Food Addict? Or Something Else?

Food Addict • Sugar Blues • Eating, Drinking, Overthinking

Sculpture at Hall, Rutherford CA

Through the years I struggled with food and body, browsing libraries and bookstores was the closest I got to asking for help. I pulled intriguing titles from the shelves and flipped into them. When anything spoke into my secret life with food, my heart rate quickened. Maybe this is the problem, I thought.

Was I a….Food Addict (a book from the late 1990’s)?

Was sugar the problem…Sugar Blues ?

Eating, Drinking, Overthinking by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, the late Chair of Yale’s Department of Psychology, was the book that changed my life. Instead of searching for a food culprit, I began to ponder my behavior. Eventually it came to me: I was crazy around food because I was using food to cope. But why? And from what?! Unraveling that snarl has taken awhile and yes, I have stories!

SF Bay Sail

So, join me for Smooth Sailing every Monday of 2025. Our destination: a peaceful, honoring relationship with food and body. And some good cooking! Here’s the launch post, if you missed it: Fix Your Food Relationship.

Dal, a good recipe for this week

Dal Tadka from my site, ripefoodandwine.com

I made a batch of dal last week and it was the best one yet! I had a cup of leftover coconut milk in the refrigerator so I used that for part of the water and since I’m also in the post-holiday fridge clean out mode, I dug into a jar of preserved, dried cherry tomatoes and some conserva instead of using canned tomatoes; here’s the recipe for the later, the former I used Alice Waters’ recipe from The Art of Simple Food II.

So, get yourself some fresh ginger, garlic, and some excellent lentils (like the golden ones from Timeless Natural Food) and use this recipe as a launch for your own creation. Serve with rice and if you have a few mouths to feed, add a chicken thigh and potato simmer sauce dish; these from Maya Kaimal are fantastic, especially the Jalfrezi.

Bye for now. Have a great week!