Orange Chili Vinaigrette

I hope you all are enjoying your Memorial Day Weekend…if you are in the U.S. of course! For everyone else, I hope you are savoring your weekend. I, for one, definitely needed a rest from the hustle and bustle that has been my life lately. I feel like I’ve been going and going like the energizer bunny without much of a break. I go from my job at the office, then straight to my workout, and back home to do more work on my computer for the blog or other projects. I haven’t been posting as much as I would like here, and I haven’t been on top of my diet. Two things that have me feeling completely out of wack. I’ve been eating healthy most of the time but often I’m eating way more than I need as a way to quell the stress or because I’m just not eating mindfully.

After reading some articles and blog posts about intuitive eating like this one, it’s been my focus as of late. It’s much easier said than done, but I’m trying to really take the time to listen to my body and enjoy what I am eating. So, if one day that means I crave ice cream and I eat some, then that’s ok! What’s not ok is when I buy two pints of Ben & Jerry’s and they are both gone in two days (true story). That kind of eating ultimately ends in guilt followed by a period of slight deprivation which leads me to overeat what I have been restricting and then I’m right back at square one.

I’m also trying to check in with my hunger scale to see if I am actually hungry, just having a craving, or eating mindlessly. More often than not, when it comes to desserts I end up in the mindless eating category. I have a really strong sweet tooth and sometimes I am just weak to the temptation. The most important part of my journey with intuitive eating is to be kind to myself. I won’t always do a perfect job and that’s ok! I move my body almost every day and I have a healthy body weight, which are both really important metrics for a healthy life.

This weekend, I am enjoying being with family and having some delicious food! I hope you are too!

Now for this vinaigrette- It is literally the best salad dressing you can make. I rarely buy store-bought salad dressing because it is just so easy to make at home. Case in point- I have a dressing I bought two years ago in my fridge and it’s still not finished. With just a few ingredients you’ll be ready to make a big ‘ole salad and you’ll be wondering why you ever bought the store-bought stuff!

Have you tried intuitive eating? Please share any tips or experiences- I would love to hear them!