Spiced Chickpea Pilaff With Almonds And Coconut Yogurt
This delicious combination of rice, chickpeas and almonds is an ideal pre-workout meal to support your workout. Chickpeas are nutritional powerhouses packed with carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc and magnesium. They are the perfect dietary supplement to rice, compensate for the lack of essential amino acids and increase the overall protein quality. Carrots and butternut squash are both high in beta-carotene, while green peppers and peas are loaded with vitamin C. Almonds add extra protein, healthy fats, calcium, and vitamin E. Substitute for pecans or cashews if you prefer. If you dont have all of the individual spices, use 2 tablespoons of mild curry paste instead.
Ingredients
- 25 g almonds, toasted and mashed
- Small handful of finely chopped mint
- 2 tbsp coconut yogurt alternative
method
Pack Your Plate With Protein
Curbing late-night sugar cravings may come down to getting a proper portion of protein at dinner.
Your body digests protein more slowly than fat and carbs. “This means that when you eat a higher protein meal, it will generally keep you feeling full for a longer period of time, mitigating the urge for a sugar surge post-dinner,” Moskovitz says.
In fact, protein has been proven to reduce the “hunger hormone” ghrelin and increase hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 and cholecystokinin that contribute to satiety, Gearhart says.
“Protein also has a minimal impact on blood sugars,” Moskovitz adds. And that matters because foods that quickly raise blood sugars often lead to rapid blood sugar crashes, and, consequently, more sugar cravings.
So, make sure your supper plate gets an ample portion of protein. Fortunately, there’s a plethora of protein options perfect for the dinner table. From chicken, turkey and fish to eggs, tofu and legumes, you can find a healthy source of protein no matter what your dietary preferences.
Sugar Addiction : Everything You Should Know
We are a nation afflicted with sugar addiction in America. According to studies done by the Department of Health and Human Services, the average American eats 42.5 teaspoons of sugar every day. This equals out to 170 grams of sugar or roughly 1/3 of a pound of sugar per day. Most nutritionists suggest that about 10% of your caloric intake should be from sugar. This is based on an average of 2,000 calories per day and comes out to around 53.2 grams per day.
As you can see, the average intake is well above what is suggested. This is because as a nation, we love our sugar! We just cant seem to get enough of it, from coffee in the morning to dessert at night. Many individuals days begin and end with some form of sugar. Asking many to quit sugar can seem like a tall order.
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Why We Crave Sugar
If you crave sugary foods, you’re not alone. Studies estimate that up to 90% of the adult population may experience food cravings. These cravings are often for sugary foods.
Scientists have long believed that cravings for carbohydrates and other sugary foods are driven by a desire to improve mood due to the fact that consuming sweet treats increases serotonin levels in your brain.
Serotonin, also known as a feel-good hormone, is a brain neurotransmitter that boosts your sense of well-being.
Although serotonin may be the cause of your food cravings, there are a variety of other potential causes that can also play a factor:
Consider A Therapist To Help Break The Addictive Cycle
Having support is an important part of breaking a dependency on anything, including sugar. A therapist or a dietitian can provide strategies to manage stress and make breaking your addiction a success.
Its also important to make sure that you dont just go from one addiction to another. Working with a professional therapist is really important to help stay addiction-free.
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Getting Help For Your Sugar Addiction
If you think that you may have an issue with sugar addiction then take our sugar addiction quiz today. Admitting you are addicted to a substance is difficult. However, in order to move on with your life and become healthier and happier, it is an important step to take. The most important thing to understand is that you are not alone in your struggles. The resources that we offer are a means to help you overcome your sugar addiction once and for all, and finally, regain control of your eating habits and your life.
Pair Fruit With Protein
Pairing fruit with a protein will calm your craving and the protein-packed ingredients will keep you feeling satisfied longer. Kathy Siegel, MS, RDN, CDN New York-based registered dietitian and nutrition consultant for Triad to Wellness suggests trying a banana dipped in natural peanut butter, mandarin oranges, toasted almonds and cottage cheese or a smoothie made with berries, a banana, milk and ice.
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Is Sugar Addiction Real
Imagine an alien came down to Earth to do a survey for the intergalactic community. What would he report back?
All humans, whether young or old, consume copious amounts of a substance that is slowly killing them. They put it in their food, they put it in their drink, they advertise it on the small square box in their living rooms. They know its bad for them, yet they cant seem to stopwe must never let this reach our planet!
The truth is, sugar addiction is very real. It has a similar chemical affect on our brains as recreational drugs, such as heroin, do. Every time you consume sugar, the pleasure centers in your brain reward you with a little dopamine hit.
But you dont need science to prove that to you. How often when youre feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, do you reach out for some Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream? Sugar makes you feel good, which is why cravings can be even more difficult to kick.
Stock Up On Healthy Snacks
Life is unpredictable, and quite often when things get in the way, you need a solid plan B.
Making sure you keep lots of healthy snacks around the house, and in your handbag, is crucial to sticking to a low-sugar diet.
Some quick and easy snacks you can try are:
- Canned fish
- Apple and peanut butter
- Dark chocolate
Then, when motivation is low and youre stuck in the trenches, you can reach for one of these to tie you over until dinner.
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Know The Difference Between A Craving And Hunger
Oftentimes when we think we’re hungry, we’re actually just having a craving. What’s the difference? Next time you want to reach for that chocolate cake, ask yourself: if the only thing I had to eat right now was an apple, would I eat it? If the answer is “no,” then you’re probably having a craving and not actually hungry. When you’re hungry, what you’re willing to eat is flexible, when you’re having a craving, it’s not. The next time you answer “no” to that question, take 20 minutes before you act on it. Often you’ll find that the craving goes away if it doesn’t then allow yourself to mindfully indulge.
“You can also try to replace that craving with a healthy substitute,” says Kien Vuu, MD, a performance and longevity doctor and the author of Thrive State. Whenever I experience a craving, I’ll either go for a walk or sip on sparkling water. I find that if I don’t act on my initial craving and allow some time to pass, my craving will usually dissipate on its own.”
When flavored water doesn’t do the trick, Cassetty tells her clients that one of the easiest ways to lower your added sugar intake is to swap out your usual dessert for something like Lily’s Sweets. “They’re botanically sweetened chocolate treats with no added sugar. A sweet like this doesn’t count toward your daily added sugar intake.” Note, however, even botanically sweetened treatsaka stevia-sweetened onesshould be consumed in moderation, as previously mentioned.
Become A Sugar Sleuth To Be Set
Personally, I find that this study helps shed some light on the weight and food addiction issues many people are facing. That it has nothing to do with a lack of willpower but a biological response to what they are eating.
When I made the decision to say no to sugar once and for all, I came to the realization that the food choices themselves were what was causing my sugar addiction. It wasnt that I was weak or that I had some character flaw.
Although that sounds like a pretty simplistic approach it wasnt. But coming to this conclusion put me on the path to being set free from sugar.
When it comes to a sugar/carb addiction becoming a bit of a sleuth is necessary. Its up to us to find where sugar may be hiding.
Unfortunately, this even includes items like vegetables, a place we would not think to check, or our table salt under the name of dextrose.
Thats why looking at the carb count of a food item is a quick way to see if something is high in sugar. Trying to stay within the 20 to 35 carb count a day has been key for me to be able to say no to sugar on a regular basis.
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Manage Your Stress Levels
Research shows that stress affects food preferences and increases cravings for sweet foods.
Sugar also appears to have a calming effect on stress hormones, which contributes to your desire for sugar when feeling stressed.
Keeping your stress in check will make it easier to cut sugar from your diet and help keep cravings under control.
Taking a short walk, talking to a friend, and reading a book are a few simple ways to relax.
Break The Sugar Addiction
If you’re “hooked” on sugar, don’t try to eliminate all sugary foods at once. If you deny yourself even a single piece of candy or sliver of cake, you’ll only crave sweets more. Instead, eat a healthy diet made up of more satisfying foodswhole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy oils, and lean protein. “Steer yourself away from sugar and eat these foods, which are digested more slowly. They’ll help to even out your blood sugar and you won’t have spikes and crashes all the time,” Dr. Hauser says.
Here are a few suggestions to help you break the sugar habit:
Keep sugary foods away. Don’t tempt yourself by stocking candy, cookies, and other high-sugar foods in your cupboards and fridge. “As a substitute for these things, keep fruit around,” suggests Dr. Hauser.
Sweeten foods yourself. Start with unsweetened iced tea, plain yogurt, and unflavored oatmeal. Then add your own sweetener. No matter how much sweetener you add, you probably won’t put in as much as the manufacturer would have, according to Dr. Hauser.
Watch for hidden sugars in foods. Be wary of foods where sugar tends to hide, including reduced-fat products. “When companies take out the fat, they add back almost all the calories in sugar,” Dr. Hauser says. Read labels. Avoid products that list sugar as the first ingredient or that contain several different types of sugar it’s one way manufacturers avoid having sugar listed as the first ingredient.
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S To Kick Your Sugar Addiction
Today, I want to share with you my secrets to reduce sugar cravings and food cravings so you can kick sugar addiction. This is a chronic problem in America today. In fact, I would say the No. 1 cause of people falling off diets and something that stops or even reverses weight loss efforts is when people have cravings.
Lets be honest. A lot of people know what they should eat. We should eat more vegetables. We should eat more fruit. We should eat organic. But a lot of times when Ive asked patients over the years, Why could you not stick with a diet before? they would say, Because of the cravings. I started craving sugar so much.
Ten Tips To Break A Sugar Addiction
Just to reiterate, addiction is a serious issue that should be treated with care and under the guidance of a licensed healthcare professional. But, these ten tips should help get you started on the right path for addressing your sugar addiction, stopping the cravings, and, ultimately, finding freedom.
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Sugar Addiction Is Destroying Your Health
Sugar is one of the hardest ingredients to give up. The bacteria that feed off sugar inside the body releases chemicals into the brain to crave sweets. When we stop eating sugar, the bacteria start to die off. And even more of those chemicals are released in the process. That is why to beat sugar addiction you need to:
- Start slow. It is easier to give up sugar by gradually reducing the amount of sugar over time.
- Read the labels carefully. Sugar is hiding under so many names. See the list above.
- Drink a glass of water every time you crave something sweet. Alkaline water will make the process easier because it will neutralize the toxic-acidic environments from all the bacteria and yeasts begging for food.
- It is not easy, but it is a battle worth fighting!
How To Stop Eating Sugar
1) Understand your sugar addiction is real. I dont want you to get caught up in a victim mentality, but there is some power in understanding that sugar is addictive.
When you eat sugar, it changes the chemistry in your brain by releasing the feel-good chemical called dopamine. There is a chemical change happening inside your brain you arent weak or pathetic for craving sugar.
If you feel shame about your inability to give up sugar, you will probably deal with the shame by eating more sugar.
Theres nothing to be ashamed of. Sugar is addictive for everyone because everyone has dopamine in their brains. If you crave sugar, then youre normal.
Theres a great book by Dr. Brene Brown called I Thought It Was Just Me . Shes a shame researcher, which sounds funny, yet shes great at putting the issue of shame into perspective. I highly recommend the book.
2) Flood your body with nutrients. When you stop eating sugar, your body removes toxins. These toxins are what lead to the withdrawal symptoms that pull you back.
The quickest way to rid your body of these toxins is to flood it with foods that are naturally high in vitamins and minerals. These nutrients help flush out the toxins.
In my free video series, I show you how to do this using 4 simple daily habits. If you want more nutrients, but dont know what to eat, then youll want to watch those videos before giving up sweets.
You can wake up in the morning, will yourself to give up sugar, and be back on it by noon.
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Keep Your Meals Diverse
Make sure you incorporate all food groups when you prepare a meal. According to Nutrition Stripped founder, McKel Hill, MS, RDN, LDN, people don’t realize they’re what they’re missing in their meals and it could be detrimental. “I’ve found in my practice that often people crave sugar because of generally imbalanced diet as a whole,” she says. “At mealtimes, they might be missing out on enough fiber to keep them physically full or can be lacking enough protein to keep them satiated, or enough healthy fats. All the macronutrients work together to keep our blood sugars stabilized and keep us satiated so we need them all.”
Cut Out Sugar In Foods That Aren’t Sweet
If you can’t give up your ice cream and chocolate, try to eliminate ketchup and salsa. “Sugar is in many condiments and sauces, and one must be careful not to assume that because it’s not a dessert or a sweet food it must not have sugar,” says Ilene Ruhoy, MD, PhD, a doctor trained in both pediatric and adult neurology and a gut council member for Jetson. “Sugar is found in many kinds of ketchup, mustards, salsas, marinaras, and other sauces. It can also be found in some meals such as sushi rice and polenta.”
In fact, according to Dr. Drucker, manufacturers add sugar to 74 percent of packaged foods! “Sugar is the most popular ingredient added to packaged foods a breakfast bar made with ‘real fruit and whole grains’ may contain 15 grams or more of added sugarsugar is literally hidden everywhere in our food supply. Adults, children, toddlers and even babies are unknowingly conditioned to desire sugar.” Making a habit of checking ingredient labels will open your eyes to just how much sugar is added to some of the most unexpected foods.
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