Almost everyone craves sweets – especially around Halloween. Want a great trick to ward off the treat cravings?
Rather than depending on processed sugar to satisfy cravings, add naturally sweet foods to your daily diet to satisfy your sweet tooth.
I know. Sometimes you just need a peanut butter cup! But I promise, this will help you keep cravings in control, which is important, because too many sweets and other processed foods can lead to obesity for both you and your children (here’s a great list of foods to avoid).
Sweet vegetables soothe the internal organs of the body and energize the mind. And because many of these vegetables are root vegetables, they are energetically grounding, which helps to balance out the spaciness people often feel after eating other kinds of sweet foods – and the craziness associated with the back-to-school and the upcoming holiday seasons. Adding in sweet vegetables helps to crowd out less healthy foods in the diet.
| Sweet Vegetables | Semi-sweet vegetables | Other Vegetables | |
| Examples | corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squashes, sweet potatoes and yams | turnips, parsnips and rutabagas | red radishes, daikon, green cabbage and burdock |
| Flavor | sweet when cooked | subtly sweet | don’t taste sweet, but have a similar effect on the body in that they maintain blood sugar levels, reduce sweet cravings and break down animal foods in the body |
Need help figuring out how to cook these veggies? Here is one of my favorite recipes – this is a once-a-week staple in my house during the fall!
Roasted Root Vegetables
- 4 beets
- 3 parsnips
- 3 carrots
- 1 fennel bulb
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the beets, and cut all vegetables into large chunks (about 1-2 inches thick). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes. Roast for longer if your veggies are bigger. Know that the juice from the beets tend to turn the other veggies purple-ish – I happen to think it’s beautiful, but if you want to control the beets from bleeding roast them in a separate dish, or wrap them in aluminum foil un-peeled, remove from the oven after 30 minutes, and peel and cut them when they’re cool.
Need some more tips? Check out this great article on the secrets to weight loss. Worried about your kids’ health? Here’s some advice on how to be a health advocate for your children.
Sheri Oppenheimer is a health coach at Sweetgrass Spa in Little 5 Points and the Founder of The 100 Women Project, a healthy social network created by women, for women. To schedule a FREE health makeover session with her ($125 value), call (404) 522-3223 or email Sheri at sheri@100womenproject.com.
What a great article, Sheri! Thank you!