Meal Mentor

8 Ways to Kick a Sugar Addiction

Yesterday you learned how sugar is physically addictive and alters your brain chemistry.

That it’s NOT a matter of weak will. Modern foods are DESIGNED to send us straight to the bliss point, with hidden sugars keeping us hooked, hungry, craving, and crashing.

The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, most of which is hidden in non-sweet foods like canned veggies, hot sauce, and “crab” meat (just a few of the examples shared on yesterday’s post).

Even “healthy” foods have hidden sugars. For example, many yogurts have more sugar than a soda pop and Prego pasta sauce has MORE sugar per serving than Oreos!

A whopping 80% of packaged foods contain hidden sugar.

Finding all these hidden sugars is the first step -- keep reading labels!

(If you’re going to eat it, you should at least be aware of it)

Next, retrain your taste buds.

Sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on top to make something palatable. Don’t mix it in.

Also use applesauce (great in oatmeal… and on toast!) when you can.

Pick condiments like mustard or hot sauce over ketchup.

More importantly, don’t use zero calorie sweeteners. You need to resensitize your taste buds to real, whole foods and stop feeding the “sweet” habit. (You shouldn’t have to sweeten your foods and drinks to get them down.)

Drinking mint tea, chewing mint gum, and brushing your teeth are a great way stop a sugar craving dead in its tracks. Feel the urge?? Go brush.

Try distracting yourself for 15 minutes. There’s always a chore to be done, right?

Above all: start making good choices consistently. One junky food buys you admission to the blood sugar roller coaster. Not having a plan in place or healthy foods on hand makes it 20x more likely that you’ll eat sugar-laden garbage and kickstart the addictive cycle.

Think about how great you’ll feel when you stop having cravings, mood swings (hanger!), headaches, and total energy slumps.

Worth it right?!

In tomorrow’s blog post I’m going to share the final *key component* for breaking sugar addiction and stopping food cravings.

If you’re READY to break your sugar addiction, check back here tomorrow.

But right now, I want you to make a commitment.

I want you to commit to using one of the strategies I shared in this post.

Will you make this commitment to yourself and your health?

If yes, leave a comment right here saying “I’m in!” and describe what you plan on doing.

Are You Addicted to Sugar? (Free Quiz)

Once you start eating sweets, is it hard to stop?

Do you find yourself thinking about cookies, chocolate, etc?

Does your mood or energy rise after you eat (but then slump)?

Are you rewarding yourself with treats because you “deserve” it?

Do you feel an uncontrollable craving for something sweet?

If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, you probably have a sugar addiction.

AND YOU’RE NOT ALONE!

Your brain sees sugar as a reward-- it physically causes opioid production, which triggers dopamine (the neurotransmitter responsible for PLEASURE) making you want it more…

Your brain on sugar:

(Recent studies suggest sugar is more addictive than cocaine and heroin!)

and SUGAR IS IN EVERYTHING!

Sugar hides in foods where you least expect it INCLUDING non-sweets like pasta sauce, salad dressings, breads, crackers, baked beans, and condiments.

You’re constantly getting a hit without knowing it!

Food manufacturers have hijacked your brain chemistry, taste buds and hormones.

You’re not weak, you’re addicted, and food manufacturers (including restaurants!) are your enablers.

Are you ready to get off the sugar roller coaster?

Tired of cravings sweets? Tired of bingeing on sugar then feeling like total crap?

Tomorrow you'll find out EXACTLY what you need to do break the cycle.

To end the sugar addiction! FOR GOOD.

(Plus 6+ easy ways to make your transition off sugar easier) so stay tuned :D

For now, I want you to scan the label of a few packaged foods -- get in the habit.

Grab that wrapper out of the waste basket and take a peek.

If you’re at the office, you can take a look at some of the items in the recycle bin.

Sugar has a lot of code names, too so look for funny words like dextrose, lactose, glucose, evaporated cane juice, malt syrup, and sucrose, just to name a few.

Now I want you to share a food you found with sugar -- you’d be amazed at some of the crazy places other members are finding it, like in orange juice, black bean soup and mustard.

Leave a comment now.

Talk soon,

Lindsay

12 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight

Have you adopted a vegan or plant-based diet in hopes of losing weight, but the pounds refuse to budge?

Or worse, maybe you GAINED weight?

You're not alone!

While you may not be eating the Standard American Diet anymore, a vegan/plant-based diet has its traps too.

Here are 12 culprits that will keep you from losing weight:

Oil - If you're not oil-free, that's your #1 culprit. Even if you think you're oil-free, make sure you really are. It's shocking how often oil sneaks into foods, like non-dairy milk and mustard!

Alcohol - The second biggest culprit, especially if you're drinking wine, beer, or alcohol with mixers. If you're drinking booze, your body can't burn fat or other calories.

High-Fat Plant Foods - Tofu, tempeh, avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut milk, coconut, nut butters, chocolate, and olives are high in fat. "The fat you eat is the fat you wear." - Dr. McDougall

Liquid calories - Smoothies and shakes don't provide the same satiety as chewed whole foods. They also skip an important step of the digesting process -- chewing. You'll eat less if you chew.

You're Counting Calories - Intuitively you know 100 calories of carrot cake isn't the same as 100 calories of carrots. So why do we keep plugging them into the same math formula? Why do we expect our bodies to treat them the same? You wouldn't mop the floor with a muddy rag assuming just because it's a rag it'll get the job done, right?

Convenience Foods - Vegan substitutes like faux meats and cheese are not healthy. Your body knows what to do with peas and soy beans, but not weird lab creations from pea proteins, and soy byproducts.

Eating Out - Even if you're ordering a vegan meal, most restaurants overload their food with salt, sugar and oil; a killer combo that makes you overeat AND gain weight.

Coffee - Sugar and creamer (even vegan creamers) can turn a latte into a hot, drinkable candy bar. Drink it black or with a little almond milk.

Salt - Eating salt won't make you gain weight, but it will make you retain more water, which shows up on the scale.

Fiber-Broken Foods - Make sure you're buying 100% whole-wheat (or gluten-free) and oil-free breads, pastas, and crackers, and use them to accent your diet. Don't make them a staple or a snack.

Dried fruits - Dried fruits are very calorically dense and not satiating. They are also often coated with sugar and oil.

Mindless eating - Keep a journal to see how much you really eat in a day. You'll be surprised to see how much food sneaks in -- tastes while cooking, candy jar at the office. It can be a huge culprit!

Eating all day - There's an increasing amount of research suggesting a shorter eating window is better for weight-loss. Instead of eating from 6am to 8pm, try 8am to 6pm.

Summary: Weight gain (or lack of weight-loss) hinges on diet more than anything.

You can't exercise off a bad diet.

You also can't expect your body to run correctly without the perfect fuel. It's a little like your car in that way.

WHAT goes in the mouth matters most!

You have to eat the right foods, in the right portions to feel your best and lose weight.

Having a plan in place makes it a million times easier to stay on track.

And if YOU need a strategy telling you EXACTLY what to cook, buy, shop, and eat for weight-loss...

Utilize the meal plans.

You have enough going on in your life -- let us do all the thinking and planning for you.

Make it easy on yourself with this week's meal plan!

7 Veggies You Can Stop Peeling Now

Need to spend less time in the kitchen?

Want to maximize nutrition and flavor?

Stop peeling your veggies! (Well, at least SOME veggies)

Leave these vegetables unscathed:

Potatoes - 20% of the nutrients (like B vitamins!) are lost when you lose the skin. Even if you plan to mash ‘em, leave the skin on. Tell your fam you’re eating rustic mashed potaters ;)

Just be sure to give your potatoes a good scrub to get all the dirt off!

Cucumbers - The skin adds an extra crunch for salads and sandwiches + a boatload of antioxidants. If the skin is too tough for your tastes, try shaving off strips with a Y-peeler (give it a zebra cut) -- looks fancy for SUPER BOWL party platters too!

Carrots - Shaving doesn’t change the appearance all that much and most of the antioxidants are concentrated right under the skin, so you end up shaving a lot of ‘em off.

Parsnips - Ditto!

Eggplant - The skin gives added texture to eggplant cutlets + a boatload of antioxidants.

Sweet Potatoes - Vitamin C and potassium are in the skin.

Apples (okay, not a veggie, but you still don’t need to peel it!) Apple skins are also rich in Vitamin C.

PLUS all these veggie skins are chalk full of FIBER, which is ultra important for digestion + satiation.

Eat more, weigh less is the meal plan motto!

When preparing your meals this week, take off one less prep step.

(By the way, a new prep sheet is on the way -- we’re busy making more upgrades!)

Want to save even more time?

Utilize our pre-made shopping list and menu.

Let us figure out what’s for dinner and what you need to buy.

Every minute matters in this rat race called life ;)

Check out the meal plans by clicking here.

You’ll save at least ONE hour this week!

Talk soon, Lindsay

P.S. You can also stop draining and rinsing your beans if they’re going into a soup or chili. (The exception being if you’re NOT buying low salt or no salt added. You still want to rinse if they’re salted).

How to Safely Store Your Meals for the Week

Have you tried cooking all your meals for the week on Sunday yet?

I can’t recommend this tactic enough. It makes it so much easier to be consistent and stay on track. Plus “grab-n-go” meals make your mornings stress-free!

If you’re worried about spoilage, don’t be. Plant foods hold up much longer than meat and dairy (plus reheating should kill off anything anyway). I also find most meals, especially soups and stews, only become more flavorful after a few days of “marinating.” I’ve eaten my meals right at the 7-day mark and even occasionally a few days after without problems.

Image via meal plan member Jennille S

“I was concerned food would spoil if I made it all just once a week, but it hasn’t at all. I cook on Sunday and cut up raw veggies for snacks. Once you get in the rhythm of doing all this, it won’t seem like a big deal. Plus it really is so great to have the meals there during the week.” - Rona K.

Let’s Talk Storage

Unsure if it belongs in the freezer, pantry, fridge, or on the counter? Free cheat sheet.

Cooked grains like rice are best kept in the freezer. I cook a huge bag of rice once a month and freeze off one-cup portions to use as needed with the meal plans or as a side or snack.

Plus frozen rice thaws by lunch while also acting as a cooling pack! You can also heat frozen rice in a microwave for a minute and it looks and tastes like it was freshly made.

Here’s a video comparing frozen to freshly cooked rice. You really can’t tell the difference!

What else can you freeze?

Soups and stews generally lend themselves well to freezing, but I generally discourage freezing any of your meal plan meals. It’s all too easy to forget them if they’re out of sight, and frozen foods take longer to thaw or reheat, which makes it all too tempting to go for something less healthy but “faster” when you’re tired, stressed, hungry, and not feeling it after a long day.

Any breads, tortillas, or buns you don’t use during the week, however, should be frozen immediately so they stay fresh for future use.

If you must freeze your meals, keep these tips in mind:

-Fruits and vegetables with a high water content like citrus fruits, watermelon, lettuce, mushrooms, whole tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, celery, and potatoes, generally don’t freeze well, but might be okay if they’re in a soup.

-Tofu will freeze, but the texture and consistency completely changes.

-Non-dairy milk (i.e. almond milk) separates and gets gnarly, don’t freeze it!

-Tomato-based sauces (i.e. marinara) do well, but other sauces (i.e. gravy) do not.

-Most spices and extracts don’t freeze well and develop a bitter taste. Herbs are okay.

-Nuts, seeds, and flours should be kept in the freezer for maximum freshness.

Curious about the “shelf life” of dry ingredients and pantry staples like flour or beans? Click here.

Get the current meal plan now.

Need to Avoid Temptation? A Simple Solution! (+ How to Get Husbands to Eat Leftovers)

One of the most interesting studies in Slim by Design, was how to handle leftovers and storage of food.

“If there's an in-home food that's your Kryptonite,” Wansink says, “the best thing you can do is make it as inconvenient and unattractive as warm Pepsi. Even wrapping up a tempting food in aluminum foil can do that.”

Wansink recommends wrapping healthy foods in plastic wrap, or putting them in clear containers—especially with clear tops so you can see it, and to put unhealthy foods in foil, or in containers with dark colored tops.

As soon as I read this chapter, I ran out and bought new tupperware. We had a real problem in our house, namely, that my husband was not good about eating leftovers or food I'd already prepared.

With the meal plans, you can make all your meals for the week ahead and do a quick reheat if you want before eating. I've been faithfully doing this for more than a year, and it has made all the difference in my waistline and stress levels. I LOVE IT! I spend a few hours while doing laundry and catching up on my shows, then store everything in the fridge to eat all week long.

But my husband was always skipping over the food I made and eating a can of beans, or bread and hummus, or some veggies and fruits, which annoyed and frustrated me. I mean, I spent all that time making these meals! And often they were ones HE requested!

“I always forget you made stuff, sorry!” he'd apologize.

After reading Wansink's research, I wondered if my containers, which had a maroon top you couldn't see through, were the problem.

They were.

As soon as I put the food in totally clear containers, and put them front and center in the fridge (he would literally have to push past them and move them over to get to the hummus, jams, and bread!) he started eating the leftovers and precooked foods right up!

I'd even sometimes hear him going “Yess!” excited to “find” one of the options I'd made from the meal plans earlier in the week. It was a HUGE change for us and I started saving even more money on food! Plus I was glad my husband went off his bread and hummus diet ;)

Get the current meal plan now.