Food bliss and mental health

Food and our mental health are connected on a cellular level. It’s literally chemistry in the body. Certain foods and drinks trigger certain parts of our brain, plus our gut and brain are connected too.
We are born with these miraculous bodies that can consume anything for the purpose of giving us humans the ability to survive most situations. But what makes a human body thrive is a whole other story.
Did you know that the more junk food we eat the more our bodies crave it? And the more alkaline our bodies are the more it craves healthier fresher foods?

I was once addicted to refined sugar, dairy, junk food with E letters and chemicals that you can’t pronounce, and I was a skinny Vogue model so you wouldn’t have known it! My ex boyfriend in Australia actually pulled me aside at midnight in a 7-Eleven in Albert Park, Melbourne, and told me that he won’t let me eat that thing in my hand, as it’s full of one of the worst food chemicals, the red dye. This was news to me, I thought anything you could buy in a store was safe, as otherwise why would you be able to buy it? And though he loved his beer, and wasn’t exactly a saint, he would not let me buy it! Anyone who knows me now would probably be surprised that I literally believed if it’s in a store, it’s safe! When the opposite is actually mostly true! I’m grateful that he pulled me up on it, as that moment was the beginning of my awakening on so many levels, and at this stage of my life I have overtaken my ex on food knowledge and choices by farrrr!
Once I dug deeper, made changes and pulled those things out of my diet, my cravings literally disappeared. I actually rebalanced slowly, cutting things out one by one as I got myself more educated. Wow I was feeling so much better emotionally, physically and spiritually. I had more energy to put into areas of my life that mattered, and I looked better.

When my curious self went back to tasting some of the foods I once loved, I was mortified to discover that they actually didn’t taste as good as I remembered! The Tim Tams (the Aussies will know) literally tasted like plastic, gasp! But they were still addictive even though I no longer liked their taste, and they triggered old feelings, self destructive patterns and downward spiraling. I started to swing between my old and new ways in the early stages of change, and noticed a direct correlation with how I was feeling mentally. Old self sabotaging ways would creep back in. My positive self work felt like it had crashed. But then when I ate better again my whole mental state shifted completely the other way and I felt strong. It took me a bit of time to catch on to this wildly swinging phenomena!

Truth is we are constantly the subject of manipulation from food brands, drug companies, dairy and meat industries. We are hit by them before we are born! It takes a huge amount of discernment, discipline and self discovery to understand what is best for us, what we really actually want, plus our needs are all so different, and then they change moment by moment. But giving our bodies a break from low vibrational foods and going 95% organic is a huge leap into finding our natural sweet spot. There’s also such a thing is appreciating high standards and not feeding the beast that doesn’t care about us.

These days my way of cutting out foods is by replacing whatever I love and crave with healthier options. I’m the queen of delicious food replacements! Often with medicinal and healing properties, because I want my food to not only taste amazing but to serve more purpose. A good meal can literally make us feel high, with no crash! Bliss!
I don’t believe in going without. These days the replacements are pretty creative. And I’m not talking about GMO replacements, I mean using natural organic foods in ways that they often aren’t used as.
Also people say omitting certain foods sounds boring but I have discovered so many tastes I never would have tried had I not explored. It’s quite an adventurous process, and once we create new habits it’s easy to continue with them, and share them.

Additionally, there are certain foods I focus on when I know my high energy A game is needed, and certain foods that make me feel heavier that I save for if I am having a chill night at the movies, and know that the rest of the day isn’t too physically demanding! I’m so sensitive to my bodies needs now, and know exactly which foods have certain affects on me. My moods are so much steadier and even when challenges arise, the way I deal with them is so different these days.

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is icecreammm.
So here’s an easy recipe that will make you feel amazing, and it’s also delicious!
There are so many reasons why this recipe rocks!
Cacao has many health benefits such as releasing bliss chemicals in the brain, opening neural pathways, it’s hormonally balancing.. maca is also hormonally balancing and a natural aphrodisiac, plus the probiotics help everything absorb better. It’s so nourishing for gut and brain health, and divine to taste.
I use organic ingredients. Feel free to add in extra things and get creative.
Let me know how your icecream turns out! Share it with someone you love.

Vegan Superfood Chocolate Icecream

2 cups ice made with spring water
1/4 cup coconut water or spring water
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
3 tbsp lucuma powder
1 tbsp almond butter or coconut butter
1 tbsp roasted pumpkin seed oil
1 tsp probiotic powder (optional)
1 tsp maca powder (optional)
1 flat tsp non gmo liquid lecithin
Pinch sea salt

Place ice in high powered blender first, then add other ingredients. Buzz until smooth.
Transfer to glass.
Drizzle melted raw cacao & a sprinkle of cacao nibs on top!

Photos are of Alanna Planet aka The Cacao Fairy after one of our fun experimental afternoons.