Create Your Nourishment Menu: A Simple Tool to Stop Stress Eating Before It Starts

Salus • February 10, 2026

Create Your Nourishment Menu

Stress eating is one of the most common challenges I see with my nutrition clients. It is not a lack of discipline. It is not that you do not “know better.” Stress eating happens when food becomes the fastest way to cope with overwhelm, fatigue, boredom, or emotional load.


One of my favorite tools to help clients break the stress eating cycle is something I call a Nourishment Menu.

What Is a Nourishment Menu?

A nourishment menu is a personalized list of simple, non food actions you can take before reaching for food during moments of stress eating. It creates a pause. That pause is powerful. It helps you check in and ask, “Am I physically hungry, or do I need something else right now?”

This approach works because stress eating is often about meeting a need that has nothing to do with hunger. When you address the real need first, food choices become more intentional instead of reactive.

How to Create Your Nourishment Menu

I have my clients write their nourishment menu on a Post it note and stick it directly on the refrigerator. This is key. When stress eating hits, decision making is already compromised. The menu does the thinking for you.


Choose one action you commit to doing before eating. Not instead of eating. Just before. If you are still hungry afterward, you eat. No guilt. No restriction.


Here are some categories to pull from.

Physical nourishment

  • Take three slow deep breaths
  • Drink a full glass of water
  • Do 30 to 60 seconds of light stretching
  • Walk up and down the stairs

Mental and emotional nourishment

  • Journal one sentence about how you are feeling
  • Play with your pet
  • Listen to a short podcast or calming song
  • Organize a small space like your desk or bag

Environmental nourishment

  • Step outside for fresh air
  • Go for a short walk around the block
  • Open a window and change your environment


Why This Works for Stress Eating

A nourishment menu interrupts emotional eating patterns without relying on willpower. It supports habit change by pairing awareness with action. Over time, clients begin to recognize patterns such as stress eating after work, late night snacking from fatigue, or boredom eating during downtime.


Combined with nutrition coaching, this tool becomes even more effective. Coaching provides structure around meals, portions, and balanced nutrition, while the nourishment menu addresses the behavioral and emotional side of stress eating. Together, they support both physical and mental health.

Start Small and Be Consistent

You do not need a long list. Start with three actions you know you will actually do. Keep it visible. Practice the pause.



Stress eating does not disappear overnight, but with tools like a nourishment menu, it becomes something you can manage with clarity instead of frustration.