Which Wolf Will You Feed?

- by Kate Nicholson

I heard a great story the other day – the Americans among you are probably familiar with it, but it was new to a Brit like me…

An old Indian Grandfather tells his grandson about a battle that’s going on inside him between two wolves.

One wolf is greedy, frightened, and angry and the other is loving, peaceful and kind.

The grandson asks, “Which one will win?”

Grandfather replies, “The one I feed.”

I know that when I eat toxic foods like chocolate (the cheap junky sort), crisps, fried foods, dairy, and sugar, I can feel the “bad wolf” inside becoming dominant.

I get snappy, irritable, angry, depressed…
My self-esteem plummets…
I don’t like the way I look, who I am, or how I behave…

This creates a vicious circle of then eating more junk to stuff down my emotions, to comfort myself, to forget, to “cheer myself up”.

If I eat nurturing, nutritious foods, like raw fruit and veggies, nuts, seeds, green smoothies and juices, I feed the good wolf inside me and feel more serene, calm, and kind.

My skin looks better…
my clothes fit better…
And my mood becomes sunny…

It becomes a glorious circle of renewal, vibrancy, self-care and love. I exercise more. I meditate and practice yoga.

It doesn’t take much for the wolves to start battling. A stressful day at work, relationship problems, financial worries…a nibble of cooked food and I’m off. Spiralling back into the old comfort patterns.

BUT, I’ve found a way to silence that mean wolf – he hates greens. If I make a nourishing green smoothie (with ice at the moment for some reason, even though it’s not particularly hot here in England), and take some slow, deep breaths sitting in an easy pose, I find that he slinks away, and the other gentle wolf sits smiling in the tranquillity of my sunshine!

If you are looking to influence the battle in your favour, here are some wolfishly good recipes you might like to try:

Wild Spirit Smoothie

• Brew ½ cup of camomile tea and leave to cool.
• Juice 2 apples,
• In a blender, whiz up the apple juice, camomile tea, and some kale.

The camomile tea acts as a calmative relaxant, the apples compliment the apple scent of the camomile and also contain procyanidin B-2, which helps prevent wrinkles (caused when battling with bad wolves), and promotes hair growth, while kale protects the body from many diseases caused by aging.

The Little Red(ish) Riding Hood

• 4 x blood oranges juiced,
• Add to blender with cup of frozen organic strawberries,
• 1 x organic banana
• Handful of organic spinach.

Blend and enjoy!

The Chinese word for orange sounds like ‘gold’ or ‘good luck’ – that will keep the Big Bad at bay. Fragrant, sweet, heart-shaped strawberries will lift the spirits and make your eyes smile. Bananas contain tryptophan, which improves the mood, and spinach can help slow the rate of cognitive decline!

References:

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2003/lim/Appleweb2003/beniapple.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/322195/the_health_benefits_of_kale_pg2.html?cat=51

http://www.juicing-for-health.com/oranges-health-benefits.html

http://bananasweb.com/bananas/Health+Benefits+of+Bananas

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43