5 Easy Swaps to Cut Cravings and Increase All-Day Energy

I often hear people talk about how eating healthy is hard because it takes so much time out of their day. I agree it can be easy to give up on healthy when things get busy, but healthy can be convenient with minimal effort (I don’t like hours in the kitchen either!) when you have a few simple tricks up your sleeve.

These are the tricks we use in our house when things get a little crazy. These swaps give us the convenience without the sugar spike (and subsequent crash) that leads to cravings and fatigue we don’t want.

Before I get into it, consider one thing … if you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it. This is something I tell myself when I’m grocery shopping on an empty stomach and everything looks so good! The hard work truly happens at the grocery store. And don’t convince yourself that you need to buy it for your kids (or spouse or guests etc.). Processed food is no better for them than it is for you.

“If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it.”

The next time you’re preparing food for yourself (or someone else), try one of these swaps. They will keep you on the right track for all-day energy so that you can accomplish everything you want to get done.

Coffee

Coffee can work for some people, but if you’re struggling with weight, there may be the reason to wean off of it. I love Dandy Blend as a good swap because it is tasty and dissolves quickly into hot water. To read more about the coffee discussion click here.

Breakfast

Boxed cereal for breakfast? This is full of sugar and refined starches and no way to start the day off. Trade that in for some oatmeal. It can be cooked up in 5 minutes, and with the addition of nuts, seeds or coconut flakes, can be a blood sugar balancing breakfast.

Lunch

There’s no need to have a high carb sandwich when a salad is so much tastier! And, it’s easy to make when you just toss your leftover veggies and protein on top of some greens. It can be made “to go” by taking it in a container with a fork and a small jar of oil and vinegar.

Snacks

Craving something crunchy? Skip the chips and dip and make it veggies and dip instead. Many store-bought dips are great, and a cucumber takes mere seconds to slice up.

Dessert

As a recovering sugarholic, I love my sweets. But I have now swapped out the cookies and cakes for dark chocolate and berries. Yummm!

Change doesn’t happen overnight, but if you keep moving forward you will thank yourself in a year.

Bonnie Flemington MBA, CNP