As the months in quarantine slink by, I have found myself reaching more and more for sugary treats and beverages. A cup of coffee with sugar and a splash of almond milk in the morning has become a ritual, and desert has become a welcome respite to monotonous days.
As these tendencies have set in, not surprisingly, so have increased cravings for added sugar.
As we increasingly expose our palate to added sugar, foods that contain natural sugars, like fruits and vegetables, become less and less sweet to us.
The opposite of this is also true, and it is something that I keenly observed when I cut added sugar out of my diet for 2 weeks a couple years ago. During and after this 2 week period I noticed that fruits and vegetables tasted sweeter to me, and they were able to satisfy my sugar cravings.
Here are some ways tips I have for ways to cut down on added sugar, and curb those cravings:
One of the main ways we incorporate added sugars into our diets is through the substances we heap into the beverages we drink. A sweetened beverage can come in the form of a coffee laden with sugar, as is usually the case for me, or a tall glass of orange juice in the morning. Fruit juices, unlike whole fruits, do not contain fiber which keeps us satiated for longer periods of time, and also are more readily stored as fat.
Have you got a couple extra-ripe bananas lying around? Cut ‘em up and freeze ‘em. Frozen bananas make for a great snack all on their own, but if you want to take it to the next level, dip ‘em in a nut/seed butter before putting them in the freezer. This way you have a makeshift summer popsicle/snack item around for whenever a sugar-craving hits. Berries and grapes also work perfectly for this.
No, I am not referring to spice if that’s what you were thinking. Something that really helps me curb my sugar cravings is warm, comforting beverages. I love drinking chamomile tea with a splash of almond milk before bed---when I feel the sugar cravings coming.
Another way I use heat to curb sugar cravings is by blasting some frozen berries and/or bananas in the microwave for about a minute or so. The result is a syrupy, steaming concoction that can certainly stand in for desert.
If you find yourself craving sugar, it might be because you are sleep deprived. Assess how you have been sleeping. If you find that you have had trouble falling asleep, assess how much caffeine you are consuming in a day--in the form of coffees, teas, chocolate, etc. If your body is really craving added sugar, it may be because it is exhausted, and desperately needs a ready source of energy in the form of added sugar. Challenge yourself to reduce your caffeine consumption--perhaps by cutting out a cup of coffee in the morning or eliminating caffeinated beverages after noon to prevent the caffeine from impacting your sleep.
