Healthy Living

Alcohol is a cooking ingredient for many recipes. Seasoned chefs and home cooks who come to recovery have often put too much alcohol in themselves rather than the food they were cooking it with. For them, and any home cook or professional chef, there is a challenge in one of their most beloved hobbies. Many questions arise regarding cooking with alcohol. We’ll try to answer them here so you can continue to be your best chef and make recipes you love.

Are You Hungry? When the physical body needs food for energy, it creates the sensation of hunger. Beyond your stomach needing food or your brain needing food, it is the very cells of your body that are begging for sustenance. Doing a mindful check about what your body needs can help you prevent overeating. Additionally, you’ll be able to notice when you’re hungry throughout the day so you don’t experience drops in energy and focus. Are You Experiencing Difficult Emotions? Eating is often a coping mechanism for difficult emotions. Food can fill a hole or stuff emotions down. Food can help to feel pleasure or to feel pain. Check in with your feelings. Are you stressed? Depressed? Anxious? Angry? Before reaching for food, try taking a moment to meditate or breathe and recenter. Play With Your Food Experiential learning is one of the best ways to create long lasting memory and behavioral changes. When we get hands on in life, we get a better sense of what actually is as opposed to what we think about something. Do we ever take time to really notice food? Before ravenously consuming your food take a moment to really pay attention to it: texture, scent, leaves, colors, how it looks up close. The majority of “taste” is actually “smell”. Really inhale the scent of your food and notice the different layers. Eat Slowly Sometimes we’re just in a crunch for time when it comes to food. Even on a thirty minute lunch break in between working hours, there is time to pause and mindfully approach your food. Chew slowly and become aware of what the food is like on your tongue. Do you experience flavor in one area of your tongue more than others? Is it cool and slick or warm and tough? Chewing thoroughly is also a practice used to prevent overeating. You break down the food faster helping your body digest the filling nutrients more quickly. Are You Still Hungry? We are trained to need to finish our plates and eat until we feel stuffed. In truth, we don’t have to eat until we are busting at the seams, but until we simply feel content. A mindful practice to follow is waiting at least ten minutes to continue eating. Your body needs a chance to digest. If after some time you are still hungry, continue eating. Avalon By The Sea incorporates nutrition, cooking, and food planning into each recovery program we offer. Nutrition and diet are vital components for longevity and a healthy life of recovery. For more information on our treatment programs, call 1-888-958-7511.

We’ve all heard the saying, “you are what you eat,” and it’s no mystery that proper nutrition is an essential building block for healthy living. When it comes to nutritious eating, not all foods are created equal. Some foods contain such an abundance of beneficial nutrients that scientists have dubbed them “superfoods.” These powerhouse foods are not only helping make people healthier, but they are being used to help people overcome addictions and to repair the damage done to their bodies by the abused substances.

Job-related stress is a fact of life for many adults in the United States. When that stress continues to build, it can lead to burnout. Many factors can create the kind of stress that leads to burnout, so it's important to know what they are, how to recognize them and what to do about burnout when you're facing it.

Memory can be a tricky thing. Sometimes it seems so easy to remember minute trivia, and other times, it's difficult to remember where you put your keys. Most people have at one time or another tried to remember a name, a phone number or an important piece of information and been unable to. There are all sorts of tips and tricks for improving your memory, but did you know that your diet can have an impact on your memory?

Dreams are a universal part of the human experience. At some point in your life, you have dreamed, but the way people remember their dreams differs from person to person. Some people are able to remember their dreams after waking up, but many people have a difficult time remembering dreams. Understanding how dreams are connected to memories may help explain why it can be hard to remember your dreams.

Are you someone who has shrugged off yoga as an activity solely for other types of people? It's time you reconsider the power of Om. Yoga packs a mighty punch when it comes to developing mind-body awareness, which is why yoga should be an integral part of your addiction treatment. Before you mistakenly pass off yoga as being for "the other guy," find out how it can provide a positive impact on your addiction recovery.

Ever consider that your physical activity level may have an influence on your addiction? You probably didn't. But, it does. Using exercise for addiction recovery is an important element of the most successful substance abuse treatment programs, and it may even help a person avoid relapse.

A healthy diet sets the foundation for a healthy body and mind. According to Psychology Today (1), a well-balanced diet improves cognitive function, reduces the symptoms of certain mental health disorders and supports healthy organs. When substance abuse harms your physical and emotional well-being, a healthy diet that consists of organic and fresh foods provides the nutrition that your body needs to start healing.

If you wake up each morning, wondering whether your life is worth living or saving, you should keep in mind that you are far from alone. Many people, whether gripped by drug addiction or some other inadequate coping device such as gambling or excessive shopping, struggle in this world that continually finds new ways to throw flaming curve balls at them. It is entirely too easy to harshly judge yourself, no matter what coping choice you make. And often, drug use and eventual addiction is less about a conscious choice you made when you became involved with drugs as it was an available means to drown out the world's noise and chaos.

Fears and worries impact the lives of men and women each day. It is natural to worry about loved ones, taking a test or giving a speech. An anxiety disorder occurs when fears do not have a clear cause and consistently complicate a personal relationships or a personal lifestyle.  According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) (1), anxiety disorders increase the risk of substance abuse by two to three times when compared to individuals in the general population. When a disorder develops, learning these 6 healthy ways to deal with your anxiety is essential for personal health and well-being.

“Writing is the only way I have to explain my own life to myself,” says author Pat Conroy. His insight echoes the sentiments of generations of writers through the centuries. Writing has always been a means to understanding oneself and the world, a way to express and clarify hopes and fears, grief, sadness, anxiety, happiness, and joy. Many of the world’s greatest writers didn’t write for others, or to make money, they wrote because it made them feel better and brought them peace of mind. Many writers thought of writing as a way of having a personal conversation with God. Says writer Kristin Armstrong, “I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful - for all of it.” In short, writing has always been a way of securing good mental health. And modern science has proven those intuitive impressions to be factually true.