10 Foods to Curb Sugar Cravings

Chances are you were sent here from my Conquering Your Munchies blog. If so, hi! I’m so glad to have you back on Haley’s Health and Wellness. Today I want to talk to you about how to conquer those sugar cravings when you just can’t get over the munchies, but you are still trying to live well.

Maybe you’ve been eating cake for three days and you’ve decided to stop. (Good for you!) Or maybe you’ve been super diligent about working out and eating well this week but now you just really would like to enjoy a sweet snack but don’t want to interfere with your progress. Whether you are trying to break your bad habits and redeem yourself, or you are skirting the thin ice of “cheating” on your regimen, I can provide some assistance!

Here I’ve compiled a list of ten foods you can most likely find in your kitchen that have a low glycemic index, will simulate the feeling of dessert, and aren’t nearly as bad for you as your typical ice cream, cake, brownies, candy, etc.

I present to you, my dessert munchie substitutes!

1. Peanut Butter with a Glass of Milk

While peanut butter is calorically dense, it is delicious and incredibly satisfying, making it super great for curbing sugar cravings. Personally, I’m a Peter Pan person, but if you like the natural stuff where you have to stir in the oil, that’s even better! Peanut butter is one of my favorite foods in the world, so I let myself have this one. But even if you look on most of the peanut butters claiming to be “natural,” a lot of them still have that same 3 grams of added sugar that JIF and Peter Pan do. Regardless, at least you will be getting some protein and healthy fats, even if there is a little added sugar.

Wash this down with a glass of whole milk (yes, whole milk, because fat does not make you fat and it is way tastier!). You can even add a little cocoa powder and stevia to your milk to make it chocolate, but you may want to first dissolve the cocoa powder in a tiny amount of hot water before stirring it into your milk.

2. Fruit:

The sweetness of a fresh fruit, especially when eaten outside, can be just the thing to quench a sugar raving after a meal. Do not be fooled though. Fruits do have sugar in them. And no it is not “good sugar” just because it is in a fruit. Sugar is sugar is sugar. When you learned that fruit has “good sugar,” the mistaken, well-meaning soul that told you that probably meant that fruits contain good vitamins and minerals in addition to sugar.

But this being said, most fruit still has a much lower glycemic index than wheat products and desserts. Stick with berries, apricots, nectarines, apples, pears, peaches, grapefruits, prunes, and oranges. Be wary of grapes and bananas. Steer clear of pineapple, watermelon, and raisins. Do not drink fruit juice! It has more sugar than most desserts. Feel free to add stevia or cinnamon for extra sweetness!

3. A Glass of Red Wine

Hey, it may slow your metabolism a bit, while your liver does its thing, but at least there are antioxidants, and if you drink enough water, you’ll be ok. I’m talking ONE glass here! You could maybe even add a few slices of fancy cheese! Remember, fat does not make you fat. It is just calorically dense.

4. Dark Chocolate (At least 72% cocoa)

I eat 92% because I’m a beast. But dark chocolate is awesome because it is sweet, savory, sharp, and smooth. Washed down with a glass of whole milk it is very satisfying with about a quarter the sugar of ice cream!

5. Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries

You know that 92% dark chocolate I was talking about? Yeah, go ahead and melt that with some coconut oil and dip some strawberries in it, and tell me it doesn’t taste like dessert.

6. Low Sugar Protein Bar

So you definitely should avoid most granola bars and protein bars, because if you take a gander to the side of the box and scan through those nutrition facts, you may be horrified to find that most of these bars have about as much sugar as a serving of ice cream. Wannabe candy bar… or ice cream? Hmmm. Personally, I’d rather have the ice cream.

Make sure you find yourself some good, wholesome, low sugar, or even better, NO sugar added protein/granola bars. Really keep your eyes peeled for corn syrup in these guys. Corn syrup is hiding everywhere. The artificial chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, cinnamon, what-have-you flavors usually do the trick for my sugar cravings. Just make sure you check those labels!

7. Homemade Popcorn

NOT the kind you get in a bag that comes pre-“buttered” in chemicals. Just buy plain dry whole grain kernels and pop them on the stove or in the microwave in a popcorn bowl. I like to add real butter (NOT margarine. I wouldn’t feed margarine to my worst enemy) and salt. NEITHER of which are bad for you, contrary to popular belief.

If you are cringey about butter, you can also use olive oil! Olive oil is amazing for you. Just make sure you don’t use vegetable oil, canola oil, soybean oil, or any of that mess, because those are derived from overly high heat chemical extraction and are refined, over-processed, basically plastic, and literally awful for you.

8. Nuts

Nuts are calorically dense, so don’t go ham with them. But pour some pecans, cashews, and peanuts (or whatever nuts you like) in a bowl with some dark chocolate or sugar free chocolate chips and you’ve got yourself a cute little healthy trail mix that goes awesome with coffee. You can even mix this with that popcorn we talked about up there and have the perfect movie night snack that you don’t have to feel guilty about!

9. Pickles

Yeah. This is a weird one. But apparently for some people it works. I have heard to put them in the freezer. I feel like you may achieve more successful results with a banana…. Which you could add dark chocolate too.

10. Oatmeal:

Not the flavored kind in the cute little Quaker packages, because that stuff is loaded with sugar. Sorry, no “maple brown sugar” or “peaches and cream” or “apple cinnamon” for you. Just use plain steel cut oatmeal or porridge with milk (not water, eww.) Make sure you don’t use rolled oats or instant oats, because those have been pre-cooked and have really high glycemic index.

You can add flavor with vanilla extract, cinnamon, stevia, or even maple extract or a sugar free maple flavoring/syrup. Just be mindful of the sugar free syrup, because it usually contains sucralose, which you should definitely only consume in moderation. I also crumble walnuts or pecans into my oatmeal, and sometimes I add my own chopped apples or bananas. It is so yum!

Flavoring Tips:

Vanilla extract, maple extract, stevia, erythritol, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple flavor, and cocoa powder. All of these things have a zero glycemic index and are reminiscent of sweetness. Put them in your plain oatmeal, tea, coffee, fruit, berries, what have you! They are great ways to spice up bland foods and trick your taste buds into feeling satisfied.

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Now, having said all of this, sometimes you just like really need ice cream. Or a brownie, or a cookie, or some pie, or a doughnut, or whatever it is. And that is okay. It is okay to eat yummy food because God gave us taste buds and God created bakers and cooks! So please, when you choose to indulge, go for it! Make an event out of it! Love every minute of it! Because the sugar cravings are real!

Just remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and vessels that support our lives. We get out what we put in, and if we put in garbage, we will get a garbage performance back! But I imagine the people choosing to read this blog already know all that, and that is why you have chosen to read this far. Good for you!

So please feel free to indulge every now and then! In fact, the biggest way to fail would be if you never allowed yourself to eat another doughnut again. That just feels too impossible! But for 80-90% of the time, as we aim towards general wellness, I hope these tips can help you be strong and win over your sugar cravings. Remember, how freaking strong you are. You are so capable of making good decisions, without letting your stomach into the board room. You own you. Not your cravings. Go eat well, live long, and be awesome!

Stay tuned for my next blog on how I developed health “common sense” and found motivation to take charge of my eating habits.

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“If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit.” - Proverbs 25:16

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