Beat The Sweets! Healthy Alternatives for Sugar Cravings

Written by Yoga Mamas' Holistic Nutritionist, Adrienne Cote
By now we all know that consuming too much sugar is not ideal for our overall health. Sometimes though our bodies and our brains don’t quite get that message and we can find ourselves craving and wanting all of the sugary things! Chocolate, candy, ice cream, cake, donuts you name it and I bet at least one of those items may ring true for you. 

While I don’t believe full avoidance of our favourite treats is realistic (I think that life is meant to be enjoyed and it’s ok to indulge every now and then), I DO think it is important to understand a bit behind WHY we crave sugar. The quick and dirty answer is that it could be a number of things! We are unique individuals after all: blood sugar levels that are out of whack, an underlying nutrient deficiency and being under stress are just a few possibilities.  It’s always important to investigate the WHY if you feel you have a serious sweet tooth addiction or massive daily cravings as it can signal a health issue that you may want to address (an appointment with me can help you get to the bottom of it).
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In the meantime, here are two simple and healthy snack ideas that will satisfy your sweet tooth AND your hunger. The combination of ingredients combine protein and fat which help give us a longer burning source of energy. The addition of a carb (in this case dates and bananas) also give an initial burst of energy and provide us with that sweetness we desire.

Healthy Recipes To Beat Sugar Cravings

Almond butter stuffed dates

• Remove pit from a medjool date and stuff with almond butter or nut butter of choice
  
• enjoy!
  

Banana Shake

• 1 frozen banana
  
• Handful of spinach
  
• 1 tbsp nut/seed butter of choice (coconut and almond butter are my 2 faves)
  
• 1 date
  
• 1 tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
  
• Scoop of protein powder of choice
  
• 1 cup of nut milk of choice (add more for desired consistency)
  
• Blend until smooth
  *BONUS for a cold summer treat you can pour these smoothies into popsicle moulds and freeze them!
  

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