Topics for Discussion

• Add more vegetables to your day • Eight Causes of Cravings• 10 Steps for Dealing with Sugar Addiction• Sweet Vegetables• Calorie Density• Great Grains

ADD MORE VEGGIES TO YOUR DAY

Tips to help you eat more veggies

Add more veggies to your day

Tips to help you

• Discover fast ways to cook: steaming saves nutrients.

• Be ahead of the game: Cut up and store for later use.

• Choose all the rich colors: Red, orange, or dark green.

• Check the freezer aisle:Just as nutritious as fresh.

eat more veggies Vegetables provide more

vitamins & minerals

More Veggies

• Stock up on veggies: Canned veggies are a great addition to any meal. Choose “reduced sodium,” “low sodium” or “no salt added.”

• Make your salad glow with color to look good AND to taste good too, such as, bell peppers, radishes, cabbage.

It’s easy to eat more veggies

• Have vegetable soup: just heat it and eat it. Look for “reduced or low sodium soups.”

• When eating out, order an extra side of veggies or a salad.

Tips to help you eat more veggies

• Savor the flavor of seasonal vegetables: Buy veggies in season for maximum flavor & lower cost. Check supermarket specials or visit a farmer’s market.

• Try something new: Add it to your future recipes.

8 Causes of Cravings

• The foods you eat are the cause for your cravings.

• Cravings occur when you are missing something you need in your meals.

• Cravings are important messages that assist you in maintaining balance.

Ask yourself: What does my body want and why?

1. Lack of primary food– Bored– Stressed – Bad relationships– Poor exercise

routine– Lack of spiritual

practice

Causes of Cravings

2. Water: dehydration. Hungry or thirsty? Drink first; see how you feel.

3. “Yin/Yang” imbalanceEating a diet too rich in one thing will make you want the opposite.

Primary causes of cravings

4. “Inside coming out”: Eat a healthier version of your childhood.

5. Seasons & Holidays: Balance the elements.

6. Lack minerals or nutrients: Body craves to fill in the blanks.

Cravings

7. Hormones: Fluctuating estrogen levels menstruation/menopause

8. De-evolution = Sabotage Inference when things are going well = causes more imbalances in your sugar levels & your moods.

10 STEPS FOR DEALING WITH SUGAR ADDICTION

1. Reduce or eliminate caffeine to avoids ups & downs.

2. Drink water so you’re not dehydrated.

3. Eat sweet, delicious vegetables & fruit.

4. Use gentle sweets like stevia or agave nectar.

5. Get physically active: BALANCE YOUR BLOOD

SUGAR LEVELSBOOST YOUR ENERGY REDUCE TENSION.

10 STEPS FOR DEALING WITH SUGAR ADDICTION

6. Get ore sleep, rest and relaxation.Sleep-deprivation causes your body to crave energy and in turn craves sugar.

7. Evaluate the amount of animal food you eat.Not too much or too little = Eat in moderation.

8. Eliminate fat-free or low-fat packaged snack-foods. Contain loads of sugar.

9. Experiment with spices.10. Find sweetness in non-food

ways! (Note: hugs and massages have no additives).

SWEET VEGETABLES

Value of Sweet Vegetables

• Sweet vegetables help to sooth the internal organs of the body.

• Many of these veggies are root vegetables that help you feel energetically grounded.

• This grounding helps to balance out the spaciness people often feel after eating other kinds of sweet foods.

• Adding in sweet veggies helps to crowd out less healthy foods in the diet.

SWEET AND SEMI SWEETAlmost everyone craves sweets. Add naturally sweet foods to your daily diet to satisfy your sweet tooth.

SWEET WHEN COOKED SUBTLY SWEET

corn carrots onions beetswinter squashessweet potatoes yams

turnips parsnips rutabagas

COOKING METHODS FOR VEGGIES

Steaming, roasting, stir-frying, simmer and puree, or eat them raw or grated in a salad.

Sweet Sensation Recipe

• Use 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 of the sweet vegetables.• Chop the hardest ones, like the carrots and beets

into smaller pieces.• Softer vegetables, like onions and cabbage can be

cut into larger chunks.• Use a medium-sized pot, add water to cover

veggies. The softer they get = the sweeter.• Empty the ingredients into a large bowl, flavor &

eat. Drink the juice or add the juice to a soup.

Calorie Density

Definition: Calorie density is the number of calories per pound for each food.

• The Calorie Density is lowest in unprocessed plant foods, like celery, lettuce, cucumbers.

• By filling up on these foods, a person can balance their blood sugar and have less hunger pangs.

• This will naturally crowd out other food choices and late night binges.

• It will help keep calorie consumption low and create natural weight loss.

GREAT GRAINS

Great Grain History

• Whole grains have been a central element of the human diet since early civilization.

• Humans settled down into farming communities when they were able to cultivate grain crops.

• Whole grains are an excellent source of nutrition, as they contain essential enzymes, iron, dietary fiber, vitamin E and B-complex vitamins. They provide high-quality energy.

Cooking Grains1 Cup Grains Water Cooking Time

Brown Rice 2 cups 45-60 min.

Buckwheat or Kasha 2 cups 20-30 min.

Oatmeal or Rolled Oats 2 cups 20-30 min.

Pearled Barley 2-3 cups 60 min.

Cornmeal or Polenta 3 cps 20 min.

Couscous (wheat pasta) 1 cup 5 min.

Kamut 3 cups 90 min.

Quinoa 2 cups 15-20 min.

Spelt 3 cups 2 hours