So if you are like me (I am assuming you are female), you crave certain foods during PMS. And they are not necessarily bad things. How can chocolate be bad? But of course, it seems a bit cruel that your body wants something that isn't really good for it. Many women crave sweets, food high in fat, etc. You want to be good to your body and try to combat said cravings with an apple or a salad. But we all know that a piece of produce is no sane substitute for a brownie. To add insult to injury, bingeing on these kinds of junky foods during this time will only leave your body more vulnerable to cramps, fatigue, and moodiness that comes from hormonal imbalance. So what do you do?
Well, you start from the beginning and remember who you are, and by Whom you were created. See, when God made you with all your cravings and so on, He made just the right things to satiate you completely. In His way of satiating, He didn't leave anything out. He didn't give you desires whose fulfillment would hurt you. "But how can that be?" you say. "I mean, I am pretty certain it is cake that I want." Kinda. Your body craves what it does because you have a need. You crave sweets because your body needs energy, not because it needs sweets. There's real sugar that was made for our bodies (sugars from fruits and veggies), and there's fake sugar that we've manufactured and packed with chemicals that will not be processed correctly by our bodies. So if you give your body real foods, you will actually be satisfied. Your body will have the energy to counteract PMS fatigue, the magnesium from chocolate that will balance your hormones, and all sorts of perks. And you'll find that your other symptoms like cramps, headaches, etc. will eventually go away!
So here are some fun ideas I have gathered just from my own experience. Every woman's body is different, so you can take whatever applies to you, or tweak whatever you like. But hopefully something here will help you!
Chocolate Cravings:
If you want chocolate but not a ton of sugar and fat (which milk chocolate has), make some banana hot chocolate! Take one very ripe banana and put it in the blender. Set aside. In a small saucepan, put enough milk for 1 cup of hot chocolate along with half of a dark chocolate bar* (use 70% cacao or higher). Heat the chocolate and milk until the chocolate melts. Then add the whole thing to the blender and blend until smooth. It is DELICIOUS! The banana serves as a natural sweetener, so you won't need to add sugar.
*a good substitute for the chocolate bar is plain cocoa without any additives or sugars.
Cake/Sweets Cravings:
Banana bread! Find any good banana bread recipe online, and let a nice homemade quickbread (if you don't like banana bread, try blueberry bread instead) satisfy your carb longing. Just make sure to use wheat or spelt flour and raw sugar even if the recipe doesn't call for it. And if you want, you can even put some dark chocolate chips in it. To make it really body-friendly, add some magnesium by eating it with natural peanut butter. SO good :)
Oatmeal cookies! This is a fun recipe that includes pineapples and coconut. I use fresh pineapple that I put in the blender or food processor. And again, just don't use any refined ingredients (I substitute raw sugar for white sugar).
Ice Cream Cravings:
Yogurt smoothies are delicious, and they make a nice base if you wanna put them in popsicle molds and freeze them. Simple ingredients like frozen fruit, some not-from-concentrate juice without added sugar, and regular whole milk yogurt make a nice treat that, in my opinion, tastes better than ice cream. Fruit that work the best for a smooth and ice-creamy texture are bananas, mangoes, peaches, pears, and strawberries with avocado (sounds weird, but it is incredibly creamy and tastes amazing). Coconut milk and soy milk make good dairy substitutes.Experiment with what you enjoy, though.
Another fun thing I like to do is chill some whipping cream and whip it until it gets thick. Then I add some pureed frozen fruit. Sure, it's still high in fat, but it's real fat that your body knows how to digest. It also only has natural sugars. And since it isn't fake, you'll be satisfied without having to binge on it.
--Pictured: Fresh, sliced peaches in fresh whipped cream with added cocoa (unsweetened) and raw sugar.
Burger and French Fry Cravings:
Your body needs iron, but a burger with commercial fries and cheese with additives will leave you sensitive to PMS symptoms. Try this instead: get some ground turkey and season it with chopped onions, salt, pepper, and crushed fresh garlic. Form it into a patty and put it on the grill or in the oven. Once cooked, put it on a whole wheat burger bun with tomato, lettuce, and either cheddar or Swiss (not American cheese, as it has lots of unnatural additives). Add some organic ketchup and mustard if you want. As a side, make some sweet potato fries! Here's a good recipe.
Pizza Craving:
I love pizza. You can make your own pizza with a nice wheat crust, fresh mozzarella, and fresh veggies. You can even put some uncured pepperoni, bacon, or ham if you want. Another delicious option, especially when craving pepperoni, is a salad! Believe it or not, I think you'll like this. Fill a bowl with bite-sized pieces of washed purple-leaf romaine. Add goat cheese, chopped tomato, chopped avocado, and chopped pieces of uncured natural pepperoni. MMM! Eat with a toasted wheat or rye roll or some good wheat crackers.
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