Struggling with emotional eating

I truly love eating clean.   I love the energy I have and so many of the foods are absolutely delicious to me.   Even still though,  I struggle with emotional eating.  It's such a penulum:  I really love having a fit,  slender body that is healthy and strong,  but I love tasty food that changes the way I feel emotionally.  The foods I turn to are usually simple carbs: sugars,  crackers, etc.  Stuff my kids like to eat and I know aren't good for me.   Some is fine, but binging on it is not good.   

As a mom,  I feel like I do so much for everyone else all the time,  and that food is my to treat myself.  Or sometimes I justify eating bad food because I've been doing good for so long,  that I deserve it.   I tend to turn to food more when I'm stressed,  when Ben has been working a lot so I'm lonely and bored, or when I'm feeling depressed and need food to feel better.

I'm sure there is probably some food addiction going on too.   Why else would food have such an impact on the way I feel emotionally and physically?   It really shouldn't have such power.  So,  I'm still trying to figure that out.   I've heard that I need to replace my turning to food with something else that will satisfy my emotional needs, but I haven't mastered that yet.   Sometimes the impulses feel too strong and like the more I try to fight it,  the worse I'll eventually give in.  

I don't expect to eat 100% prefect all the time and that's okay.   What's not healthy is the dependency on food for other issues.  I feel like if I can overcome this,  I'll finally achieve the level of health,  physical fitness and emotional peace that I'm seeking.   It's kind of embarrassing opening up about this, but it's worth it if I can find a real solution...