Kick Cravings To The Curb With Healthy Snack Options

Cravings happen...PERIOD...even to the healthiest of us!! When your hunger, energy and cravings are out of wack, a whirlwind of out of control taste buds are sure to follow.  So be sure to keep yourself in check with these delicious and nutrient packed snack options to FUEL your body, instead of crash it!

Often, when a craving hits in the afternoon or in the evening after dinner, we get the urge to snack. Snacking can be a bad habit to get into, because the snacks we choose are often junky, un-nutritious, and high in calories, sugar, or fat.

The trick to snacking without piling on the pounds is to find healthy alternatives to the regular snacks you might normally reach for.

Usually, when we get a craving it is for either something sweet (chocolate!), savory (potato chips!), creamy (ice cream!), or crunchy (crisps!). Obviously, my examples are foods you shouldn’t eat all the time if you are trying to loose fat and be healthy. But that doesn’t mean you have to fight your cravings for the rest of your life. Instead, you just need to substitute.

Next time you get a craving for something sweet, why not try:

• fresh, whole fruit
• apples and almond butter
• dried fruit
• green smoothies
• banana “ice cream” (peel a banana, freeze, blend in a food processor with nuts, berries or  raisins ,and serve)
• dates stuffed with almond butter or other nut butter
• organic dark chocolate chips or carob chips

For your savory cravings, try these healthy alternatives:

• olives
• pickles and pickled vegetables, such as carrot, daikon, beets, and lotus root
• hummus
• steamed vegetables with tamari
• freshly made salsa or guacamole
• salted edamame

Your creamy cravings can be met by eating:

• smoothies
• avocados
• rice pudding
• dips and spreads, like hummus
• puréed soups
• mashed sweet potatoes (also a great sweet craving snack!)
• coconut milk

Finally, don‘t cave and reach for the Pringles, when you can eat these crunchy (but still healthy) snacks:

• apples
• frozen grapes
• rice cakes
• light popcorn or plain popcorn
• carrots (particularly the sweet, organic baby carrots)
• celery and nut butter
• raw, unsalted nuts like cashews, almonds, and walnuts

Don’t fight your craving. Instead, listen to what it is your body wants specifically and choose the healthier option that will be good to your waistline and will keep your hungery and cravings in check!!

How Food Affects Your Mood And Energy

Did you know that food has vibrations that allow it to create change in our bodies on a cellular level?  So what does this mean and how does food affect your mood and energy. Food that is alive, raw and from the earth will energize and invigorate you, creating a positive change in mood and energy, while processed, pre-packaged, “dead food” will leave you feeling lethargic and uninspired, like a light that has fizzled out.  Makes sense doesn’t it?

Dark green leafy vegetables are full of chlorophyll, which is basically liquid sunshine. Now, that’s what I’m talking about!!  It is the substance in plants that allows them to absorb light from the sun and convert it into usable energy.  When we consume raw dark green vegetables such as kale, broccoli, and Swiss chard, we fill our body with the equivalent of the plant’s life blood – the very thing that allows a seed to flourish and take form.

Chemically, the blood of the plant, chlorophyll, is very similar to our blood and, when consumed, it helps us to oxygenate and breathe life into every cell.  Pretty cool, huh? Chlorophyll is also extremely cleansing and detoxifying.

Here are some other high vibrational foods for you to try:

1.    Tree Fruits – try apples, pears, bananas, coconuts, avocados, nectarines, peaches, plums, apricots, oranges, lemons, limes, mangos, pomegranates, blueberries, cherries, and olives.

2.    Non-green veggies

3.    Raw Cacao – chocolate in its pure form has over 1,200 phytonutrients. It contains nutrients like magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and manganese.  It also contains phenylethylamine, which are the feel good characteristics, and theobromine which dilates the cardiovascular system to allow all the benefits to come in.

4.    Goji Berries – packed with antioxidants, which can help minimize free radical damage to our cells.

5.    Cultured and Fermented Foods –a great source of probiotics, which will help your digestion stay on track.

I firmly believe in the old saying, “You are what you eat.”  Junk in = feeling like junk, and rich, living, nutrient-dense food in = much happier body and mind.  Don’t just take my word for it.  We’ve all tried the junk in, junk out experiment, so don’t you think it’s time to rock your body and mind with some fresh and fabulous food? By eating food that vibrates at a higher frequency, we increase our life-force energy and feel more radiant inside and out!!

Game Day Eats

Come on, we all love the comfort food that comes along with football season; it's the one day you can eat all the chips, dips and sweet treats you want and no one will judge:) RIGHT?? 

Well, Super Bowl 50 is TOMORROW and we can't wait to see Cam Newton and our Carolina Panthers take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos; what a great game day it will be!  We wanted to share with you a few different, super easy, game day eats that won't erase all your hard work this week. These are delicious eats that we hope you love as much as we do!

ENJOY~

Game Day Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of 98% Fat Free Ground Turkey (organic if possible)
• 1 jar of Low Sodium Salsa (We like Green Mountain Gringo Salsa)
• 1 can of Organic Black Beans – rinsed(try to find a can that has a BPA free lining and no salt added)
• Avocado or Homemade Guacamole
• Organic Corn Chips

Instructions:

Brown the turkey, add the salsa and beans and simmer for a few minutes! Top with avocado or guacamole and scoop away with corn chips.  This recipe will serve 3-4 depending on appetites and whether you have a salad or another healthy side to accompany your chili!

Add Ins:

• Extra beans if you are trying to stretch to make more servings.  I like cannellini beans or navy beans
• A couple of fresh diced tomatoes will give it a fresh kick!
• Be creative!  Sauté more onions, mushrooms, green peppers or whatever you like!
• Spice this up with these doTERRA essential oils:  1 drop of Cilantro, 2-4 drops of Lime or Lemon, 1 drop of Cumin

Black Bean Brownies

(Recipe from doTERRA Blog!)

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz.) can of Black Beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 2/3 cup Honey
• 1/3 cup Coconut Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 4 Drops of doTERRA Wild Orange or Lemon Essential Oil
• 3/4 cup Chocolate Chip, divided

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place all ingredients, except for chocolate chips, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
• Pour batter into large bowl and stir in ½ cup chocolate chips.
• Pour into greased 8×8-inch pan and top with ¼ cup chocolate chips (or you can stir all the chocolate chips into the batter, your choice!)
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool and cut into pieces. Store in refrigerator. 

A few other tips to your healthy game day

Spice up your salsa with barley 1 drop of doTERRA's Cilantro and 3-4 drops of doTERRA's Lime Essential Oil, and add in 3-4 drops of doTERRA Lemon Essential Oil to your hummus.  Be sure to have some cut veggies on hand for mindless munching and make sure you are getting plenty of water, like always!  For some added detoxification, add 2-3 drops of doTERRA Lemon Essential Oil to your water for a taste of flavor and an extra benefit to your body!

Happy Super Bowl 50, y'all!!

XOXO~S&A