[Radiant Living] Tips for Dealing with Sugar this Holiday Season
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Emerge Healing
Nov 10, 2008, 4:43:35 PM11/10/08
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By Alice Moore
The holidays present us with many challenges and my clients tell me that a big challenge is what to do about the mass amounts of SUGAR that sit in the office all day and show up at meetings. AH! For those of us with a sugar sensitivity having candy, cookies and cupcakes around presents a challenge both for our physical and mental/emotional well being.
Here are some suggestions can help with this.
Bring your own ‘treat’ or snack for the day, something you love! Even if you don’t eat it, you will have an option with you.
Examples:
- A healthy peanut butter or almond butter jelly sandwich (I suggest jam naturally sweetened or honey, delicious whole grain bread and nut butters without preservatives) This snack is filling (like a cookie or cake) because of the bread and will give you energy instead of a blood sugar crash and feeling depressed) If you cannot eat nuts, make a regular sandwich to have at that 3-4 o’clock time when everyone is going for coffee and sugar- example: turkey, cheese, hummus, etc.
- A baked sweet potato or squash –this also gives you tons of energy and is filling grounding and sweet! (optional: add butter or olive oil, yogurt, agave nectar, honey, nut butters, cinnamon)
- Drink a delicious warm tea with honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup and soy milk or almond milk. (Celestial Seasonings: Bengal Spice tea and Almond Sunset Tea are delicious)
- A homemade cookie (see below for yummy cookie recipe and perhaps bring the rest of the batch for your office mates)
- A piece of your favorite chocolate. (this is FAR better than the highly refined and often chemicalized candy we often see at the office)
Consider ‘soul’ foods instead of eating:
- walk away from the treats and go call a friend or your health counselor or send an email to a friend.
- go into the bathroom and take at least 3 preferably 10 slow breaths. This creates space, relaxes you and then you can assess: Am I really hungry? Am I thirsty? Am I tired? What do I really need?
- go outside, take a walk and/or get some fresh air.
I invite you to practice being kind to yourself this season. Keep slowing down the process, breathe and notice what happens for you personally.
My experience with myself and (my clients) teaches me that each year as we continue to eat well and learn what is true for us and our own unique bodies, eating at the holidays gets easier and more peaceful. When we are at peace we can focus on what really matters.
If you would like guidance and support on your personal situation, I have inspiring group programs starting in January and I also work one on one to create change in your relationship to food and your body.
Email me for a free initial session: al...@emergehealing.com
Yummy Cookie Recipe
You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffen berger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter-or you can find it at Rainbow Grocery. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out gluten-free oats.
3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid
(or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside.
In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it.
Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.
Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.
--
Posted By Emerge Healing to Radiant Living at 11/10/2008 01:39:00 PM
The holidays present us with many challenges and my clients tell me that a big challenge is what to do about the mass amounts of SUGAR that sit in the office all day and show up at meetings. AH! For those of us with a sugar sensitivity having candy, cookies and cupcakes around presents a challenge both for our physical and mental/emotional well being.
Here are some suggestions can help with this.
Bring your own ‘treat’ or snack for the day, something you love! Even if you don’t eat it, you will have an option with you.
Examples:
- A healthy peanut butter or almond butter jelly sandwich (I suggest jam naturally sweetened or honey, delicious whole grain bread and nut butters without preservatives) This snack is filling (like a cookie or cake) because of the bread and will give you energy instead of a blood sugar crash and feeling depressed) If you cannot eat nuts, make a regular sandwich to have at that 3-4 o’clock time when everyone is going for coffee and sugar- example: turkey, cheese, hummus, etc.
- A baked sweet potato or squash –this also gives you tons of energy and is filling grounding and sweet! (optional: add butter or olive oil, yogurt, agave nectar, honey, nut butters, cinnamon)
- Drink a delicious warm tea with honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup and soy milk or almond milk. (Celestial Seasonings: Bengal Spice tea and Almond Sunset Tea are delicious)
- A homemade cookie (see below for yummy cookie recipe and perhaps bring the rest of the batch for your office mates)
- A piece of your favorite chocolate. (this is FAR better than the highly refined and often chemicalized candy we often see at the office)
Consider ‘soul’ foods instead of eating:
- walk away from the treats and go call a friend or your health counselor or send an email to a friend.
- go into the bathroom and take at least 3 preferably 10 slow breaths. This creates space, relaxes you and then you can assess: Am I really hungry? Am I thirsty? Am I tired? What do I really need?
- go outside, take a walk and/or get some fresh air.
I invite you to practice being kind to yourself this season. Keep slowing down the process, breathe and notice what happens for you personally.
My experience with myself and (my clients) teaches me that each year as we continue to eat well and learn what is true for us and our own unique bodies, eating at the holidays gets easier and more peaceful. When we are at peace we can focus on what really matters.
If you would like guidance and support on your personal situation, I have inspiring group programs starting in January and I also work one on one to create change in your relationship to food and your body.
Email me for a free initial session: al...@emergehealing.com
Yummy Cookie Recipe
You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffen berger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter-or you can find it at Rainbow Grocery. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out gluten-free oats.
3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid
(or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside.
In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it.
Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.
Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.
--
Posted By Emerge Healing to Radiant Living at 11/10/2008 01:39:00 PM
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