Eat Your Feelings

I have the internet to thank for letting me know this past weekend was Labor Day, and all of the tweets and Facebook statuses about having a day off from work. My mind was pretty occupied because it was moving weekend for me. For the third time I moved back to Providence to start another school year. But first was a day of packing, loading, driving, unloading, unpacking and organizing, and for someone who hates change like me that’s pretty much Hell on Earth.

I should say the day wasn’t all bad; what definitely helped was the trip to Wildflour for a smoothie and raw ganache torte to take home for later. Some people like to unwind with a cold beer on a Friday night, or a glass of wine paired with dinner. I am without question a chocolate man. At the end of the day I just want to sit down with something rich, sweet, and—most importantly—chocolaty, and this was one hell of a day.

I thought I might stop after half. This thing is after all pretty much a block of coconut oil, cocoa powder, cocoa butter(?), sugar, and nuts, and I’ve still got a ways to go before I’ll be in the shape I want to be in for the Philadelphia Marathon. But with each bite I remembered the surprise trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, the frantic trip through Whole Foods to restock an empty fridge, the plate of raw vegetables, hummus, and plain tempeh that became dinner because I had no energy to cook, and the chocolate made all of that feel better.

There’s been something going around on Pinterest to the effect of,

“Don’t reward yourself with food. You’re not a dog.”

Excuse me? But I love food, especially the ones that are bad for me. And I love dogs, too. I don’t see the problem here. 

Food has a way of affecting your mood, both good and bad. There are things you can’t control, like a long day at work, or other people’s attitude, or stressful move. But you can control what you put in your body. And sometimes the best thing for your body is filled with sugar, fat, and—of course—chocolate.

We all saw where that was going, right?

Go ahead; eat your feelings once and a while. You’ll feel better for it.