If fruit alone does not satisfy your cravings, then this is where it becomes really important to ensure you have plenty of healthy treats on hand to tide you over between meals. This should nip any cravings you have for refined sugar in the bud.
Keeping a stash of raw nuts and dried fruits in your cupboards, and even in your desk at work is a great way of doing this.
But forget boring raisins and almonds! Its time to rediscover nuts and dried fruits as they are an excellent way of staving off cravings for unhealthy food when your PMS is at its worst.
My 10 favourite nuts to have ready to beat those cravings:
1. Cashews
2. Almonds
3. Brazil Nuts
4. Coconut Chips
5. Sunflower Seeds
6. Pecans
7. Pistachios
8. Walnuts
9. Pumpkin seeds
10. Hazelnuts
My 10 favourite dried fruits to have ready to beat those cravings
1. Raisins
2. Dates (choose Medjool dates where possible as these are the king of dates and they have a rich and caramel like flavour)
3. Figs
4. Apricots (choose ones which do not have sulphur dioxide added to them)
5. Goji Berries
6. Mulberries
7. Cranberries
8. Prunes
9. Mango
10. Pineapple
And dare I forget something which did not fit in to either category: Cacao Nibs! Cacao nibs add a hint of chocolate crunch to your trail mix which will satisfy your sweet tooth.
Charlie’s Coaching Tips:
1. Try mixing a combination of these a various quantities to create a trail mix and pop them in to a container to carry around with you whilst you are out and about.
2. My challenge to you is to pick at least 4 different types of nuts AND 4 different types of dried fruits for your trail mix. That way it will never be boring.
3. For those with a bit more time and inclination you could dehydrate your nuts. Soak your nuts overnight as this makes them easier to digest. Then pop them in to the dehydrator to crisp up again, and they will last a couple of months. This way you will always have some on hand for when you need them.
4. If you have a food processor, why not blend equal quantities of nuts to dried fruits to create moreish treats? Try using several different nuts and dried fruits, and get creative. Why not try goji berries and dates with almonds and cashews? Blend the mixture until it is well combined, and then shape in to little balls or biscuits. YUM
There are endless combinations of nuts and fruits, and there are no hard and fast rules, so it will always be scrumptious! The basic recipe is to use equal quantities of nuts and dried fruits. So, that means 1 cup of almonds to 1 cup of dates.
The mixture straight from the food processor is a yummy topping to crumble on to cereal or yogurt. You can even crumble on to raw ice-cream – Booja Booja ice-cream is my favourite!
5. My final coaching tip is to think about the top 5 places where you spend most of your time and then ensure that you have a stash of nuts and dried fruits with you when you go there. For example, are your top 5 places: at work? on the train? in your car? at the gym? at home?
Charlie Lagoa publishes “Happy Hormones” – a free weekly eZine for happy hormones, because happy hormones mean a happy, gorgeous and glowing YOU! If you’re ready to look and feel fabulous every day of the month, get your FREE tips and recipes now at www.CharlieLagoa.com
More help with PMS
Hormone imbalance, most frequently related to progesterone deficiency, is the major factor in most PMS cases. Symptoms are related to oestrogen dominance and can vary from pain to mood swings, bloating and food cravings and like many hormonal conditions is made worse by stress, which tends to reduce progesterone levels.
Diet is important, particularly having enough fibre, as when your body has finished using oestrogen it is dumped, via the liver, into the intestines to be excreted. Here fibre plays an important role in binding the oestrogen and holding it for elimination. A lack of fibre therefore can cause oestrogen to be reabsorbed and recycled backing the body.
It can also be associated with adrenal fatigue and low thyroid levels so these need to be checked so they can be eliminated as a cause. PMS is certainly helped by supplemental bioidentical progesterone as it restores hormones to normal balance.
Further reading:
https://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2011/07/18/does-progesterone-cream-help-teens-with-pms-and-stress-symptoms/
https://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/06/22/premenstrual-syndrome-pms/
https://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2013/02/01/don’t-underestimate-the-effect-of-stress-on-your-hormonal-symptoms/