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Living the Sweet Life.....Without Sugar! Health Coaching Support Group

Starts Thursday Oct 6th! Register by Tuesday Oct 4th! 

Sprout Wellbeing Health Coaching support groups are a great way to connect with others trying to make healthy lifestyle changes so you get the support you need to make lifelong health changes. Each 6-week session will have a different focus topic. The groups are offered in partnership with the Moscow Food Co-Op and will be facilitated by Tessa Graham who is the founder and health coach of Sprout Wellbeing - Health Coaching and Wellness Support.

Oct 6th - Nov 10th Focus Topic:  

Living The Sweet Life....Without Sugar! A 6-week holistic health coaching support group focused on exploring how amazing we can feel by reducing sugar in our lives.

No one should be hurting or tired on a regular basis. We may get used to our headaches, indigestion, aching bodies, low energy, bad moods, anxiety, and sleepless nights, but these are all signs our body is out of balance and these imbalances can be improved through changes in diet, exercise, and stress levels. Join this community to support you in discovering YOUR healthiest lifestyle and find out if reducing sugar can help you feel better and improve your health! 

As a certified holistic health coach, personal trainer, and pilates instructor, Tessa will:

• Lead group discussions on how sugar effects your energy, mood, cravings, and health.
• Provide strategies for reducing sugar cravings and consuming less sugar in your diet
• Support the group in a gradual sugar cleanse so that you can experience the amazing positive effects of a life with less sugar!

Meetings will be held on Thursdays at 7:15 - 8:15pm from Oct 6^th - Nov 10^th

Location: Moscow Food Co-op Annex (114 E. 5th St, Moscow) 

Cost: $72 (Co-op members), $84 (non-members)

Come try the first session with no obligation to sign up!  

For questions: email sproutwellbeing@gmail.com or call 510-501-2618.  

To register: click here or email sproutwellbeing@gmail.com

Make Your Own: Peanut Butter Cups!

The goal of the Make your Own series is to support the Sprout Wellbeing community in choosing a few things they can "make on their own" rather than buying them pre-packaged, thus avoiding the additives, preservatives, sugar, and trans-fat associated with the processed and packaged varieties.  The Making-Your-Own lifestyle is a gradual process of adding in one new make-your-own thing at a time so I always remind people to not be overwhelmed by trying to make everything on their own all at once!

So far in the "Make your own Series", we have made our own pesto, granola bars , salad dressings, tortillas, and chips.  Since the focus of this newsletter is SUGAR, I want to give you a healthy alternative to a common treat you might crave: chocolate peanut butter cups. Just because we want to reduce sugar for our health, I don't want to leave you without some yummyness in your life! And who wouldn't love the peanut butter cup...chocolate and peanut butter together is heaven for many people! But the supermarket version has some scary levels of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. High levels of sugar will just make you crave more sugar and it is believed that high fructose corn syrup effects our body's ability to identify when we have had enough food so we never feel satisfied. Try this healthier version of the peanut butter cup sweetened with a small amount honey and you feel satisfied with your delicious treat. Note: It is important to use natural peanut butter that contains no added sweeteners...did you know that most peanut butters have sugar and high fructose corn syrup added to them?!

If you want to learn more quick, easy recipes and meal planning suggestions, register for the "Fast Food", "Healthy Pizza", and other cooking classes that Sprout Wellbeing is offering in partnership with the Moscow Food Co-op this Fall!

If you want to learn more low sugar living strategies join the "Living the Sweet Life" health Coaching Support group!

Homemade, Healthier Peanut Butter Cups – Real Whole Food Ingredients!

Ingredients

      3/4 cup of peanut butter, natural and organic (or use nut butter of your choice)

      1 tablespoons honey (or amount to taste)

      1 teaspoon vanilla (if you are making this gluten free, make sure to use gluten free vanilla)

      1/4 cup of coconut oil

      1/3 cup of chopped soaked and dehydrated nuts, or toasted (I used a mixture of chopped almonds and pumpkin seeds)

      4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate

      2  tablespoons honey  (or amount to taste)

1-In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla, first tablespoon honey (or amount to taste), and nuts. Mix until well combined.

2-Drop by the heaping teaspoon into cup cake lined muffin tins or mini cupcake tins. Place in freezer.

3-Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in the top of a double broiler (or, like I do, in a heat proof bowl that fits on top of a pot you have). Mix in the honey. Bring about two inches of water to a boil in the pot and place the bowl on top. Watch the chocolate carefully so that it doesn’t burn, stirring gently while the chocolate melts. When there are just a few chunks left in the chocolate, take off of the heat and allow it to melt completely.

4-Drop by the teaspoon over the peanut butter mixture and place back into the freezer. Freeze for 20 minutes. Take out, and using a butter knife pop them out. Keep in the freezer or refrigerator and enjoy!

*To toast the nuts, place in a dry pan over medium-high heat. Stir almost continually until they are starting to brown. Take off of the heat.

 

Living the Sweet Life....Without Sugar???!!!

We all need a little sweetness in our life...something to treat our weary souls from the long days at the computer, the stressful test studying, the screaming kids. What do you treat yourself with? How often? Think about it. When was the last time you did something that nourished you to complete satisfaction?

These are questions I ask my clients when we begin working together and frequently the answer is that there really is no time in their day to treat themselves to much. This is probably true for most of us and then we wonder why we crave sweetness in our food....candy, chocolate, cake, sodas. We need treats! We need sweetness!

So, is our daily trip to the candy bowl at work really satisfying these cravings? Is our afternoon soda or sugary coffee drink really giving us the energy our body is looking for? Or are we left feeling tired, spaced out, and unsatisfied with headaches, stomachaches, aches and pains, indigestion, frequent colds, weight gain or other unexplained health issues? Nancy Appleton, Ph.D documents the many health effects of sugar in her book 146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health. Here is a short adapted summary:

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
3. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
4. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
5. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
6. Sugar contributes to obesity.
7. Sugar can cause arthritis.
8. Sugar can cause heart disease and emphysema.
9. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
10. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
11. Sugar can lead to both prostrate cancer and ovarian cancer.
12. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
13. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
14. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
15. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
16. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
17. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
18. Sugar can cause depression.
19. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
20. In intensive care units, limiting sugar saves lives.

As a health coach, my mission is to help my clients and YOU search for "the sweet life", one in which you feel truly satisfied, content, and peaceful with the food you eat and the life you live. The list of negative health effects above demonstrates that sugar is just a quick sweet fix that in the end does the opposite of finding "the sweet life". So how do you beat those sugar cravings? How do you find satisfaction and sweetness in your diet and in your life? Below are 10 tips for reducing sugar cravings (Note: Sugar free products with artificial sweeteners and splenda in our coffee is not the answer as these artificial sweeteners are equally, if not more, unhealthy for our bodies!). To get support in implementing these and other strategies to reduce sugar in your diet so your body can feel great join the upcoming "Living the Sweet Life" Health Coaching Support Group!

You might be saying right now, "But I will never stop craving sugar! I can't live without it!" But after a supported sugar cleanse and exploration of your relationship to sugar like we will do in the "Living the Sweet Life" group, your cravings will reduce, your body will feel better, and your self will feel satisfied so it will seem surprisingly easy to maintain a lower sugar way of life. Give it a try!

10 Tips to Reduce Sugar Cravings

1.     Reduce or eliminate caffeine. The ups and downs of caffeine include dehydration and blood sugar swings, causing sugar cravings to be more frequent.

2.     Drink water. Sometimes sweet cravings are a sign of dehydration. Before you go for the sugar, have a glass of water and then wait a few minutes to see what happens. Caution: soft drinks are now America’s number one source of added sugar.

3.     Eat sweet vegetables and fruit. They are sweet, healthy and delicious. The more you eat, the less you’ll crave sugar.

4.     Use gentle sweets. Avoid chemicalized, artificial sweeteners and foods with added sugar. Use gentle sweeteners like maple syrup, brown rice syrup, dried fruit, stevia, barley malt and agave nectar.

5.     Get physically active. Start with simple activities, like walking or yoga. Start with 10 minutes a day and gradually increase. It will help balance your blood sugar levels, boost your energy, and reduce tension without medicating yourself with sugar!

6.     Get more sleep, rest and relaxation. When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy—in the form of sugar. These cravings are often a result of being sleep-deprived, going to bed late or waking up early, sometimes for months and years on end.

7.     Evaluate the amount of animal food you eat. Eating too much can lead to cravings for sweets. So can eating too little! A good health coach will help you sort this out. Experiment. Respect your body’s individuality.

8.     Eliminate fat-free or low-fat packaged snack-foods. These foods contain high quantities of sugar to compensate for lack of flavor and fat, which will send you on the roller-coaster ride of sugar highs and lows. 

9.     Experiment with spices. Coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom will naturally sweeten your foods and reduce cravings.

10.  Slow down and find sweetness in non-food ways! You body does not biologically need sugar, but it does long for hugs, time with friends, outside time, workouts, massages, etc. When life becomes sweet enough itself, no additives are needed!

From Get the Sugar Out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet by Ann Louise Gittleman.