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Food Allergies, Eczema, and Chronic Inflammations

Food allergies is something I became deeply aware of first when I worked with groups planning parties and menus that had common food allergies and gluten sensitivities.

When I started in catering, there were only vegetarian food categories other than the menu everyone else ate from.

Then requests grew like “hold the onions” and “hold the garlic” became common.

At some point, I saw peanut and nut allergies crop up. When I dug deeper into creating menus for food allergies, we found that guests who had some peanut allergies could eat some tree nuts like pine nuts. We never had a problem with food allergy association groups.

Thankfully I didn’t work with shellfish menus often in my management work travels.

An affected person who has even a trace of the shellfish they’re allergic to in their body can send them into a threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis shock.

We always had Benadryl in the First Aid kit nearby.

In food awareness, we then slowly learned about Celiac Disease that can cause severe allergic reactions because gluten triggers the immune system.

And as we evolved, allergies and preferences became the norm. Restaurant servers greeted you at your table asking, “does anyone have any allergies?”

It almost became unusual when a guest like myself had no allergy requests.

A century ago that would’ve never been asked.

My Eczema Journey

And in my life journey, I discovered a skin allergy called eczema that was no fun. One day, that came from accumulating sweets, that tipped the scales and brought out the itchy spot allergy symptoms.

I learned this effect was dramatically reduced with low daily refined sugar intake and cutting out most processed flour. That’s not good news for someone who likes to bake where flour and sugar are core ingredients.😭

Buf I kept baking (and still bake today!) despite the facts… I found that baking isn’t a deal breaker. The answer for me was healthy baking and using certain triggering ingredients in moderation and in good quantity control.

Even better, I substitute for healthy ingredients that the body likes and doesn’t show food allergy reaction to. That’s aligned to my healthy and happy sensibilities.

And moderation is a good idea for all of us. Lowering processed gluten foods for everyone is a good idea in general, considering all the environmental factors and chemicals (plastics, pesticides, and phthalates) we have no control over in the current state of food manufacturing processes.

For foods, adding more plant-based 🌱 as in nature and not plant-based as in factories 🏭 helps your entire system run better.

Adding more healthy variety, and nutrient-dense plant-forward foods is a win for our bodies and our earth. It can be easy as exchanging pasta made from flour, once in a while for spaghetti squash. See easy spaghetti squash recipe below. 🍴🍝

food allergies

Your lifestyle and food choices impact your healthy and daily running Body.

You can experience body inflammations that become chronic, and where seasonal and food allergies play a role and can be the canary in the coal mine. You can change your ways from those clues.

In awareness, you can optimize your healthiest body for the set of conditions you’re given.

Focusing on anti-inflammatory foods and including Mediterranean Diet foods that overlap in your meals, helps I believe.

It won’t hurt to reduce high amounts of processed, sugary foods, and alcohol as you can, and keep small quantities in your life.

Reducing junk and fried foods and excess from your diet can help reduce and potentially prevent inflammations from happening.

Replacing emptier calorie and excessively sweet snacks (most foods have sugar) to healthier nut snacks, high quality dairy, and lean proteins help curb hunger in between meals.

I used to fill up on nutritional bars as filler snacks, but often they’re loaded with sugar.

I went back to foods like chickpeas with rice, hummus dip, and lean proteins, and then more savory foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Inflammation Free Diet for Food Allergies

The book I had been using as a guidebook for preparing meals, The Inflammation-Free Diet, re-entered my memory after my inflammation episode and in my mindfulness.

I realized that there was a connection bridged between spiking sugar inflammation and foods.

And that there are very few perfect foods, and even my beloved bananas have a high glycemic index that can add to inflammation.

In making healthy food choices, moderation and choosing to balance good back-to-earth foods seems to be the better ageless answer to healthily feed our bodies. Getting anti-inflammatory food ideas for meals waved in front of you doesn’t hurt either! 😉

Just like your body keeps score, your mind can keep a rough tally of what you consume over a week or month, that has a healthy, tasty, and enjoyable balance, so you don’t have to always jot down every food eaten.

There’s three people in you: your mind, your body, and you.

This natural way of preferring healthier variety and mixing up foods is one perk of being a Vata and someone who loves food. ♥

But if you do want to add new foods and be mindfully healthier, keeping a daily food diary or list is a good way to see and evaluate what you want to add or subtract out.

If you have episodes like acid reflux, heartburn, or a sensitive stomach, by writing down your meals you can discover what food allergies, patterns, and combinations don’t sit well together in your stomach.

This is how I figured out that pizza tomato sauce and yogurt are not good to have back to back or in your stomach at the same time.

(And one theory as to why Italians never have milk drinks or cappuccinos after 11:30 am where they could start their tomato-based lunch siesta. Just sayin’! 😉)

In moderation, some are based on what you have in your systems. Coffee can be difficult if you already have a heartburn episode going on while after that has blown over, you can go back to your cuppa joe. But I recommend the newer cold brew coffee method if you don’t wanna give up your coffee. ☕️

And you can find that garlic isn’t favorable to your body. But that doesn’t mean you have an allergy. It could just mean eat less if you don’t want to tip the scales to inflammation.

In moderation, all can be good, but you don’t know the exact limit your body has before a warning is issued through inflammation and flair ups. So you want to stay mindful of your quantity (or moderation in modern Ayurvedic terms).

You could discover your body likes more astringent or bitter foods. This is common in Kapha body types so lean in on this healthy advantage.

Every healthy food ingesting micro action you take accumulates, and can help toward your physical health as you also evolve and change habits.

You may also find certain food allergies or excess can affect your moods and mental health and can change over time and quantity.

Parts of your mind influenced by your senses are telling you to consume, when it’s better if you just stop, knowing there’s a lag time in mind-body communication.

That’s why it’s better to pause eating before you’re full so your body can catch up and notify your mind, “whoaaa… no more please!”

A yummy piece of cake to the body is neutral until it starts breaking down and processing the ingredients. The pleasure is up in the mind.

So getting your mind-body aligned is a better strategy here. Remember there’s 3 of us: mind, body, and ‘lil ‘ol me.

Gluten Food Allergy Sensitivities

Our society acknowledges that certain individuals have a deep allergy sensitivity to gluten, especially over the past decade where Celiac disease has been identified as a potentially serious health condition.

Frequently asked questions include: what foods are high in gluten? Whole grains are healthy. They’re also guilty.

Wheat, barley, and rye are big offenders.

But corn, oats, and quinoa are gluten-free. And corn is the largest agricultural crop produced in the United States. So there are still many options for gluten allergies.

And this is how I turned to healthy baking. I’m someone who is gluten sensitive because it can flair up eczema, so I lean on so many other gluten-free foods and ingredients to bake with.

I witnessed this growing gluten allergy in planning hotel and restaurant catered parties for a decade.

This growing trend is not just Celiac Disease that’s an autoimmune disease. Sensitivity and disease both have gluten as the offender.

Now we have healthy food sections and those who only shop and eat gluten-free breads and foods.

This has led to new cooking flours and healthier choices for everyone.

Managing Food Allergies

If you experience chronic body or skin inflammations in your life, find out if food allergens could be a trigger for your body. Triggers change as you age.

Many people are allergic to nightshade foods because of alkaloids in plants. As a kid, I would get an allergic reaction when I ate eggplants. A rash would move up my back quickly. Red spots are common food allergy symptoms.

But as life moved, this was no longer an allergy trigger so children who grow up want to stay open with food choices as our bodies are changing.

We want to keep a variety of foods and food categories as diversity helps the gut and body.

To better manage, you can read food labels, and test with small bites along your journey to see if anything happens. See what patterns arise. Maybe the same ingredient in one food is in another that triggers an allergic response.

And you can also order a medical allergy prick test at an allergist’s office.

Another place to check is to self-diagnose your stress causes in your life and list out all the potential stressors for additional revelation.

Stress can come from past, present, or future-related thoughts and situations. Past trauma that you may know about, and future uncertainty can confusingly show up in your inflammation body life.

Situational stress can be a more obvious correlation for a pimple or a gray hair that’s in the mind-body connection.

You can start with these less serious body symptoms that show up, and try to connect dots in your life, chronic inflammation, and health history.

This could lead to learn something new about how to restoratively and preventatively take care of your body to operate optimally now and in the future.

If you need or want help in those areas, you can take the 2-minute body balance quiz to learn more about how to restore your healthy-happy body balance.

For now, I leave you to enjoy this gluten-free spaghetti squash recipe with your favorite sauce or at plain. One squash will yield about as much as a pasta box you would buy at the store.

Spaghetti Squash (Gluten-Free)

I discovered spaghetti squash as a meal when vegetarians were the main special food needs categories for groups I planned catered meals for. Food allergies didn't exist in the zeitgeist back then.

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American

Equipment

Bread knife or safer sawing knife.
Spoon

Ingredients

spaghetti squash gourd
extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Score the gourd lengthwise. do not try to cut the hard gourd raw
Bake your spaghetti squash for about 20 minutes at 350°F or so. Then softened, you can cut where you scored. Tip: for the ends (like on pumpkins, take the firmly planted inside squash knife and twist to the right at the top and then at the bottom of the squash and that should do the trick break it open fully into two halves)
Face the two halves down on a baking sheet. You can add a ‘lil EVOO if you like.
Bake for 50 minutes or until you can scoop out strands easily with a spoon. You can test with a fork if you like. About half way through, when you see browning, flip the halves so they're facing up, and add a 'lil more EVOO drizzle.
Optional: keep the healthy seeds and enjoy them as snacks! Roast them along when you're baking the squash.

Creamsicle Smoothie, Creative Smoothies, and Tea Ideas

Creamsicle smoothie is one calming drink idea because of the orange factor. Oranges calm our parasympathetic nerves that directly impact if we feel anxious or not. It’s also one healthy way to celebrate that we have decadent beverage variety choices when we get a ‘lil creative. This can give you a new reason to be happy today. 😊

Decadence can come in a drink. This is definitely a celebrational restaurant moment. And you can make your healthy creative drinks at home.

Your body, balance, and sensitivity to tastes and smells change all the time. What’s good for you in this season may change in the next or even tomorrow.

You can come up with your own creative smoothie ideas like I did below, and stumbled on the creamsicle smoothie. That keeps life interesting!

As a natural Ayurvedic Vata, I was born with a sweet tooth, so if I think a dessert is too sweet, then believe me… it has waaay too much sugar, so that’s why I came up with less sweet, healthier options!

Especially in America, where foods are loaded with sugars, our healthy taste buds and sense can be off track. The average American consumes over 70 grams of sugar a day, when 25 grams of maximum recommended added or processed sugar is agreed on by both the FDA and American Heart Association.

While fruit sugar (fructose) is a better kind of sugar, it’s still sugar at the end of the day.

Going From Morning Frappucino and Coca Cola to Black Coffee, Tea, and A Creative Smoothie

In our American diets, we can go over the recommendation in just our breakfast beverage choices alone! If you like Frappuccinos like many of us do, whether your drink has added whipped cream or not, you’re looking at 50 grams of sugar or more for a 16-ounce drink.

That’s okay once in a celebratory while, but if you order a Starbucks Short size beverage (regular 8-ounce glass size drink), you’ve used up all the recommended sugar for the day… and it may not even be 10 am yet!

And actually, you can see most Americans carrying around the Tall or Grande size beverages (or larger). Our small is often a super size large in other countries.

The healthier order option with no sugar is black coffee or tea. So then, getting back to basics, the only safe beverage out there is water, as pure and healthy… but are they all?…

You can clearly taste the difference between purified waters and artesian waters like Fiji brand water. The water variety is all sold in plastic bottles and available on grocery shelves, but the cost difference gives you an indicator of the quality difference. And you can clearly taste the difference between Evian and purified water.

In America, you can commonly buy a water bottle case (24-16 ounce bottles) of purified water for under $4. They’re usually advertised “on-sale” and you can find them in the front of the store when you first walk in.

Higher-end, luxury water brands you can find in the water aisle selections also, but you can expect to pay closer to a dollar or more a bottle. The good news is most tap water in America is drinkable and many households use a Brita pitcher with a filter or similar.

So as we question drinks such as basic water, we have to wonder about other consumable beverages. Coca-Cola is known for its evolving trends as society changes and as a popular beverage consumed around the world.

There’s even a Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta, GA where you can taste different versions of Coke served all around the world. As you can imagine the American Coke version is loaded with sugar (too scary to even mention how many sugar grams per can, but you can look it up!).

In my late 20’s I used to drink sodas for breakfast when it was trendy and corporate offices stocked their refrigerators full of soda cans for employees and invited visitors to grab.

I quit the unhealthy soda habit after a few years in healthy awareness. I traded caffeinated sodas for healthier morning teas, coffee, and slowly moved drifted over to water and then added back a creamsicle smoothie and other breakfast smoothies as better choices with redeeming health benefits… and hopefully this inspires you if you haven’t done the switch already!

If you want more energy and vitality, getting off sodas and high-sugar drinks is a good move. Often they have 40-70 grams of soda per can!

Water can seem boring to taste, but that’s what our bodies want and will reward you for. You can always mix it up with carbonated water and naturally flavored waters that are enjoyable.

Despite some of our generally unhealthy cultural habits, Americans have made drinking water, chic and cool, as we carry around water bottles to our work and of course to our workouts and yoga.

It’s a comparison observation I made when I was in Rome in 2019 and saw that even though all the public water sources and fountains are deemed clean and drinkable, you won’t easily find reasonably priced water bottles around. …how funny is that?

So, we’ve gotten better at drinking water regularly and not just taking a vitamin supplement or while we work out. We know that drinking proper water amounts prevents kidney stones, keeps our bodies functioning and our skin looking young.

So on that healthier level, we can make healthier breakfast drinks like a smoothie easily with the Magic Bullet gadget or a blender. You can add protein powders or if you like bananas, they’re a good smoothie staple.

Bananas have a higher glycemic index that can spike inflammation, but they are rich in fiber, potassium, and B vitamins, so they’re still a good natural super food good for filling an empty or upset stomach.

These are 7 creative daily beverage ideas…

1.Citrus-y Banana Creative Smoothie Base

If your tastes favor a banana, you can just blend with vanilla almond milk, and that can be a lovely breakfast starter. You don’t need any other ingredient if you want to keep it vanilla (sorry, I couldn’t resist 😊).

Or… at that point, you can sip your beverage. And if you want a little more sweetness, then you could add a ‘lil pineapple juice (high in Vitamin C and bromelain). And for tartness, a ‘lil lemon or orange to your taste’s desire. You could stop here, or…

Add Dimensional Flavors to Your Breakfast Banana Creative Smoothie

If you want a ‘lil kick, add a dash of spice like cinnamon or cardamom in lieu of espresso (where a little goes a long way!). And if you still want more taste, you could add peanut butter that will change the taste of your beverage and make it creamier.

Staying with the first smoothie idea of a tropical pineapple-citrus theme, you could also do a Key Lime Smoothie:

2.Key Lime Creative Smoothie

Lime juice

Banana

Vanilla almond milk

Use unsweet almond milk and substitute a banana for banana flavor protein powder if you want a smoothie recipe with no to low sugar.

And, if you don’t like bananas (maybe thinking they’re blah) or don’t have any on hand (btw, frozen ones are good for smoothies). But if you run out, no worries, I’ve got you in mind… below are healthy dessert smoothies and tea ideas that don’t need a banana.

3. Pumpkin (Pie) Smoothie

If you love pumpkin pie, you’ll love this creative smoothie. You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to get your pumpkin-pie on! And this smoothie is a healthy way to consume pumpkin.

Pumpkin is loaded with Vitamin K and C, protein and fiber if you need more healthy motivation. Canned pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A and iron.

You can use a can of pumpkin and a can of evaporated milk (for dense consistency used in pumpkin pie if you decide not to use a banana) or you can use a milk substitute. You get to be creative.

It’s easiest to mix dry ingredients first. I like to add cinnamon but if you prefer a little more kick then use more cloves or allspice. Here’s my healthier recipe:

1 banana (optional)

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp cloves, allspice, or pumpkin spice

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz) – you can substitute for nut milk for a pumpkin-inspired smoothie (but it won’t taste like pumpkin pie)

¾ cup sugar (or substitute applesauce for less sugar – 1/2 cup applesauce or one-4 oz. applesauce plastic cup you commonly see on the grocery store shelves sold in various brands)

For an additional taste dimension, add a spoonful of your favorite peanut butter. Most smoothies taste better with peanut or almond butter.

Variety is the spice of life. You can really live it up in the morning with a decadent but healthy beverage like this before you’ve even started the day or your yoga stretch practice.

A creative smoothie idea is easy to come up with (you can’t mess up!) and can brighten up your morning and afternoon. When I first made this creamsicle creative smoothie, I love the textured beige-cream color beverage (and maybe you do too!):

4. Creamsicle Smoothie

A creamsicle smoothie like this will help your calming morning.

This is much healthier than concentrated orange juice if you want to do a small step replacement for healthy habits. And a much healthier version than the childhood popsicles that this special Creamsicle Smoothie comes from.

1 orange (a navel, blood, or California orange will give you a balanced sweetness). If you can, opt for organic or heirloom oranges.

Heirloom navel orange peel for ayurveda elixir drinks and creamsicle smoothie drinks is a healthy start and finish if you prefer. — Look for heirloom, organic, or local farmers market produce as in season (free of pesticides, good for us and the environment). This would be good for your drinks, bakes, and even Creamsicle Smoothie.

1 tsp marmalade (add bold sweetness but you don’t need much)

Vanilla milk

Vanilla Yogurt (to thicken)

Make orange zest from one medium orange, blend with a teaspoon of marmalade, yogurt, and vanilla milk. Marmalade has sugar so that’s why keeping in moderation is a tasty-good idea for this Creamsicle Smoothie.

This one tastes like the orange creamsicle popsicle but without so much sugar. If you want to add some protein, blend in fine almonds or add powders. And if you want to eliminate sugar, then eliminate the marmalade and cut down on the orange zest.

Creamsicle Creative Smoothie Breakfast Morning

Course beverage, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Ingredients

1 orange (a navel or California orange will give you a balanced sweetness)
1 tsp marmalade (add bold sweetness but you don’t need much)
Vanilla milk to thickness liking
Vanilla Yogurt (to thicken)

Instructions

Blend. Zhugh glass rim with orange zest. Enjoy!

Notes

Creamsicle Creative Smoothie

1 orange (a navel or California orange will give you a balanced sweetness)

1 tsp marmalade (add bold sweetness but you don’t need much)

Vanilla milk

Vanilla Yogurt (to thicken)

Make orange zest from one medium orange, blend with a teaspoon of marmalade, yogurt, and vanilla milk.

This one tastes like an orange creamsicle popsicle if you know what those are. If you want to add some protein, blend in fine almonds or add powders. And if you want to eliminate sugar, then eliminate the marmalade and cut down on the orange zest.

Moving on to dessert tea ideas…

Dessert Teas: Earl Grey with a ‘Lil Twist

In a quest to find a good sugar cookie or biscotti-tasting tea and not finding one with any real taste (to substitute for cookies of course), I invented my own. I find it’s easy to birth creative ideas when you can’t find what you want easily even in a society that is full of conveniences.

That’s actually how business ideas and innovation come to life. So with that in mind, I invented my Earl Grey biscotti. For this drinking tea, I use a Bigelow brand Earl Grey. Those tea bags are in individual packaging so you can take them along with you in your daily travels. I added an orange tea (or orange extract) and almond extract to bring some flavor and life to an otherwise bland-mild-tasting tea.

Chocolate Chai Latte

And finally, one of my all-time favorites I like to think I invented at least at my Sunday cafe is the Chocolate Chai Latte (that needs no recipe as the chocolate, chai, and milk ingredients are in the 3-word title 😉).

Notice I didn’t write “chai tea” that Americans commonly say, as that means “tea tea”in India where chai originated, so that would be repetitive and silly-sounding after you’re made aware.

And, apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks the chocolate chai latte is a tasty idea as the Starbucks (Plaid Cafe) church kiosk I went to, added to their order board after I placed the order and they gave me a blessed smile. Chocolate chai may be the new writer’s warm drink all day as less caffeinated than coffee. And chai has cloves that’s one of the most anti inflammatory food ideas out there.

Chai is tasty in and of itself and a healthier black tea. For an American Vata, adding a sweet drizzle of Hershey’s chocolate sauce will drown out the exotic spice tastes if they’re too strong. You can please your tongue’s sweet spot. Sometimes you just have to balance your daily joy, and give into a teaspoon of sugar love!

We may be behind the 8-ball in American living when it comes to tea consumption, low sugar diets, and having a work-life balance, but we make up for our unhealthier ways with our daily variety, conveniences, and innovation.

And if you’re daring, have a chai and creamsicle smoothie to have a super special day! ✨

Sugar Cravings, Fasting + Low Sugar Orange Scone Recipe

Sugar cravings don’t have to get the best of you… and the orange scone recipe below may help you get over the worst sugar sweets as it was the healthy start for me, someone who ate way too much daily sugar that many of us do. It’s no one’s fault.

Oranges and citrus fruits are good for blood sugar levels as citrus fruits have a lower glycemic index as a general indicator for how a food will impact your blood sugar level.

And juicy foods like oranges also have a way of quenching your thirst and hunger. Like water and tea, you can feel less hungry when you consume oranges and lower your food cravings.

Using orange and orange zest are also a good way to avoid artificial sweeteners while brightening your food and day.

natural orange zest for sugar cravings.

Maintaining a healthy blood sugar level is at the heart (pun intended!) of a healthy heart.

I became aware of the American Heart Association when I volunteered for the American Cancer Society in my backyard while I was attending college.

The “Eat Smart” campaign was one of the promoted programs and I remember posters (remember those?) were donated that had healthy fruits and vegetables.

These are now known as anti inflammatory food ideas like oranges that were brightly represented on the poster and I proudly displayed on my wall.

Who knew that anti-inflammatory foods would become so important with all its healthy benefits and in many healthy diet movements like the Mediterranean Diet and plant-based diets?

And we couldn’t have predicted that the role of Vitamin C would grow in highlighted health importance, and that oranges would relatively stay the same while we see more orange varieties on the grocery shelves.

We keep evolving in food, health, and nutrition.

Vitamins stay as a focal point in the anti inflammatory diet. Some are antioxidants that are good body protectors for preventing heart disease, Diabetes 2, certain cancers, and cognitive decline that can start off as harmless brain fog or short memory mental health lapses.

In the beginning of 2020, I created a smart pantry for “just in case,” where I collected processed, longer shelf-life foods in cans and boxes. That’s where I failed in my sugar cravings dilemma and developed an itchy eczema skin rash by mid-summer that came from sugar indulgence.

Luckily I caught on before things got worse. I got aware and my love for sugar got replaced for Ayurveda ways, moderation, and anti-inflammatory foods.

Sugar we know is good for our happy selves, but not our healthy one. They latch onto lectin anti-nutrients in our gut and can destroy our microbiome that we know controls so much of our daily body functions.

My hope is you’re onboard for a healthier new year, new health progress goals, and micro habit changes. Fasting is one way I have deployed in my healthy lifestyle and you can too. You can download my FREE fasting guide that makes it a sustainable way.

And when you’re eating, if you’re like me, you’re a bit choosy and conscious about your food choices.

I love foods, food variety, and enjoy good foods. I planned catered parties in nice hotels and foodie restaurants for a decade, so it’s a part of me that has been weaved into my adult DNA. And healthy eating that I learned early on.

But I have a weakness… a sweet tooth.

Many of us enjoy some sweets in moderation.

Having a sweet tooth is natural but isn’t helpful on a healthy lifestyle mission.

If you regularly eat sugary foods to curb your sweet tooth and sugar cravings, you set yourself up to have more sugar cravings. It’s a vicious cycle.

For entertainment, I had started watching The Great British Baking Show, that’sa competition show that started with U.K. bakers… initially, it wasn’t the best thing to watch if you want to curb sugar cravings and stop eating so much sugar.

But I worked through it and can now watch the show without eating a sweet dessert. I’m telling you this because I believe everyone can get there!

In my search, I came across a book called The 40 Day Sugar Fast by Wendy Speake.

It reminded me of a sugar fast I set out to do for 3 weeks in 2011 but ended up doing the sugar fast for around 40 days.

How?

When I had my tonsils removed as an adult, the fast was a smooth transition as I mostly had a liquid diet in the beginning.

And if you’re trying to break the sugar habit, finding a time when you’re not dealing with as much stress is your best bet.

Like if you’re a teacher, do your sweet fast after the school year ends and you have the summer off. You usually crave less food in the hot months anyway, so use all those helpful situations to your advantage.

Another helpful situation is when you have support. To keep me encouraged, the church I was attending was doing an annual fast for those who wanted to participate. So, it was perfect timing as I wasn’t doing it alone.

And as I focused on giving up sweets for sweet Jesus, the sugar cravings also miraculously disappeared. The ones I’d had every single day since I was a child.

I didn’t use my own willpower to make changes. That doesn’t usually work.

I focused on my heart and deeper desires. To my surprise, my way of thinking changed. It was supernatural and beyond my small capabilities to overcome sugar on my own.

But that’s just a reminder that you don’t have to do it alone and can encourage the Universe or higher source you turn to, to help you.

I also use maintaining good teeth as motivation. As a child I always had a mouth full of cavities. I wanted to live a better dental life later in life. That same motivation carried me when I quit all sodas years ago. Previously as a young adult, I’d have at least 1-2 sodas by noon.

Do whatever works for you and your healthy motivations.

Another tip is to look at sugar nutrition labels. Most food labels are in grams and 1 gram = about .24 teaspoons or a quarter teaspoon.

We use teaspoons for baking in America so that’s easier to visualize.

It doesn’t take much in a Western diet to go over 20 grams of refined sugar at breakfast alone!

You can try these breakfast plant-based breakfast ideas and tips to stop sugar cravings and craving sweets if you want some suggestions.

And sodas are off the charts starting at 30-40 grams.

I drank diet sodas early on, but those are linked to heart disease and Diabetes 2 so they’re no better and probably worse off

Also, keep in mind no fat is usually linked to higher sugar in foods, so you’re giving up one evil for another.

The better healthy answer is to change your healthy food and beverage habits. And then you will enjoy the healthy foods and especially after you have adjusted. I promise.

If you’ve every shifted from a whole milk to a plant or other milk, you know what I’m talking about.

You no longer go back to the other because 1) your body doesn’t need the same quantity of nutrients it needed before or growing up and 2) you have a decent food or beverage replacement.

Most of are lazy in this area about food fixing. It we have something easy and near us, we’ll grab that instead of go out and forage if we don’t have to.

And for fruit, I still don’t overindulge even though the Food Pyramid I grew up with recommended 2-4 servings of fruit per day. These days, MyPlate says at least 1 piece of medium fruit.

Even natural fruits and dried fruits have a huge dose of natural sugars, the better fructose sugar, but still sugar. I limit myself to an apple, a banana, and an orange if I’m craving fruits and sweet foods.

Foods that you wouldn’t suspect and maybe even classify as healthy food like a Fig Newton or low-fat “healthy” cereal are loaded with sugar. You discover reality when you do package label reading.

I once felt I had to add a puff of white cloud sweetness that finished off almost every dinner dessert, holiday cheesecake, pie, or warm beverage. The nutritional breakdown ingredients of some whipped foods say “hydrogenated oils” or trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup to avoid.

You can always say “no whip, please.”

And you can choose moderation where it’s okay for a happy celebrations, but not for daily healthy consumption. That’s what I do in the balance.

That’s the modern Ayurveda way that is sustainable. Turning to healthy and anti-inflammatory foods that are also good for weight loss and preventing weight gain, so you don’t have to do one more yo-yo diet that never works long-term.

Modern Ayurveda lifestyle people love following natural, doable, and achievable (practical) advice.

So here are 3 actionable Ayurveda creature habits and tips for reducing sugar in your diet and curbing sugar cravings:

Become aware which foods have high sugar, added sugar – fact vs. fiction. Read labels at least until you are familiar with the foods you eat regularly.
Substitute your sweets not for other foods, but for a higher calling or purpose for yourself. Find a motivation that makes you stick to your plan and look forward to maintaining.
Do one daily baby step food choice action you can make to create a healthier micro habit. Reminder: the more you eat sugar, the more you crave sugar.

Maybe that’s substituting an empty calorie sugary dessert with a fortified cereal that at least has some nutrients?

And if you need a replacement for something super sweet, I have a low sugar, Orange Scone recipe below I mentioned above that you can try that’s super easy and you’ll love (or grow to love!).

What I love about this recipe is the orange peel zest you would normally throw away is used as the main sweet ingredient.

Oranges are also good for calming in our parasympathetic nerves, so in the strong orange smells, we experience calmer nerves instead of anxiety. You hear people who like to eat oranges by their bed and this could be a good reason why. They are calmer, better managing worry and anxious thinking hours before sleep o’clock.

This orange recipe has no needed added refined sugars, but you may like the turbinado sugar small packet crunch finish like I do, that has 5 grams of fat total used for the entire 8 scone slices. So you do your daily sugar math and see if that’ll work for you.

I also love that you won’t use all your eggs in one recipe. And, in the easy, it can take less than 10 minutes time to prepare!

It takes about 40 minutes total time (from prep to baking to mouth 😋). That’s something to celebrate!

Print Recipe

Easy, Low-Sugar Orange Scones

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 pieces

Ingredients

1 egg
2 cup flour/gluten free flour optional (almond flour suggested)
2-4 tbsp frozen unsalted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 zest of an orange adds sweetness
cinnamon and currants or raisins (optional) to taste liking
1 sugar In The Raw (turbinado sugar) packet to cover the top of 8-scone slices.

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except sugar and make a circle mound. This is a crumbly dough especially with gluten-free flours such as almond flour.
Take all the crumbly bits and add back to the circle mound. Then, slightly flatten the top with hands to about 1 inch high.
Use one packet of turbinado sugar (optional) to zhugh the top before baking, so the sugar sticks.
Cut lightly or score 8 triangular "pie wedge" shapes.
Bake at 350°F at 25-30 minutes (or until light golden brown color).

low-sugar orange scone for sugar cravings. — with currants and brown sugar topping

Orange Scones (Bread) – Makes 8 pieces

This can become a regular dessert bread for you that’s healthier than sugary processed breads and pastries. Great for a sweet tooth (or a Vata)!

1 egg

2 cup flour

2-4 tbsp frozen unsalted butter (this is great if you keep your butter in the freezer and forget to take out hours beforehand! You can get away with less butter if you’re super healthy, but it helps with to have a few tablespoons for taste and to glue the scone bread together)

1 tsp baking powder

¼ baking soda

½ cup plain or vanilla Greek, or regular yogurt (this is a good food item to look at sugar labels)

Zest of an orange (navel oranges are great)

Cinnamon to liking (and you can purposefully add a little sugar, some tips below)

You omit sugar that normally would be added. Since you’re not using sugar, you don’t need salt either, to balance any sugar. NO refined white sugar, yay! 😊

Add flour to a medium bowl. Add butter and cut it into small pieces with a knife. Add the egg and mix with a spoon.

Add yogurt and keep mixing until well mixed. Add baking powder and baking soda. Add orange zest and mix until blended into flour mixture.

Form a ball with the spoon in the bowl. Then place the dough on a baking sheet and flatten it slightly, so it forms into a 6-8” circle.

There will be flour crumbs, just stick them on top of the circle to blend in (like you’re adding clay to pottery before being fired in the kiln).

Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like. Cut 8 slices before placing in the oven.

Optional sweet: if you desire, you can add one brown sugar packet of Sugar in the Raw (turbinado cane sugar) on top of the circle bake before it goes in the oven. These small brown crystals are similar to refined sugar in health terms, but if you add them in moderation, that’s not going to make a big difference. If you’re feeding anyone diabetic, they’re not going to eat it anyway.

You can also optionally add ½ tablespoon of dried currants or raisins and blend in the mixture before you form the circle. Or you could do half and half (4 pieces plain and 4 pieces lightly sugar)… then you can please those you’re sharing with who won’t necessarily appreciate your low sugar, healthy scone bread efforts.

Finally, put the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake the scones to a golden brown for 25-30 minutes at 350°F/180°C degrees. Let your scones cool, and then you’ll be ready to enjoy.

Cracker Barrel Menu Calorie Counter + Healthy Losing Weight Tips

Cracker Barrel menu vs. fast food is night and day. Cracker Barrel uses slow cooking methods for some dishes that us foodie enthusiasts appreciate! This homestyle burnt-top Cellantani and cheese (with a healthy option) recipe is below.

If a Cracker Barrel menu is not close to you, you can make your own homestyle slow cooking comfort foods like burnt-top corkscrew pasta macaroni and cheese. — Homestyle burnt top baked macaroni and cheese reminds one of slow cooking, the Cracker Barrel restaurant, and the fond eating childhood memories. 🧡

In this post, you’ll get tips to lose weight from snacking, ordering off a Cracker Barrel menu, and how to make calories count! And how to to get the tasty burnt-top on your baked macaroni without drying out the pasta.

After your turkey feast has come and gone, what are the secrets to keep a healthy, trim body you aspire to? …I share my best tips below. And they don’t require giving up macaroni-n-cheese if that’s one of your favorites.

If you’re on the road, it’s easy to get off-balanced in your diet. I recommend the Cracker Barrel menu that’s loaded with options for a conscious calorie counter, where you can find a healthy meal for under a thousand calories. Real homey comfort food and not a frozen packaged one.

👇 You can get to my Cracker Barrrel menu selections if you scroll way below.

…But, as with most my blog articles, there is jam-packed meaty healthy inspiration and tips in between. So that’s where I’ll start… with my story.

My Food Life Lessons

I think I’m lucky because I have pretty much maintained the same ideal healthy weight since my late 20s (after some hairy years working around decadent catering food).

And yep, I’m a Vata so my genetics play a big, big part. I’m not a vain person, but I am self-conscious (another Vata trait we call sensitive). That could be you too.

We are all unique in that we have a different one-and-only body that’s given to us to maintain for our entire life. And that’s daily changing.

So we want to optimize our body and body image that’s relative to each of us. There are some tips that work for all of us females and humans. Some ideas that work better for some of us than others.

And you know your body better than anybody else.

For the lifestyle part, like everyone, I had to learn in life’s journey.

Early on I went into a testing phase and tried to listen to reliable sources about how to have a healthy body. I wanted to get more tone and slender so I tried the trendy health fad diets with so many others.

Back then, I focused on one diet in particular, where I counted calories. You can probably guess what happened?… I gained more weight during that season. I craved foods and especially pasta that I grew up eating and had given up.

I was also craving sweet foods I normally ate and gave up. If you have a sweet tooth (e.g. for Vatas that’s your middle name), bread just doesn’t cut it as a sweet if ya know what I mean.

That’s when I realized self-discipline and willpower produce backfiring results…

When I told myself “no” to certain foods, that just made me want them more. …sound familiar?

That’s because our minds, don’t actually hear “no.” Instead, your mind hears you’re putting energy towards that food item, so then you just want it more. English isn’t your mind and body’s first language. Your mind-body interprets words by your feelings and actions…hmmm.

…so I ended up essentially on a “yo-yo” diet, where I was below weight, gained it back, and then went over the weight that I started with as I got a taste of the foods I loved like mac-n-cheese.

These were years before Oprah was popular on television and we learned all about the yo-yo diet effects from her sharing journey to the masses.

And, weight and size are relative to each of our bodies. In my body size journey, I went down to a size 2 (from a size 6 at the time) and grew to a size 8.

I have fit into the same size clothing and maintained a size 4 since then (it’s funny how some clothing pieces have come back in style a few times and I can live them up again!). …OK, so before you judge or playfully roll your eyes at me, I KNOW what you’re thinking…

Oh my gosh, I would love to be a size 4 or 6 (if you are, you know what I’m talking about!)… Or maybe you prefer your ideal size whatever that is…

But the truth is, it doesn’t matter what your number, size, or weight is, as much as keeping overall balanced body proportions to your frame, where you like and feel better about yourself. When your feed your mind happiness, that shows up in a healthier body as body love (and NOT body shame).

That’s the ultimate goal (to feel good about ourselves and our self-image). We need to build up our self-esteem especially if it was beaten down in the past. You may have experienced PTSD or had a rocky childhood.

Or maybe you still need to heal from wounds, build self-confidence from insecurities, and develop an abundant mentality to replace the victim mentality. That’s common for most of us.

And like most personal growth goals, it’s up to you to make your choices along the way. That’s where replacing habits helps (plus, not denying yourself any one specific food or category to reach the goal).

Along my journey, these are a few tips I discovered in choices that I’ve found that make the biggest impact.

3 Weight Loss Tips for Daily Menus

Continue reading “Cracker Barrel Menu Calorie Counter + Healthy Losing Weight Tips”

The Gifts of Imperfection (Over Perfection) Help You

The gifts of imperfection are not found in holding onto perfection. I learned the hard way in and around the area I grew up in…

If the U.S. Capitol were a cake, it would have perfect lines, and these were the standards in the schools and household I grew up in.

If you change your perfection ways, you can discover the gifts of imperfection over perfection. You can achieve bigger and better things.

Perfection can create unwanted side effects like anxiety and self-pity (that you can overcome). If you’re an overachiever, you know how aiming for perfection can create performance anxiety.

Thankfully “progress over perfection” replaces “practice makes perfect” in our delicate world.

Because early on I wasn’t perfect in school. I attended the #1 highest ranking public high schools in America (in the DC suburbs) at the time, and that didn’t help my cause. Let’s say I ended up doing well, but that didn’t seem perfect or good enough at times especially when applying for top colleges.

At home, my dad was a high achiever, a hardworking Harvard architect who graduated at the top of his class, earned an impressive scholarship, and the whole nine yards. He had high ideals in life and I got the passed-on message about those ambitious expectations.

Perfection was a value and I was more like an Eton Mess than perfect.

Gifts of imperfection can be made into food dessert form like an Eton Mess dessert that ends up tasting great but not looking perfect. — You can make your own Eton Mess (steps on how to make below) to help you remind you that imperfection still creates a form of edible perfection that tastes great.

I didn’t always know what the expectations were but I knew I fell short, so I bagged the perfect model concept early on. The problem was I had nothing to replace with, like progress over perfection. Or fail forward means you’re trying.

But I kept going and so did you…

If you’ve carried perfectionist ideals along your journey, I know where you’re coming from. It’s not easy to shake off the past… with the good, bad and ugly.

And thing that did help me was knowing that no one on earth. There was only one and he’s no longer on earth.

So I decided that good meant keeping high standards and wanting to make achievements in life (and valuing the gifts of imperfection).

Naturally, you want to do your best but the wheels do fall off sometimes in our fallen world.

And when you become obsessive in the process of an outcome, that can be self-destructive and unhealthy.

Perfectionist behaviors can also negatively rub off on other people or into blame situations.

The ego or Imposter mind can be crafty and find coping ways to urgently nourish your soul and body if you let your mind run and ruin your life. Keeping your mind separate from you and your spirit can help your journey.

Re-defining and embracing imperfection is the healthier way to a happy life.

The Gifts of Imperfection at Work

Remind yourself that being imperfect is better. Maybe, that’s getting things done is better than none.

Remind yourself how you made imperfection work for you in the past. That people embraced your imperfect work.

…If you forgot to do something, as we all do, you’re no longer perfect so that helps you to rule out perfection as always. Our ego loves to use “always” and “never” when it’s usually more like “sometimes”, “often”, or “rarely.”

You may not even have missed out on this activity in any impactful way.

One of the best things you can do to let go is to fail at something and see that: 1) you survived, 2) you’re okay, and 3) something good came out of your scenario… maybe it was that you learned 1 and 2 and can repeat. Usually you can find a positive if you want to that helps your outlook and growth.

You can embrace: Good is good enough. When I embraced this mantra, it helped me to hit “send” and “publish.”

You get more done and are happier taking the stress and pressure off yourself. Because what will be, will be. So many factors are out of controls anyways.

Being imperfect sets you up to keep going, doing, and trying…. and eventually finding your purpose or destiny.

Catching and correcting written spelling and grammar mistakes is good but is different than making sure every word is perfect to your mind’s satisfaction. There’s a fine line between valuing your work and what you do, and obsessing over the quality because of what that would represent if you didn’t perform well in some way.

Your performance isn’t as important as those youu impact. That’s the lesson from the movie Burnt where Actor Bradley Cooper’s Type-A and chef character learns that letting go of his perfection for a calmer teamwork environment brings home the additional Michelin star success.

The supporting kitchen staff actors are empowered to do their jobs without feeling like they’re walking on eggshells in front of their boss.

You may have also learned this lesson as an employee working with others and working towards climbing the organization ladder.

And you may have found that those promoted weren’t necessarily the hardest workers who delivered flawless work. Some weren’t even as qualified as the person who should’ve gotten the promotional job, but they were trusted with their work given to them (as part of the gifts of imperfection).

Most importantly, they worked at building relationships and connections while others focused on producing the best work.

Building good rapport is a skill that’s valued and can be even more difficult than keeping the head down doing work. People want to work with those they know, like, and trust. So letting your guard down some and letting them know a personal side of you can help you win points.

It’s not just in what you say or how you say it. There’s an energy that you give off even when you’re sitting in front of your computer that you may not even know you’re giving off.

Everyone has a part they can play no matter what special personalities they display. Your non-judgment of others and focusing on their positives is what will create a good work environment for you…

Not necessarily being the person who does perfect work. Perfection is an illusion. What you do today, will be obsolete tomorrow or forgotten by most, years from now. Who you showed up as, and your progress contributions will be remembered.

So, what if you’re caught up in the perfectionist trap?

If you find yourself falling for perfectionist obsessive ways, being self-critical or beating yourself up, here are some smart steps to take:

Be perfect.

Whaaat? Yes, be perfect. It’s all in your mind. When you force yourself to NOT do something, you unintentionally end up doing that behavior. Because your subconscious brain doesn’t hear NOT.

It picks up that you are focusing energy towards that area. It’s not always helping you, and your eyeballs can even skip over the words “not,” as part of the process if you’re reading words on a page.

So you’re trying not to be perfect, can backfire. (I’ve deliberately highlighted the word “not” in several ways here to catch your attention).

Instead in self-awareness, catch yourself and realize that you don’t want to do that anymore. Because before you probably didn’t see it when you were acting that way, but now you’re aware.

So give yourself grace to take two steps forward and one step backward in growth.

In the beginning, it can be like an internal dance you’re trying to figure out. But you’ll get it because you’re trying to make it better than the old ways that didn’t work the way you hoped.

Your trying can shift over to your growing out of perfection instead of toward your output.

Imperfection takes less effort, and caring less sometimes is the answer if your mind is running the show.

Eventually the gifts of imperfection outweigh perfection with your desires and efforts.

But, there are exceptions and times when you do want to shine and be as perfect as possible. So you don’t want to lose all your perfection traits if that’s what comes naturally to you.

Like when you have a performance or presentation to give and want to wow the critics. Or you have a test or an interview to ace. The difference here is that these aren’t everyday occurrences and they’re solo acts you want to nail.

Back when I had school team presentations, several times I was disappointed when the group didn’t do the part they agreed to. Letting go of the idea that everyone was as dedicated, I learned later to do every piece of their part and mine, as though it were performed and turned in solely by me…

That was my backup plan.

If the team came through on their parts, then I would rely on them. And when they did, I realized that we had better information as I could chime in with additional insight in their areas and mine because the research was done.

I gave my best and that’s all I could do. And that’s the attitude to embrace for progress over perfection.

Stay Authentic

In make or break situations, stay authentic to your deeper, healthy self desires.

Let go of worries.

Striving for high standards is a better way of living.

Be happy with your imperfect message and letting your caring, human side come out.

You can come back and change your thoughts. You don’t have to nail every point flawlessly the first time. We think we never have a chance to do over.

That’s true only if you think it is. If you came across as serious before, you can come back as light-hearted or funny in a pivot around new audiences.

Be comfortable where you are and your confident energy will shine through. Keep showing up the way you want to be perceived.

You get to be who you want to be as human, not perfect (remembering the gifts of imperfection).

If you think these tips could help someone grow, please share with them.

And here’s how you can make your own Eton Mess dessert that could be a good metaphor to embracing your authentic creativity and imperfection inside you.

Eton Mess Dessert

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, british

Ingredients

egg whites for meringue
fruits (raspberries, blueberries, lychee, cantaloupe shown in photo)

Instructions

Shape meringue to liking on a baking sheet. Bake in oven on a low temperature around 250°F/120°C or less until marshmallowy soft but crisp. You'll be able to see when the edges are starting to toast.
Let the meringue cool and break off on your plate in a mess. Add and pile on fruits you would like to use to create a modern art dessert plate.