Welcome to my new Green Palette blog, I am so glad you are here! I have been sending out newsletters for a couple of years and finally have gotten up to speed with a brand new website and blog to house all my thoughts, tips and nutritious recipes.

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to getting derailed when crisis hits. And being the culinary nutritionist that I am, my focus went to our health, eating and food. During hurricane Sandy, a lot of people (including myself on occasion) had an “end of the world as we know it” attitude. Everyone around me seemed to be throwing caution to the wind. We lost power for a week, and in the first couple of days while it was more mild out, the neighbors would gather in the afternoon around our outdoor fire pit, making creative appetizers out of the last contents of their now non-operational refrigerators. And, of course, there is the wine. When it feels like the days are numbered, and the world around you has virtually stopped, you might as well empty the contents of your liquor cabinet as well. With generators humming in the background, we tried to make the most out of our second major power outage in a year.

Why, I wondered, does crisis like this  give people a pass towards their health (and I know that many people suffered a much worse fate than we did. And that’s a whole different kind of stress)?  I know for me I was irritable, sullen, and in no mood to try and concoct one more meal in my darkly lit kitchen. It is difficult to keep strong and focused when stress seems all around you. I felt burdened by the power outage, but I also felt incredible heartbreak for the people who lost so much. By day three, still feeling the stress of it all, I gave myself a reality check. I had to keep as much semblance of a routine as possible. That meant getting out everyday for a walk with my dog. Eating three meals a day (not the four plus happy hour as we were doing). Volunteering with the massive cleanup of our beach helped me feel like I alleviated someone else’s stress a bit and made me feel grateful for the things I have.

Stress can derail all your best efforts of weight loss and healthy eating and well-being, but it doesn’t mean it has to stop you in your tracks. Give yourself permission to be with the situation for a few days and then make a pact with yourself to move on. It’s never the end of the world.