12 Simple Strategies continued:
- A savoury afternoon tea. Alternatively enjoy a nourishing savory afternoon tea rather than a sweet one. It takes a bit of getting used to, but if you persist, you’ll see the benefits. Here are some ideas: anything with coconut, coconut & cinnamon chips, coconut milk smoothies, avocado dip or on a rice cracker, tinned sardines, nuts or a home-made granola, popcorn heated in coconut oil with butter, salt & cinnamon, sweet potato pizzas, (using sweet vegetables helps satisfy our cravings for sweetness), kale chips, green smoothies, leftovers, pate, patties, rissoles, egg pies with tomato, parmesan and bacon. For winter time, home-made soups with nourishing home-made bone stocks.
- Fuel up early. Enjoy lots of nourishing foods in the early part of the day with breakfast and lunch and snacks and there will be less hunger pains later on in the day!
- Avoid the processed, packaged, highly refined, nutrient-dead ‘stuff’ that literally does leave our bodies depleted and hungry and sends blood sugar levels on a rollercoaster ride.
- Enjoy being outside, exercising or starting a new project to help distract any thoughts of boredom or “false hunger cues”.
- Drink water. Often cues for dehydration can be misinterpreted for hunger, especially in kids. At every opportunity, give them filtered water.
The key to succeeding with many of these strategies is to include good quality fats and proteins in their whole forms. These foods in the right quantities provide great sustenance and leave our blood sugars stable. When these foods are regularly incorporated into our day, many of the reasons for hunger disappear. The more we cram these good nutrient-rich foods in, the less the desire for sweetness and the more we recalibrate our taste buds to appreciate a more natural level of sweetness in our day.
We all know kids can be resistant to change and trying new things. Here are some ideas to help encourage your kids:
- Get them involved.
- Make new recipes together.
- Choose the ingredients together
- OR ask them to make a choice, e.g., sweet potato pizza for afternoon tea or a delicious soup? When they choose, they still have a sense of control over the process!
- Join me on ‘The Great Breakfast Adventure’ for a fun way to kickstart new choices.
Experiment with one or two strategies and see how they work. How does your family respond? How does it affect the mood of the family? And then consider adding in another strategy, and so on, until those constant naggings of “I’m hungry!” become a thing of the past, or at least a LOT less often.
After working as an executive in professional services, Kate Barnes started her global business as a Certified Holistic Health Coach. She has a Bachelor of Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business. Kate runs an online program, ‘Our Happy Children‘, a leading education program for deeply nourishing families and building strong immunity, great energy and preventing illness. For more information visit Kate’s website, like her Facebook page for loads of daily inspiration, healthy tips and more recipes and follow her on Instagram: @kate_barnes_health_coaching.
