Chapter Six of Journey Back to Health is about emotional connections — specifically the emotional connections we build with food.

For me, one of my strongest emotional pathways is tied to cookies. Not just any cookies, but spicy cookies shared with my grandmother. She would drink coffee, I would drink tea, and we would sit together at the table sharing stories about our week. Those moments built something powerful inside of me. Warmth. Safety. Feeling loved. Community.

Over time, that emotional experience became neurologically linked to the taste, smell, and texture of those cookies.

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease and had to remove gluten immediately, I didn’t just lose a bakery treat. I lost access to that spontaneous comfort. I couldn’t stop at a grocery store or bakery and grab cookies anymore. I wasn’t a baker before my diagnosis, and gluten-free baking requires even more patience, ingredients, and intention — all the reasons I avoided baking in the first place.

What I didn’t expect was how emotionally difficult that loss would feel.

When we enter healing seasons — elimination diets, food restrictions, or medical protocols — we often focus on the physical. But we don’t always account for the emotional deprivation that can come with removing comfort foods.

If you’re already feeling low, overwhelmed, or working hard to make health changes, and then you remove the one thing that brings comfort at the end of the day, it can create a deficit. It’s not that food is the only way to meet emotional needs. But sometimes that small ritual — that taste, that smell — is tied to safety and memory.

This chapter encourages you to examine your comfort foods and find ways to recreate them safely.

For me, that meant learning to bake gluten-free. Using a scale. Measuring carefully. Putting in the time. Now I can make chocolate chip cookies whenever I want. I can bake my grandmother’s banana bread simply by swapping regular flour for Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour and adding a tablespoon of xanthan gum.

The smell fills my house the same way it did in my childhood. The emotional comfort returns — without sacrificing my health.

Maybe your comfort food is nachos. If you’re cutting out corn, could you use sweet potato chips? If you’re removing dairy, could you load it with vegetables like tomatoes, jalapeños, peppers, and onions? What swaps would maintain the experience without creating deprivation?

Our brains build strong emotional pathways tied to food and memory. Even scent alone can bring comfort rushing back.

This episode is releasing during my grandmother’s birthday week. She isn’t here anymore. I can’t sit at the table with her. But I can brew spicy tea and bake sharp, snappy cookies. I can recreate the warmth of those moments in a way that honors both my health and my memories.

If you’re healing and feeling like something has been taken from you, I encourage you to look at your recipes this week. Find safe swaps. Reclaim comfort.

You don’t have to choose between healing and feeling nurtured. You can have both.