Emotional eating no trivial matter

Sometimes a bar of chocolate or a handful of biccies seems to be the cure-all when stress and unhappiness creep up.

It's no great surprise that many of us eat for emotional reasons but what may be surprising is the far-reaching impact that chronic emotional eating can have - and how hard the problem can be to break.

According to Henshaw Consulting clinical psychologist Sophie Henshaw, emotional eating is not so much about the actual food but a symptom of a deep emotional upset. Often there is an "emptiness" or yearning for something missing in your life, she says.

"It's an emotional hunger that they're trying to fill. They're using one substance - food - to meet another emotional need. Often along with that is a lack of nourishment or love in the person's life."

Food could also be used as a coping strategy when dealing with periods of stress or anxiety.

"It's a way that people have to relax because the mind quietens for a moment," Dr Henshaw said. "They experience it as a kind of release. And people may not even recognise that they're experiencing anxiety; they just know they can relax when they eat."

Unfortunately, it is not easy to simply stop doing it, even when the evidence starts to show up on the scales.

"If you start to put on weight, then a whole raft of problems start to pile up. It's very difficult to crack - it's not as simple as putting someone on a diet," Dr Henshaw said.

Tania Ferraretto, accredited practising dietitian and spokeswoman for the Dietitians Association of Australia, says overindulging on sugary comfort foods means far too many kilojoules and fat are consumed but not enough important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and dietary fibre.

"These foods fill them up and they often feel guilty for what they have eaten so they try to reduce other eating, like skipping meals or cutting back on healthy food."

Emotional eating becomes a vicious merry-go-round when that guilt affects self-esteem and mood - often leading to more eating.

"People feel like they don't have control over their eating and they feel weak willed. The common result of weight gain also further reduces people's self-esteem as they are often not happy with the way they look," Ms Ferraretto said.


Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar
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Source and Photo: The West

Recipe of the Week - Baileys Mint Oreo Truffles

Sounds wonderful and looks even better! This recipe for Baileys Mint Oreo Truffles was featured on the blog Beloved Green. It immediately caught our attention so we just had to share it with you.


INGREDIENTS

1 package mint Oreos
16 oz cream cheese
12 oz of semi-sweet bakers chocolate
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Bailey's Original Liquor
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup egg whites
1/8 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 drops of almond extract
1 drops of green food coloring


METHOD

1. Begin by separating the Oreos, the green mint cream in one pile, and the chocolate outer shell in another. Use the food processor on the chocolate outer shell until is finely ground. Pour the processed outer shell into a bowl and add in cream cheese. If find it is just best to get in there and mix it all up with your mighty bare hands, but a blender could work as well. Finally, add in the yummy inner mint green portion of the Oreos, but not over mixing. You want some green speckles to shine through when someone is biting in.

2. Put the mixture in the freezer for ten minutes to firm up a bit. Bring out a baking sheet and line with wax paper. Pull out the bowl from the freezer and start rolling out balls about an inch wide. Fill the baking sheet and put back in the freezer for a half hour.

The outer cover:

3. Meanwhile, put a glass bowl over a pan filled with about an inch of water and turn up to medium heat (also known as a double broiler -- but I'm thrifty). Add in the semi-sweet chocolate and vegetable oil, and stir until smooth. Bring the heat down to low and mix in the Bailey's. Make sure your mix is a nice smooth consistency, but not running. You want them to stick to the creamy balls.

4. Pull the baking sheet with creamy balls from the freezer. Take balls individually and roll them in the glass dish to coat entirely. I found using a thong helps to pull them out of the bowl while keeping the chocolate nicely coated over it. Put the creamy-chocolate-covered-balls back onto the wax paper. Once finished with the whole sheet, put them in the refrigerator to harden.

The decorative finish:

5. In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, egg whites, and almond milk. Again, looking for a smooth consistency, but not too watery. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts, as well as the drops of green food coloring and add into a piping bag with a small tip. Pull the creamy-chocolate-covered-balls from the fridge and begin dragging the icing across in a random fashion like me, or perhaps do something more reserved, like create little shamrocks on top. I'm too impatient to do something like that though. So random frosting attack it is.

6. Keep the Baileys Mint Oreo Truffles refrigerated between serving.



Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar
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Source and Photo: Beloved Green

Hershey's 'no Charlie's chocolate factory'

It sounded like the perfect summer job.

Students from China, Africa and eastern Europe would work in a Hershey's chocolate plant before using their earnings to travel the US and learn English.

"We have all seen Charlie's chocolate factory," said one student, 19-year-old Harika Duygu Ozer. Another said: "I thought we would see America like in movies."

The factory, in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, did not live up to Roald Dahl's thrilling world of chocolate waterfalls and infinite treats, however.

The 400 students, who each paid up to $US5940 ($5700) to join the State department's cultural exchange scheme, claimed they were forced to become "captive workers".

Shifts, often at night, consisted of lifting dozens of heavy boxes, trying to control fast-moving production lines, they said.

"They don't care if you are small, you don't have the power, you didn't eat - they just care about their production," one of the students said.

A spokesman for the National Guestworker Alliance, which is backing the group, said: "They were warned to stop complaining or they would be kicked out."

The students walked out last week in protest at their conditions and pay, which after deductions and rent charges allegedly amounted to between $US40 and $US140 for 40 hours of work per week. They marched with dozens of supporters through Hershey itself.

Hershey said the plant was run by Exel, a logistics company. Exel said temporary workers were overseen by a third company, and that it had been told to stop hiring students from the scheme. It said students were informed of likely working conditions.


Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar
The best online chocolate, lolly and confectionery store on the web!

If you like what you have read check out our updates on Facebook and Twitter.

Source and Photo: Sydney Morning Herald