There’s something about breakups that immediately involve food.  I have recently broken up with my fiancé (ish)  and instead of crashing in tears I got home cut some herbs from my garden and made myself a tea with honey and vanilla almond milk..  Played some music and suddenly everything fell back into place.

I woke up this morning and thought I could be miserable to the point of digging myself in blankets and skipping work but instead I decided to grab my bike to the nearest farmers market and buy delicious things to pamper myself..  The results?

Amazing breakfast in bed (yes for two so I could cry with my roommate)

Fresh Oaxaca cheese in Chipotle artisanal tortillas, homemade salsa, my own blend of chai tea with a hint of almond vanilla milk and a Greek yogurt parfait. Ahhhh life is good.

We watched some “new girl” and that was it.

After feeling way better.  I decided to do some research on grief food..

The number A lister has always been chocolate well it is the tryptophan in the cocoa bean that immediately has a chemical effect in our brains releasing neurotransmitters creating serotonin, also known as a natural anti-depressant that gives us an instantaneous feeling of comfort. The mix of tryptophan and sugar also plays it’s magic. Sugar reacts rapidly and as insulin hits our veins with energy the trick is complete. The also called chocolate-amphetamine or phenylethylamine plays a very important role too, some say it is the “love drug” since it raises your pulse the same way someone would if you were in love. The downside to it well calories and timing since it won’t last forever…

Something very important to mention is the fact that the higher the percentage of cocoa in a chocolate the better the results (the more diluted it is in milk, glucose, flavorings etc the least healthy it is as well) so look for 70% dark, bitter, velvety chocolate!

**For more on chocolate read the Xocolatl post**

The other big companion of tears is ice cream. Here it is easy to break down, sugar and more sugar. However I must say it is not the same if you serve a scoop or two into a bowl it has to be eaten from the carton..

It is exactly why comfort foods are called that way, they comfort you into feeling better, relaxed, full.. (depending on the type of comfort food whether nostalgic food, indulgence food, convenience food, or physical comfort food) not the healthiest generally but definitely a trick we have all pulled once..

It is vital that we consider that although certain foods do boost our mood, we have to be careful on how these may affect our diet, particularly carbs.

Read more about this here, here and here. Or for some comfort food recipes visit this, this or this.

Also this may be interesting to watch…

And this..

HAPPY EATING!

Your host,

Italia Rodriguez