Food Guilt No More Book Review (and no-bake cookie dough bites recipe!)
No matter who you are or what your particular history when it comes to diet, it’s likely that you have an idea of what “food guilt” means. For the sake of conversation let’s define it anyway.
Food guilt is the agonizing feeling of anxiety, regret, or shame around something you ate or want to eat.
It is often a sense of powerlessness in the face of temptation and affects A LOT of people of both genders and all ages, even those of us who are health-conscious, veggie-munching, farmer’s marketing shopping foodies!
There’s a lot to be said about food guilt and how to overcome it, which is why I will defer to the food mood girl herself, Lindsey Smith, to tell you all about it. Lindsey is the author of a new book titled Food Guilt No More, as well as the author of her breakout success, Junk Foods and Junk Moods.
Wile Lindsey is an accomplished author, speaker, Health Coach, recipe creator, and teacher, her wisdom stems from a personal struggle to overcome food guilt which she traces to her childhood when food was used to satisfy emotional – rather than nutritional – needs. Since then she has learned how to cook and eat with love and will teach you to do the same.
“People crave and eat in response to nutritional needs. Not all needs, however, can be met through food. As people with bodies, minds, and spirits, we require various types of nourishment, including good food, positive relationships, and spiritual sustenance.”
Here’s why I love this book:
1. It’s down-to-earth tone and style are totally relatable. It doesn’t feel like a boring nutrition book preaching idealism, but more like a conversation between friends. It’s quick and light, yet you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement and feeling better just by absorbing the message.
2. It’s chock full of helpful charts, affirmations, and exercises to help you apply Lindsey’s gentle recommendations so that you walk away with practical guidance on how to gradually replace food guilt with a much more easygoing attitude around what you eat.
3. Speaking of what you’ll eat, the book is LOADED with awesome recipes. You know I’m all about recipes that are easy, don’t require too many ingredients, and taste fantastic, and that’s exactly what you’ll get from Lindsey. The recipe below is just one example of the awesome creations you’ll get from Food Guilt No More!
4. The length is just right, it’s a bite sized little gem you can get through pretty quickly while at the same having a truly lasting appeal you’ll want to revisit as a valuable resource again and again as you work through the exercises at your own pace and play with the recipes.
As a sneak peek, I made one of the recipes to share with you (ok I made it a whopping 3 times on separate occasions before my kiddo finally had the patience to let me photograph it, so clearly it’s great for the whole family – and a perfect pot luck dessert!)
Cookie dough bites recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of almond butter
- 1/3 cup of raw honey or maple syrup
- 1 cup almond or cashew flour
- ¼ cup of chocolate chips
Optional adjustments: I made a few personalized tweaks, which were to use sunflower seed butter instead of almond, a little less than 1/3 cup of maple syrup, and closer to 1/8 cup of chocolate chips. What can I say I’m a minimalist, you can always experiment with the proportions you like best!
Directions:
1. Combine the nut butter, honey or maple syrup. Add the almond flour and mix until a ball of dough forms, it happens super quick and you can just use a spoon.
2. Add the chocolate chips.
3. Roll into about 12 bite-sized balls and place in the freezer for 30 minutes if you want to eat them asap, or in the fridge for a few hours otherwise.
Enjoy! And check out the book for more guilt-free awesomeness.