Cause & Helps with Food Cravings

Finding it difficult to stay away from junk snacks or sweets? I get you on that struggle. When you want something salty or sweet, nothing makes the cravings go away. Find out what causes these cravings, learn my veggie trick to stop you from gorging on junk foods, and get the recipe that helped me lose thirty pounds.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you decide to make a purchase through my link, Amazon will pay me a commission for it. This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!

I’m a Lyft driver and occasionally share in conversations with riders that I am a food blogger. For instance, I met an attractive young lady, Brianna Grace (name changed for this blog post), who is on a diet and working at weight loss.

I enjoyed becoming acquainted with Brianna Grace. She was friendly, and we clicked with similar interests. She mentioned how she looks online for recipes that look appetizing and for snacks (the ones that have zero points, look delicious, and are not boring, etc.). Due to the fact that I also love to snack, I spent some time looking up the cause of cravings.

Results of Eating Sugar

Eating desserts or candy affects our bodies in unhealthy and undesirable ways such as:

• tooth decay
• weight gain
• irritability
• sluggishness
• fatty bulges

First of all, I am not a medical professional. But I do know about and/or am concerned with experiencing the above-mentioned results that can be caused by sugar. For example, I have had cavities which made fillings necessary. I love food and certain sweets. Therefore, I’ve experienced weight gain at times in my life. Weight gain is frustrating. However, unwanted pounds increase if too much sugar or calories are consumed. This can bring on irritable or sluggish feelings. Then fat bulges brought on by high cholesterol is another issue to consider.

The answer to these negative physical results, some might say, is to stop eating sugar. But for the person who is used to having candy and eating a dessert after dinner, that’s easier said than done. So what can help people who wish to keep their own teeth for life, maintain a healthy weight, stop becoming irritable or sluggish, and prevent fat bulges?

Understanding how a diet of too many calories, fats, and sugar affects our bodies can direct our focus in the direction of weight control. Factors that indicate high cholesterol include trans and saturated fat and sugar. Decreasing calories you consume daily and choosing a diet with less fat and minimal or no sugar can assist you in losing weight.

As indicated already, I’m not a medical advisor. Nevertheless, I can empathize with you if you weigh more than you should and are trying to lose extra pounds. I’ve been there and get how hard it can be to do that.

Snack & Sweet Craving Alternatives

Because I enjoy eating and don’t want to forever skip favorite foods, I look for recipes (and come up with my own) that look enticing, satisfy cravings for snacks and desserts, and are filling.

Take a few moments to glance over this list of alternate options that have helped me to control a strong urge for sugar-laden junk foods:

1. carrot sticks dipped in homemade salsa – I lost thirty pounds one year in four months and often enjoying this snack.
2. celery sticks – I know you can easily become bored with this snack, but celery sticks help get you past an extreme case of the snack cravings. Try dipping them in a serving of peanut butter or salsa (much fewer calories than peanut butter).
3. coffee made from organic coffee beans (the organic kind tastes better in my opinion) – You may be able to drink it black. Not me. Today I’m drinking my first cup of coffee with one packet of sweetener made with sucralose and one tablespoon of Half & Half (two tablespoons are 35 calories, 3 fats, and 1 carb). I’m having two cups, so I’m saving my second cup for a serving of Nestle Coffee-mate Cafe Mocha (one tablespoon has 35 calories, 1.5 fats, and 5 carbs/sugars). Coffee makes me forget about snacking.
4. salad – I love salads. Make a meal out of them, or choose them as a snack. You can change them up in the most surprising ways. Add berries, apple slices, grapes, olives, grated cheese, nuts, and on and on. Look for a low-calorie dressing that appeals to you.
5. nuts – They are believed to suppress hunger. Stack up on these goodies at Kroger or H.E.B. (if you live in Texas) in the nuts bulk aisle. I like the cashews best. Raw almonds and walnuts are good, too. Elaine Watson wrote an interesting article about why we can eat a lot of nuts without getting fat. Check out the article when you get a chance.
6. yogurt – Lately, I’ve been in a habit of buying the yogurt that includes tiny snacks/nuts/cookies. I only allow myself two or three per week. But you can go all out to prepare your own fancy yogurt snack. Start with a basic plain (or vanilla) Greek yogurt. Add berries, nuts, or cookie crumbs. Try Mrs. Thinster’s chocolate chip or coconut cookies. You can find them at Walmart. One serving is about four or five cookies. Choose the serving as your snack, or crush one of the cookies into a half a cup of yogurt. Mmm good!
7. cheese sticks – Eat one by itself, or combine with a serving of saltine crackers.
8. water – Drinking plenty of water will help you feel full and fight the snack cravings. Don’t like water? Buy a box of drink mix pouches. I especially like the Great Value brand of Peach Mango Green Tea. It only has five calories and no carbohydrates.

I typically favor those eight go-to choices for conquering the dreaded sugar/snack cravings.

How to Deal with Snack Cravings on the Road

When I am driving for hours without eating lunch, trust me, I get SO hungry. But I’m determined not to give in to going through a drive-through for a hamburger. Now Starbucks…well, how can I pass that up when I didn’t have coffee yet? My favorite snacks there are the little Sous Vide Egg Bites: Bacon & Gruyere (310 calories, 22 fat g [ouch], 185 mg cholesterol, 600 mg [oh, my], 9 g carbs, and 2 g sugars). You can also request almond milk and sugar-free syrup as substitutions at coffee shops.

Pack a small ice chest for your snacks if your job requires a lot of driving. The eight options I’ve listed above can easily be taken on the road.

If you must stop at a convenience store, find the healthiest snack bar available with the least amount of sugar. Or, get a back of pork rinds for a low-carb snack (be sure to have a bottle of water handy).

Make a veggie sandwich.

Load up on vegetables to cut cravings. Years ago, when I lost those thirty pounds I told you about earlier, I discovered that a sandwich trick. If I stuffed a bunch of veggies between two slices of bread, usually with mustard and/or a little mayonnaise, I felt full. It stopped hunger cravings for me.

Here is a recipe for the kind of vegetable sandwich I enjoy. Choose from the options listed in the recipe to fit your tastes.

Simple, I know, but this vegetable sandwich can trick the mind into feeling full. Really, it makes sense that vegetables can make the junk cravings go away. They contain nutrients that we should be consuming every day. See how it works for you. Add any kind of vegetables you like. I’ve sliced cucumbers, carrots, yellow summer squash, and added them with lettuce, pickles, and a tomato slice (with and without cheese). The more veggies I add, the more satisfied I become. As long as you can fit a bite into your mouth, you can pile on all the vegetables you want. Easy. Healthy. Nutritious. Cuts junk snack and sweet cravings.

The holiday season is the most difficult time of the year to keep from gaining weight – and, definitely, from losing weight. Include this veggie sandwich throughout the holiday season to help you overcome urges to eat unhealthy snacks and calorie-loaded desserts.

Thank you for visiting. Try out the sandwich recipe. Adapt it to your own tastes, and leave me a comment about your version of the recipe.

I’m sharing this simple and easy sandwich recipe at Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday. Take a few moments to check out all the delicious recipes there.