatoes to the pan. Season the potatoes with the house seasoning and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the potatoes, season again and continue this process until most of the potatoes are golden brown. It normally takes about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how thick you sliced the potatoes. You may need to add more oil as you go along if the potatoes start to dry out. Serve the potatoes hot with plenty of ketchup.

Do you like potatoes? What is your favorite way to cook them?

More on This Topic?

• How to Cook (and eat) Edamame
• Basil Tomato Salad
• Oven Roasted Broccoli
• Garlic Swiss Chard
• Mexican Squash

Recently, a reader asked me the difference between intuitive eating and trying to lose weight without dieting. I thought this was such a great question that I would use it for my first {reader request} post. As you all know, I have some pretty strong opinions about intuitive eating and that the intention behind learning how to listen to your body shouldn’t be to lose weight. I just don’t believe that intuitive eating, at least my definition of intuitive eating, and trying to lose weight go hand in hand.

The primary goal of intuitive eating is to change your relationship with food, exercise and your body. For the intuitive eating process to be effective, I believe that one must focus on learning to listen to their body instead of trying to change their body. That isn’t to say that losing weight isn’t possible once you are eating intuitively, because it is possible, in fact, if you are carrying too much weight it is highly likely. But intuitive eating is about embracing who you are, on the inside and out and that includes any extra weight. In my experience, both with clients and my personal journey, I find that when weight loss is the primary goal, one tends to sabotage their own efforts by creating rules around food and eventually overeating and binging.

Trying to lose weight without dieting is a whole other ball game, I’ve been there and done that too. In fact, I even did that and called myself an intuitive eater. Though I wasn’t counting anything or following any specific diet plan, I was monitoring what I ate, sometimes doing calorie checks in my head and adjusting what I was eating accordingly. I thought I was listening to my body when in fact, I was listening to my mind. And when it comes to intuitive eating, that rarely ends well.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that the desire to lose weight is bad and will make it impossible to become an intuitive eater. I think that if one is overweight and it gets in the way of living a comfortable life, weight loss as a goal is a 100% valid. But I think that instead of focusing on that goal one must really focus on making peace with food and honoring their health. Trust in the process and know that if you are truly listening to your body, honoring your hunger signals and doing the work, you will get to your bodies natural weight (even if that number isn’t the one you think it should be).

Do you have a question you would like me to address in my next reader request? Send me an email to honoringhealth@gmail.com or leave it in the comments below!

More on This Topic?

• Intuitive Eating and Sugar
• You Won’t Know Unless You Try
• As the Scale Settles
• What Intuitive Eating Means to Me
• Making Peace With Food

I love the kind of weekends that are long and slow with plenty of time for blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Especially now when blueberry season is in full swing. There is something about making pancakes that feels so special. I used to make pancakes with my grandmother as a really small child and remember her teaching me about the little bubbles that burst on the surface when it is time to flip. Now, every time I make pancakes I feel like I’m making something time honored, even when I use a mix.Which, in this case I did.  We are gluten free and I don’t have the patience for mixing 14 flours when I am groggy eyed on a Saturday morning but if you are not gluten free, any pancake mix should work.

Blueberry Pancakes

Makes 8 small pancakes

1 1/2 cups gluten free pancake mix

1 tbsp flax seed

3 tbsp water

1 cup rice milk

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup blueberries

Combine the flax seed and the water in a small bowl, set aside for 5 minutes until it gels. Once the flax is gelled combine it with the remaining ingredients, except the blue berries, in the blender and blend until smooth and set aside to thicken. Heat a griddle to 300*. Once the griddle is hot, check the batter to see if it is thick enough, if not, let it set longer and if it is too thick, add more milk a tablespoon at the time until it is the thickness you like. Once the batter is ready, pour it onto the hot griddle in small circles and then sprinkle each with blueberries. Cook the pancakes until the small bubble start to burst on the surface and then flip. Cook for a couple of minutes more. Serve the pancakes with your choice of toppings.

More on This Topic?

• A French Toast Recipe
• No Bake Cookie Oatmeal
• Carrot Cake Oat Bran
• Pumpkin Custard Oat Bran
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Mash

It’s that time again! I am so glad you all are enjoying my links round up post! They are so fun and I just love being able to share what I learn from others!

Shameless Self Promotion

• This past weekend, I had a guest post on Girl Meets Health that I would love for you to check out! It is about learning how the difference between our body’s signals and our minds signals. A must read!
• I announced an upcoming teleclass on hunger and fullness and would love it if you could make it.
• Starting next week, I will be answering readers questions in a post each week for a new series called {reader request}. If you have a question you would like me to answer in a post, please email me!
• I’m offering 10% off your entire purchase on my handmade jewelry website using the coupon code: honoringhealth along with free shipping to anyone in the US.

Blogs

• Mish wrote a beautiful post that I think everyone should read about the 3 year old spirit. When it comes to intuitive eating, trusting ourselves and loving life, we have a lot to learn from young children and Mish does a lovely job of showing us that.
• Lisa wrote an interesting post about gluten and her gallbladder that ties really well into the post I wrote on Monday about tuning into your body to figure out what to eat. Intuitive eating at it’s finest, Lisa.
• Heather wrote a truly inspirational post about living your life right now. If there is anything I’ve learned in healing my relationship with food, it is certainly that this is the only life we get so live it now.
• Mary wrote an amazing post about guilt and food. Read it.
• For you parents out there, there was a great interview on Weightless about building positive body image in  your daughters.
• Once again, my friend at Voice in Recovery is rocking out amazing posts. Check this post out about what health means to her.

Books

• I finally finished the Paula Deen Memoir and I must say, I loved it. There was one section at the end I could have done without since it was about learning how to run a restaurant. I think for anyone who is interested in running a restaurant, it would be awesome advice. Otherwise, I love the book. It was a great insight into someone I really admire and it was really encouraging on really going after what it is you want in life.
• I’ve been really busy this week so my reading has been very little so I’ll pull and oldie but goodie out of the archives. French Women Don’t Get Fat is a wonderful look into the lives of French women and food.It is a testament to the fact that when women are not obsessed with diet and exercise the way we are in America, that we really can eat whatever we want and be healthy and fit.

So that is what is going on with me. What is up with you? Write any posts you are especially proud of or read something that you must share? Leave me some links!

More on This Topic?

• What’s Going On 7.31.10
• What’s Going On 7~16~10
• What’s Going On 7~10~10

This pomegranate spritzer is the perfect drink for a hot summer evening. When I started the Paula Deen Challenge, this was honestly one of the first recipes I wanted to make and for some reason, it took me a few weeks to get it made. I only had to make slight modifications since the ingredients are really simple. I used Zevia ginger ale since it is sweetened with stevia instead of regular soda but you can use any kind of ginger ale you like.

Pomegranate Spritzer

Serves 2

1 cup Zevia ginger ale

1/2 cup Pomegranate Juice (such as POM Wonderful)

splash of seltzer for each glass

Sliced lime for garnish

Ice

Fill two cocktail classes with ice, into each glass add half the ginger ale, half the pomegranate juice and top with a splash of seltzer and lime slice. Serve immediately.

To see what I did with the leftover Pomegranate juice, see my pomegranate chicken recipe. Also be sure to check out the Paula Deen Challenge post for a full recipe index.

More on This Topic?

• Pork Chops With Honey and Cherries
• Honoring Health House Seasoning
• Cheesy Rice and Chicken Casserole
• The Paula Deen Challenge