Balancing Food Cravings with Christmas Dinner Recipes [Self-Love Letter]
Hi Byte Wellness Fam!
How’re you feeling?
I feel reflective...and grateful. There’s so much to think about as the end of the year rolls around- how far we’ve come, how much we’ve learned, and how much room there is to grow!
That’s why, on #PhyteWellWednesday, for the rest of the year we’re answering your lingering wellness questions.
This week, so many of you asked how to beat food cravings.
That’s what I shared in our #PhyteWellWednesday video (no workshop last week). Check it out below:
Is This a Food Craving or Something Else?
Before we get into the weeds, let’s make sure we’re on the same page when we talk about craving. In everyday conversation, we use craving pretty loosely.
But, a food craving isn’t as simple as wanting chips or soda or some other food that we know isn’t so “good” for us.
Most of us know what it feels like to look forward to eating our favorite foods, or to “have a taste” for something.
But, it’s another thing all together to crave a certain food or drink, and to have constant thoughts about that food that we can’t get out of our heads. That should be a bit less common.
According to Merriam Webster, a craving is “an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing”.
1) When we think about the times we want food or drink, is what we’re feeling a craving (and intense and urgent desire) or a simple desire for a food we like?
If we’re easily distracted from our food thoughts when other issues arise, maybe this was a simple desire.
If our thoughts are consumed by how to get this food and when to get it, and if we’re very disappointed if we can’t eat it, maybe we’re having a craving.
Craving food and wanting food are at two different points of the desire spectrum. Food cravings are so much more intense than regular desire because they tap into multiple modes of wanting to create a sense of urgency. We feel like we HAVE to have it…now.
Neurologically, food cravings reveal the same reward-focused brain activation that happens with drug addiction. So, they’re very hard to resist.
Psychologically, food cravings are usually the tip of an emotional iceberg. They may be our subconscious attempt to soothe some emotional distress we may not have fully processed.
To add another layer of complexity: beating food cravings can’t mean turning our backs on food completely, because we actually NEED food to live (unlike drugs).
That’s why there are medical professionals like nutritionists and food therapists to help us understand and confront our food cravings. If you’re looking for this type of support, check out Brianna Theus, a registered dietitian/nutritionist with online services.
What Can I Do About Food Desire?
In addition to support from a medical professional, there are some research-based best practices we can use to bring us insight into our food cravings and help us make better decisions about the foods we simply desire.
Researchers have found that people with food cravings can practice a specific type of self-CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) to successfully reduce their cravings and change habits! I translated this technique in the video above. And, if you’re interested, we’ll cover more next week.
For now, consider that the first step in addressing our food wants (whether they’re cravings or just plain desire) is to actually embrace them, not ignore them, then inject some balance into the equation.
How do we do that?
Our brains don’t like for us to take food off our plate.
So, instead, we can focus on ADDing more nutritious and filling foods to our plate.
Ideally, if we fill up on super-nourishing whole food plants, we won’t be able to eat/drink as much of the less-nourishing food, even if we want to.
Balancing Desires- In Action
This time of year, I’m definitely looking forward to cornbread stuffing, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, banana pudding, mac-n-cheese. (Is your mouth watering, yet? Mine is).
I couldn’t reach my health and wellness goals if I ate all those dishes all day, everyday. But, I fully plan to indulge in these sugary, starchy foods for a few days. And, no, I won’t feel guilty or ashamed, or like I’ve let myself down. Why? I’ll balance out these less-nutritious dishes with lots of super nutritious whole food veggies.
Some of those veggie dishes are coming from our Share & Savor Plant-Based Cooking Course. In fact, there’s an entire day’s worth of recipes below:
Each of the recipes below is a plant-based original from Chef Araba. And now, you can learn how to make them in our Share & Savor course.
These 8 recipes offer excellent balance of nutrition and indulgence to any health-conscious Holiday menu.
1) Click to register for the course
2) Download the guidebook
3) Find the recipes (and video links) on their respective pages
4) Text the course code to get daily guidance via text message
Recipe: Tomato & Avocado Salad Paired with Video.................................................page 15 of guidebook
Recipes #1 and #2 are salads so flexible that they can double as appetizers, sides or main dishes.
Bonus Recipe: Freestyle Seasonal Salad...............................................................……...page 17
This Freestyle Salad is the easiest way to Veg up your dinner table with the ingredients you already have. It hits every time.
Recipe: Seasoned Vegetable Sauté Paired with Video..............................................page 26
This hefty mixed veggie side has heart-healthy fiber and unprocessed starch (from the squash) that can fill you up. That way, even if you want another helping of that pecan pie, you won’t feel like you NEED it.
Bonus Recipe: Fluffy Quinoa..................................................................................…………..page 21
If you haven’t tried quinoa stuffing (like cornbread stuffing), you’re missing out. Set yourself up for success by starting with this recipe for impossibly cloud-like quinoa.
Recipe Smooth Tropics Blend Smoothie Paired with Video....................................page 24
Use this berry-rific smoothie as a plant-based energy boost (paired with homemade oatmeal) before you serve Thanksgiving dinner. Or, convert it to a smoothie bowl or chia seed pudding and serve as Thanksgiving dessert.
Bonus Recipe: Homemade Oatmeal...................................................................………....page 26
Avoid snacking all day by filling up on some heart-healthy fiber on the morning of the big dinner (or the morning after).
Recipe for Creamy Vegetable Bagel Paired with Video.............................................page 30
This heart-healthy take on a bagel “schmear” makes for the perfect Christmas hors d’oeuvres.
Bonus Recipe: Sweet Potato Wedges.…………………………………………………………....page 32
This recipe is a refreshing take on what you’d get if Candied Yams and French Fries had a baby. And, the fact that these sweet potatoes are baked (not fried) improves their fat profile and heart healthiness.
When you give it a second thought, what would you call your food wants: desires or cravings? Can you think of the last time you really craved something, food or otherwise? How did you find a way past it, if at all?
Early Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Happy Healthy Living,
Dr. Wuse