A Nutritional Psychiatrist On How To *Actually* Enjoy Healthy Eating

I was listening to a podcast recently when three words resonated in my ears: "Food is life." For me, this simple phrase spoke to the importance of my field, nutritional psychiatry. The message was clear: What, when, and why you eat is critically important; but above all else, it's essential to respect and enjoy your food.

So many people are preoccupied with calories, grams of protein, or whether to become vegan. As a nutritional psychiatrist, I remain diet agnostic, especially for patients who seek to improve their mental well-being. In my experience, a healthy eating style is less about sticking to a specific diet and more about simply doing your best to make better food choices. So whether my patients are carnivores or vegans, I remain open to helping them eat better for their mental health.

It's important to remember that nutrition is a marathon and not a sprint—any positive habit you adopt is helping you on your way to better overall mental and physical health. Everyone can elevate their food game, and we all have to start somewhere. 

I try to plan my meals ahead of time as often as possible. That way, I can tackle some prep a few days in advance, to make cooking less stressful. For example, I'll make chia pudding, mix up salad dressing, chop fresh veggies, wash berries, make winter soups in an Instant Pot, or pressure cook lentils for dal—simple steps that help lower my stress and place food in the joy category of my brain.

My food shopping and prep day is Sunday afternoons; it's generally a two- or three-hour time commitment. To make cooking less of a chore, I also like to be prepared with a few options to make during the week, which helps lower the stress, too.

I remember that I am blessed to have the food on my plate—there are so many who are hungry. When you have a plate of food in front of you, try expressing simple silent gratitude to the universe.

Rather than eating my meals standing up and on the run as I did during my residency days, I now set aside time for meals and make sure I am seated at the dining table. I enjoy setting the table and making that a physical space where I eat. Even during work-from-home times, creating a little corner of your table to eat meals is important to your mental well-being.

I find that making time for my meals also encourages more mindful eating. So rather than mindlessly chewing and inhaling food, I savor the flavor and texture and enjoy dinner conversations with my family.

I end the evening trying to wind down for bed, with a calming hot beverage. My go-to beverages are chamomile tea, lavender tea, or gold chai.