At Whole Food Hiker, I strive to give you food for thought that you won’t find elsewhere. In this post, I’ve got 3 Unorthodox Ways to Satisfy Sugar Cravings where the proof, is literally in the pudding. These aren’t your typical substitute sugar for stevia recommendations but is a deeper look at what’s causing the cravings in the first place and how to eliminate them; at least for the time being.
"Sugar cravings are fundamental to our nature and something that will reappear if the underlying issues that are causing them are not tended to." AZ
3 Unorthodox Ways to Satisfy Sugar Cravings
Let’s take a look at what's causing those sugar cravings to occur in the first place while simultaneously learning 3 Unorthodox Ways that we can satisfy them.
Option 1: Slow down the Fire
Sugar cravings are a fact of life. But the easy to digest carbohydrates that the body’s craving during this time are meant to be used as kindling for getting the fire going, sort of speak, they’re not to be consumed as main source of fuel, which I think they oftentimes can be. Quick burning sugars satisfy the fast-burning aspects of our metabolism, or as I like to say our digestive fire. This kind of desire for sugar can be slowed down once an oil-rich or fat burning source of fuel is added on top of it.
While a craving can be thought of or seen as being for sugar or something sweet, the processed sugars and empty calorie sweets that are eaten in hopes of satisfying it are not what the body wants. On the physiological level, what the body wants is natural sugars: polysaccharides, vitamin C, and other nutrients that are found in starchy vegetables such as:
Beets
Carrots
Corn
Peas
Parsnips
Sweet Potatoes
Squash
Etc.
When these foods are combined with an oil-rich, fat burning source such as:
Olive & Coconut Oils
Cacao or Coconut Butter
Avocado
Ghee
Flax & Chia Seeds
Walnuts or Pine Nuts
…the digestive fire that is causing the sugar cravings can be slowed to a point of satiation. I talk more in-depth about our digestive fire in this video:
WATCH: 3 Sure Fire Food Strategies
Option 2: Look at it this way...
Now I’d like to share with you a completely different way to look at sugar cravings which during my own struggle to get off processed sugar, was my best weapon against them.
After doing my own research and experiments on this topic I began to see the sugar cravings (the ones that make us feel guilty, ashamed, or otherwise in a state of mind where we know that this isn’t good for us) for what they really are: cancer, arthritis, and dozens of other inflammatory or degenerative diseases trying to feed themselves - by tricking me into craving what it is that THEY want.
Yup, you heard me right...
While a sugar craving is a sugar craving, the impact of what we feed that sugar craving is drastically different; especially when considering its long-term impact on our health.
How I see it, the addictive nature of sugar serves only to feed the parasitic nature of the diseases that thrive in the acidic pH of its environment. Once my body was flushed of artificial sugars and had been refilled with nutritionally-rich sources of natural sugars and fats/oils, the voice of the illnesses and degeneration (death knocking at my door) were put to rest and I feel that death was postponed for me, at least for a little while longer.
That being said…
Option 3: Give in to the Craving
Let’s face it, you need a treat. Why torture yourself? The angst, the guilt, the interpretation of there being something lacking from your life is worse for you that just eating the sugar.
To feel like I could celebrate food again, what I did was found suitable replacements to eat instead of products with sugar; and just like that, it was snack:30 once again!
Here’s a few of my go-to snacks for when sugar cravings start to kick in:
Steamed yams with sea salt, coconut oil, and cinnamon.
Oranges, carrots, and apple slices with cardamom.
Dried mango, pineapple, papaya, or jackfruit.
GORP sprinkled with cacao powder.
Dried cranberries and walnuts.
Dates and almond butter.
Berries and a banana.
Chia Pudding.
Water.
15 years ago, when I began eating these kind of snacks as my treats, not only did my sugar cravings for things like Reese’s and Little Debbie’s become manageable, the sugar crashes that always followed eating those kinds of foods went away too.
Basic Chia Pudding Recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Raw Organic Chia Seeds
1 cup Water
1 heaping tsp Coconut Milk Powder
Large dash of Vanilla Powder
Pinch of sea salt
(Optional)
Spices (Cacao powder, cinnamon, clove, etc.)
Fruit (Raisins, berries, pears, etc.)
Directions:
Combine ingredients into a cup, stir well, then let sit from 10 minutes to overnight depending on how soft you want it. Mixture will gel and can become pudding. To give it a smoother texture, either blend it once it's soaked or grind the seeds beforehand in a coffee grinder.
In Summary:
Stop sugar cravings in their tracks, or better yet, don’t try to stop them at all but simply give them what it is that they deserve, by doing 1 or all 3 of these Unorthodox Ways to Satisfy Sugar Cravings:
Transition from fast-burning to slow-burning sweets.
See the sugar craving for what it is: A necessary aspect of metabolism AND diseases and parasites trying to feed themselves.
Find a satisfying replacement for your sugar craving fix.
Until next time, this is Aria Zoner, wishing you strength and willpower on the path to health & wellness.
How do you satisfy sugar cravings? Comment below…