Insatiable sugar craving? Need coffee to get going (especially multiple times per day)?
If you regularly find yourself hankering coffee or sugar “to for a “pick me up” of some kind, your body is actually hankering something else.
In other words: It’s not getting what it needs.
Regular coffee and sugar consumption send your body on a blood-sugar roller coaster throughout the day.
When those cravings strike, chances are your blood sugar levels are low (and your stress hormones are high)—telling you: “Feed me (with sugar or caffeine) NOW!”
In addition, other side effects, like headaches, shakiness before meals, “hangriness,” obsessive thoughts about food, fatigue, crashes, and the need for nap time, happen.
What to do about it?
Balance blood sugar levels and curb those sugar and coffee cravings with foods that promote balance and satiation throughout the day.
(Think: Proteins and healthy fats).
Here are 20 snacks to keep your inner sugar (and coffee) monster at bay.
- Coconut Butter Packet (Artisana).
- Coconut Yogurt (I love Kokonut) or Full-Fat Grass-fed, Organic Yogurt with Frozen Berries
- Closed Fist-ful Raw Macadamia Nuts (or other raw, soaked nut)
- 1/2 Avocado + Sea Salt or Guacamole with Baby Carrots
- Celery with Sun-Butter + Dried Cranberries or Raisins
- Plantain Chips + Nitrate-free Salami Slices
- Kale Chips with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Half Green Tipped Banana or Granny Smith Apple + 1-2 Tbsp. Natural Raw Almond Butter
- Baked Cinnamon Pear or Apple with Coconut Oil drizzled on top
- Enjoy Life (Dairy Free, Soy Free) Chocolate Chips + 1 Spoonful Cashew Butter
- “Deviled” Hard Boiled Egg (with guacamole or avocado-oil mayo)
- Grass-fed Cheese + Apple Slices or Seed-Crackers
- Homemade Chia-Seed Pudding or Avocado-Cacao Pudding
- Pickles wrapped with Nitrate-Free Ham
- Coconut or Cashew Kefir + Frozen Blueberries
- Chicken “Salad” with Paleo Mayo
- Beet Chips dipped in Paleo Ranch or Tzatki sauce
- Cucumber + Smoked Salmon + Coconut butter
- “Real Food” Bars:
- Epic Bars. (like the Turkey Cranberry)
- Bulletproof Protein Collagen Bars
- Alternative Beverages
- Sparkling Water (Topo Chico, La Croix)—additive free
- Herbal or Cinnamon-Spiced Tea
- Teecino (coffee substitute) with 1 Tbsp. Grass-fed Butter or Coconut Milk + Vanilla Extract + Cinnamon
- Cold Pressed Green Juice—sweetened only with 1 fruit (like a green apple or lemon/lime)
- “Chocolate” Smoothie (made with additive-free, short-ingredient protein powder)
Bonus: Check in with yourself: Am I really hungry? Or what is this craving all about? Am I nourishing myself properly?
The result?
Balanced blood sugar levels
Sugar and coffee feed cortisol (your stress hormone)—and send your hinting that it’s not getting what it need.