Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Happy Mid-Autumn Fest to those to celebrate! It’s a Chinese festival to celebrate post-harvest. Always coincides with the super moon. Which is why I grew up calling it the Mooncake Festival. Really highlights my priority of indulging in the rich pastry. I think it’s safe to say that my family ate the most mooncakes of out everyone I know. It’s a gift that meant to be shared and given to others. Not traditionally bought for oneself.
My dad is a real estate broker, and in the height of his business days, he’d literally spend over $1000 on dozens and dozens of boxes of mooncakes to share with his clients, friends and family. His mindset was to buy extra and not run out, so my family undoubtedly had a few boxes left over for ourselves, and we also were gifted with them too. Mooncake is like the Chinese equivalent of cheesecake. Sweetened lotus seed paste, with whole salted egg yolks inside. When the mooncake is cut, it’s like seeing a full moon in your dessert.
I loved mooncake so much, that it became noticeable in my frosh year at university. I had a whole box to myself in my dorm, and I starting excessively snacking as a way of coping with stress. Mooncakes, Haagan-Daz, residence food, and staying up late definitely helped me achieve that frosh 15. I had gained 15 lbs within my first year away from home! When we eat outside of true hunger, eating can become a coping mechanism. When we’re not well rested, it’s hard to regulate our stress and emotional responses, which leads to more cravings and over indulgence. If that’s you, I totally get it, and have been there myself. It took me a while to truly listen to what my body and soul needs during stressful and anxious times. It took to about 3rd year university to be within my healthy weight range again, and for me to develop and maintain healthier eating and lifestyle habits.
Don’t expect a magic bullet solution to poor healthy habits. Time, intention, consistency and coaching is the secret key to achieving your health goals. Rome wasn’t built overnight. Reach out to a dietitian today to surround yourself with the right support. :)
