Food cravings or rather sugar cravings in particular are common to most of us. It is an everyday battle to manage those never reducing cravings and you are not alone in this.
After a long day at work, it is indeed difficult to not open a can of beverage or just sit with a tub of chocolate ice cream as we relax to end the day.
Yes, we often start by thinking – ‘ahh just a slab of chocolate’ but before we realize that would end up with 3 or 4 slabs of chocolate!
It is good to have our cheat meal days during the weekend but what about those everyday cravings!
Here are 4 healthy foods to help us manage weight, everyday longing for alarmed food and keep the food cravings at bay.
Dark chocolate
This has got to be my favourite route to escape the sweet tooth.
You know that thought of having something sweet after every dinner! Of course you can relate to it and I’m with you on that thought.
If you are craving chocolate, instead of going for regular milk chocolate, you can swap it with a small bar of dark chocolate!
The texture and taste is super satisfying and not just that it is rich in antioxidants. Also dark chocolate is said to lift up your mood and energy levels!
Before you run away from this suggestion, dark chocolate is not always bitter and blah. Indeed if you choose the right quality of dark chocolate (60 to 70%) , that is tasty and calms down your cravings.
Swap the cold drinks
Cold drinks are a big NO!
The amount of sugar in all these beverages is crazy. If you think a diet soda would be your swap – No to that too! It is almost the same and doesn’t make any difference to your diet, probably just the label changes!
If you are craving a soda, most of the time that’s only because you are thirsty. In such cases we can swap the cold drinks with cold infused water.
You can also add lots of ice and slices of lemon to make it look fancier!
Fresh fruits
There cannot be a healthier snack than having fresh fruits.
Fruits are naturally sweet and often a great choice to manage our sugar cravings. Instead of having bottled fruit juices, we can have fruits in full and drink a glass of water! That would serve our cravings.
If you are in the mood to have a savoury snack – fruits would still be a go to option! Cut some fruit pieces, say, watermelon, papaya, pineapple and sprinkle some black salt on the fruit. That would definitely bring in a different flavor and satisfy our cravings.
Nuts and snack bars
Nuts are packed with nutrients and are super healthy food any given day!
Super convenient, tasty and on the go food item for most of us. They are rich in benefits and one should not miss on the benefits nuts could provide.
Nuts are also a good source of fiber which helps us stay full for longer.
Snack bars are a great option to munch on. You know those casual cravings just to keep that time moving, in all such times snack bars could be the go to option. Mixed with berries and nuts – very crunchy, tasty and filling!
Summary
Cravings could range from a casual mood to munch onto something after dinner to strong sense to eat a particular food item only.
We all have crazy cravings throughout the day and it is okay to have those! End of the day it all comes down to the number of times we can swap those cravings to a tiny bit healthier alternatives. That makes a huge difference in the whole healthy lifestyle concept.
You can try the above-mentioned alternatives to manage those food cravings during the weekdays and so could you enjoy your cheat meal days during the weekend!
To a win-win situation!!