Perfect Soup and Dopamine
Make this lovely cauliflower soup. Make dopamine your bitch.
I woke up this morning chuckling about the first Super Bowl party I ever hosted.
I don't remember where I found the chili recipe I used, but it had a ton of red wine in it and while that sounded sophisticated to me...
...it was not delicious. I do remember that, ha.
I also remember how awkward the party was - the guys watched the game, the ladies chatted quietly together off to the side, not watching the game.
The men were all friends with each other, we were the girlfriends and didn't know each other all that well yet. No one had kids. No one was married. Everyone had a boring entry-level job and lived in a crappy apartment.
There just wasn't much to talk about. There certainly was no Taylor Swift romance to dish on.
I've been to and hosted a few more Super Bowl parties since then and had lots of fun. (Although, I've still never really watched the game and given that I'm a Vikings fan, it's likely that I never will.)
That's OK because to me, the Super Bowl is about food, so I've got a fun recipe to share with you today. I realize it's arriving late, but you might very well have the ingredients on hand anyhow, and the game is hours away. Plus this is a recipe to make over and over again anyhow...
...Are You Ready for It? (Little Taylor Swift reference there, couldn't resist.)
The recipe is..."Creamy" Cauliflower Soup! I know, weird, right?
But it's such a delicious blank canvas of a soup, which makes it fun for parties.
You can set out crumbled bacon, chopped scallions, and shredded cheddar.
Oooh maybe crispy tortilla strips, cubed avocado, and salsa.
Or crispy prosciutto shards, pesto, and diced tomato.
Or fried croutons, heavy Parm, black pepper, and diced fig.
The options are as endless as that first Super Bowl party. (I include even more topping ideas in the recipe.)
You don't need to say this part to your guests, just know it and feel good about it, but...
...it's a very healthy soup. Nutrient-dense and low-calorie on its own, which leaves plenty of wiggle room for indulging in those crispity, crunchy toppings. Mmph.
There's nothing I love more than delighting guests - and myself - with fun, big-flavor meals that feel indulgent but are actually marvelously healthful.
And for SURE make extra so you have lunch for a couple of days! In fact, every time you cook can be a mini batch-cooking session and set you up for at least one more healthy meal for the next day.
Even Super Bowl party cooking can be a batch cooking session.
When you're ready to get back to normal life tomorrow, ponder this important concept:
We're learning more and more about dopamine and how some of our modern lifestyle choices cause a big and unnatural surge in dopamine, followed by a corrective and significant dip, which leaves us feeling blue and unmotivated afterward.
Sound familiar?
In addition, big and consistent bursts of dopamine can lead to addiction and feeling bored by normal, productive activities.
Unnatural dopamine bursts come from:
Social media
Alcohol and other drugs
Pornography
Risk-taking/risky activities
Video games
Gambling
Ultra-processed food/junk food
What we want are slow and natural drips of dopamine, which come from and create motivation for pleasantly positive things like:
Exercise outside
Meditation
Reading
Saunas or hot baths
Breathwork
Sunlight
Chores
Cold showers/cold exposure
Healthy, whole food
You might see the term "dopamine detox" in the news or on social media and despite the catchy alliteration, it's actually an idea with merit.
Since unnatural bursts of dopamine can lead to addiction and low mood, giving our brains a break from high-dopamine activities allows our reward systems to reset.
The result? We derive more pleasure from healthy, positive activities.
This article goes into terrific detail about dopamine, it's definitely worth a read.
Which all leads to your assignment for this week: a dopamine inventory.
Where are you over-pushing your dopamine reward system? We all have our ways.
Mine is absolutely social media and I've been addressing it by saying aloud to myself before I head to Instagram to post something, "I am opening Instagram only to post this, Stephanie, not to scroll."
And then I watch my brain try to get me to scroll a bit for a burst of dopamine. Gah! Annoying and fascinating. But, I know that scrolling brings my mood and motivation down, and wastes time which also brings my mood down, so I really do want to get in and then out.
I've found that saying my intention aloud does help me stay focused.
My client Laura and I have been working on this together with a different type of dopamine dump.
She has felt addicted to high-reward snacks, particularly in the late afternoon, and we figured out that she's eating too many chips-and-salsa calories to effectively lose weight.
We've conjured a lower-reward, but still pleasant, one-two-punch strategy:
1) She makes sure to have at least 30 grams of protein for lunch, along with vegetables and with some starch. We've figured out that skipping carbs at lunch was setting her up for a giant craving for carbs later in the day. Eating around 20-30 grams of carbs from potatoes, quinoa, black beans, or a banana, combined with protein, has greatly diminished the cravings.
2) We've mapped out a few delicious snack options so she doesn't feel deprived and she can get a just-right dopamine drip. She loves tortilla chips (don't we all?), so she's been subbing in a fresh corn tortilla, grilled with turkey and cheese, eaten with salsa, some yogurt, and sliced radishes. It's crunchy, spicy, creamy, salty, protein-rich, fast, and takes care of the Mexican-flavor craving, with the perfect amount of carbs, protein, nutrients, and calories. WIN.
Now it's your turn. Name your dopamine-dump activity and make a plan to soften it. If you need help, sign up for 4 coaching sessions and let's tackle it together.
Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday and week!
xo Stephanie