Lindsey Smith, a Hazelwood resident who also goes by her online persona, Food Mood Girl, is a local writer, cook, and wellness expert.
Smith has been writing about the connection between food and mood for years, and last month she published her ultimate guide to food wellness, entitled Eat Your Feelings: The Food Mood Girl’s Guide to Transforming Your Emotional Eating.Â
This book is the culmination of the type of eating and wellness advice Smith has been sharing for most of her life.
The book hails itself as a “guide to transforming your emotional eating,” and ‘guide’ is absolutely what it achieves, encompassing everything from recipes, to cravings, and the science behind the chemicals found in different foods.
And don’t let the combination of “science and cooking” intimidate you – Eat Your Feelings is funny and relaxed. It’s like chatting with a friend who just happens to know a lot about food cravings.
Readers who are expecting to just find a few recipes matched with different moods will be pleasantly surprised. While there are certainly plenty of recipes (and trust me, they are delicious), readers are encouraged to dive deeper into the genesis of their emotional eating.
Why are you craving chocolate? What is your body trying to tell you? What is a healthy alternative that would satisfy that craving?
These are types of topics that Eat Your Feelings tackles with a reader over the first 100 pages.
While there are straightforward breakdowns of “this food makes you feel this,” and “your body needs this when you crave this,” the book also confronts any general anxieties readers may have with cooking and eating – period.
Smith provides basics instructions for how to hold a knife, chop vegetables, keep your fridge clean, and organize your pantry. These tips help reduce stress associated with cooking for readers who are less comfortable in the kitchen.
And, there’s also advice on removing guilt from eating, especially when indulging in a treat. These tips – which sound like they’re coming from a friend – help readers understand the importance of taking control of your relationship with food.
“Rather than disowning your cravings, you need to OWN them instead. Listen to them. Anytime you get a craving, say, ‘YES! Now I have a chance to learn more about myself and my body,'” writes Smith.
Smith has been interested in the relationship between wellness, food and feelings for a long. At age 12, was hospitalized for panic attacks. Shortly after, she began attending a wellness center after seeing the transformation it was providing for her sister. She began learning healthy eating techniques, as well as Chinese medicine, Tai Chi, and acupuncture. Within six months she was nearly anxiety-free.
And even at a young age, she realized the importance of sharing this information, and started teaching stress management workshops for classmates in the ninth grade.
In 2016, she presented a talk at TEDxPittsburgh about loving yourself.
Eat Your Feelings is Smith’s fifth cookbook. Her other books include Food Guilt No More: Tame Your Cravings, Junk Foods & Junk Moods, and The Food Mood Girl’s Winter Survival Guide. Â
Tonight, Smith is hosting a “Eat Your Feelings Taco Party” at House 15143 in Sewickley from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Smith is also going on a book tour, visiting cities like Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Miami, and Altoona.
The book can be purchased online, or from your favorite local bookstore!
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