Another Family Remedy: The Tea and Toast Trick
Oh, I am so excited at how the conversations keep growing! After I wrote about my friend’s grandmother and her “olive and an hour” remedy, several of you reached out with your own family wisdom. Each note felt like a reminder that food is never just about nutrients—it’s about connection and care.
One message stood out in particular. A reader wrote to tell me about her father’s favorite “reset” for days when food just didn’t feel appealing: tea and toast. That’s it. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just a slice of warm toast with a little butter or jam, and a cup of tea.
Her dad had said that it wasn't meant to be a full meal, and it certainly wasn’t about nutrition labels or food rules. Her dad’s reasoning was simple: toast is comforting, tea is soothing, and together they almost always help bring the appetite back online. It was his “go-to” whenever someone in the house felt “off”, not sick, exactly, but not fully themselves either. It was the kind of meal that said, You don’t have to figure it all out right now. Just be here now.
I loved this story because it captures something so true about intuitive eating: sometimes, the goal isn’t to get it “just right.” Sometimes, the goal is simply to take one small step back toward nourishment. Tea and toast won’t solve every off day, but it’s a gentle way of saying, I hear you, body. Let’s start small.
It also reminded me that comfort food has a place in intuitive eating. For so long, diet culture has painted comfort foods as indulgent or “bad.” But here’s the reality: comfort is part of nourishment. Sometimes what we need isn’t the “perfectly balanced plate” but the warmth of something familiar.
I’ve tried the tea and toast trick myself since hearing about it, and I have to say—it works. It doesn’t magically tell me what my next meal should be, but it shifts me from feeling stuck to feeling comforted.
These little family remedies—whether it’s olives, tea and toast, or whatever quirky tradition your family has—aren’t meant to be rules. They’re tools, ways to reconnect when the path feels a little fuzzy. They remind us that eating doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.
So if you find yourself in that space where nothing sounds quite right, maybe give tea and toast a try. Or pull out your own family’s version of a “reset food.” Let it remind you that sometimes, the smallest step can be the most powerful one.
And of course, I’d love to keep hearing from you. Do you have another remedy tucked away in your family’s kitchen wisdom? Share it with me—I have a feeling this collection of stories is just beginning. As a licensed Clinical Behavioral Therapist and Intuitive Eating Counselor, I’m here to support you. If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to reach out at rachel@livehealthynyc.com.