Caving into PMDD Cravings

Often enough and sooner or later, on one of the PMDD forums, a woman will post about eating an entire bag of "insert brand name" snack food. I totally get it. I myself have posted about eating giant bars of chocolate, entire bags of chips, too many pastries, and frozen yogurt...all at the same time. When you feel miserable, and there's nothing you can do about it, and the cravings are there...well, the indulgence can feel nurturing. I've stopped judging myself for these episodes because there's no point in it. I'm otherwise incredibly healthy and eat a very healthy diet. I exercise regularly too. Once a month, if I have a hormonally-induced need to just go totally crazy, I do. And I'm not about to beat myself up over it.

I'm not going to beat anyone else up over it either. But boy, do I have a really strong impulse sometimes to comment on these women's posts. It would go something like this:

You indulge yourself and THAT's what you choose to eat? Have you read the litany of toxic ingredients in that such-and-such? Don't you realize that shit is full of genetically modified crap and isn't even sweetened with real sugar anymore? Are your taste buds so deadened that they cannot taste the chemical shit-storm? You weren't caving into your body's craving for a treat; you just poisoned yourself and are probably making your PMDD symptoms worse and worse! For God's sake, woman, read the labels of what you put into your mouth. Desperation is no excuse! There are so many readily available alternatives...that actually taste better!!

Of course, I am talking to myself as much as anyone else.

The thing is, there is sooooo much evidence out there about how sugar (and chemical sweeteners) as well as coloring, additives and preservatives, and genetically modified foods are totally destroying body systems and creating endless health problems. If we really want to do ourselves a favor, we have to start making better, more informed choices and start upgraded every indulgence.

When I was a kid, I used to drink soda pop, and eat packaged treats and snack cakes and cheap chocolate. As an adult, when I experimented with giving up refined sugar and therefore stopped eating these kinds of treats, something happened to my taste buds. It was a struggle from time to time, no question. There would always be temptations...a potluck at work, donuts in the breakroom, complimentary candy on a desk. After some time, I began to somewhat-sadly realize something. When I couldn't help myself and would snag that complimentary candy, when I bit into it, it no longer tasted good. Once, I remember caving into a nostalgic craving for a donut-chain donut, but I wound up spitting the damn thing out! It was THAT bad!!! It made me want to cry. It had been an illusion all along. I didn't realize how absolutely awful what I had been eating actually tasted because I didn't know any better. Now I know better. My own taste buds have proved it to me.

Let's face a sad fact; the things we ate as children are not the things we're eating today. Food has been modified, recipes have been altered, and quality has been reduced. In fact, I have sneaking suspicions that much of the mental and physical health problems in the world today are directly related to the unprecedented experimentation with the food chain.

Okay, so obviously, I'm pretty passionate about all this, but I'm not perfect. Sure I can substitute a Medjool date for a cookie from time to time, but when those PMDD cravings hit, I give in to the cookie. While I refuse to eat anything that lists ingredients I can't pronounce and do my best to avoid genetically modified products and fast "foods" like the plague they are, I still eat the white stuff from time to time. But I try to choose things that have fewer ingredients, and when I have time, I make my own treats using honey or maple. In fact, most things I buy are actually too sweet for my taste buds now. I prefer to make things myself, but it is time-consuming and more expensive. I also try to stay away from controversial foods like soy products because their impact on hormones is questionable.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is just to remind you, sisters, that we cannot expect our body to come into balance if we are continually doing things to it, namely ingesting things, that are so flippin' horrible! Caving into cravings is not the end of the world, unless you are indulging with the most readily available, name brand garbage that floods every aisle of the typical grocery store. Get a little elitist when you cave! Make it high quality, pure and delicious. Then revel in how good you are to yourself!!!

Maybe instead of thinking we're doing ourselves some kind of favor when we allow indulgence in "junk" food, we should wake up to the word "junk" and ask ourselves why that equals indulgence...not to mention why we'd even consider putting it down our throats? Maybe we should develop a new term...like treasure snacking...to remind ourselves it isn't junk we're really after. We're after something special. Something comforting. Something REAL!!!

Okay, in the interest of inspiring better choices, I am about to share my all-time favorite homemade chocolate recipe. It's made with healthy coconut oil, contains no white sugar or soy products, and tastes divine.

Super Rich and Yummy Upgraded Chocolate Squares

• 1 cup organic cold pressed coconut oil
• 1/2 maple syrup (Grade B if you can find it)
• 1 cup cacao powder (or cocoa in a pinch)
• 1/2 cup organic whole oats
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 pinches Himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 cup of your choice of: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, currants, goji berries, candied ginger...be creative!

Place dry ingredients in a bowl. Melt the coconut oil if solid; add with maple and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix. Add your options. Line a small baking dish with parchment paper and spread the mixture. Refrigerate until solid. Cut into squares or bars and enjoy!