During this festive time when our schedules are full of lunches with fiends and dinners with family - there’s no time for hunger (and maybe even a nutritious plan is temporarily suspended).
However, something that is constant are cravings.
Despite the common misconception that we should suppress and ignore them (because usually we crave for unhealthy sweet, salty or fat) - The Jar Healthy Vending suggests to change the game and give in to your cravings in 2021.
Why? Because it’s a natural signal of the body that something might be missing. Even if you are craving for something unhealthy from the first sight.
The most common craving is a craving for something sweet. Well explained - sugar is in fact our brain's primary fuel. If you crave sugar - this might indicate to the raising levels of mental or physical tiredness.
However, since we get the maximum burst of sweetness from questionable sources like candies - our brain tends to seek the fastest way to glucose, making you crave for sugar and automatically ignoring the healthier but powerful alternatives.
Healthy Choice:
Fruits in this case are the best option - including our juices like PRESS Clean Beet and smoothies like PRESS Berry Super Smoothie. Since they also provide dietary fiber, nutrients, and minerals.
Salt is something people crave for relatively often too. Such craving might indicate to a need for minerals and electrolytes that have been lost due to activity.
It's a sign that you might be dehydrated, because electrolytes (or salt) helps the body to keep the fluids. Athletes and pregnant women crave salty foods very often since their hydration needs go up, and so do their needs for the minerals that are often found in salt.
Healthy Choice:
You can add a tiny pinch of salt to the drinking water or your food to maintain hydration.
Or simply have a quick healthy snack at The Jar, such as cheesy popcorn from Popcorn Shed.
Our bodies depend on essential fatty acids for many vital functions, and we need fat in order to absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. So, cravings for greasy, fatty foods might actually be the signal that it's the healthy fat your body is missing.
Healthy Choice:
Fatty does not mean low-quality refined fats such as those in cheesy pizza. Avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil as well as fatty fish and high-quality dairy are the optimal heathy choices for healthy fats. Along with other nutrients like calcium, B-vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.
For a quick fix we have Plenish Almond Butter Shake in stock just for you.
Chocolate goes in a separate section since chocolate-cravings are not the same as craving for sugar. It’s got a unique mix of sweetness, fat from the cocoa butter, and also minerals.
Cocoa is extremely high in magnesium which helps to alleviate muscle cramps. When craving for chocolate your body might be asking for magnesium, chromium or B Vitamins as well as essential fats. Chocolate cravings can also indicate a need for happy hormones like seratonin.
Healthy Choice:
If you’re craving chocolate, treat yourself to a few squares of dark chocolate.
Alternatively - try the variety of chocolaty snacks from The Jar Healthy Vending - Choco Frubis Dried Strawberry from Peakz Chocolates.
If you are craving things like ice, clay or chalk - it's nit as unusual as you might think. These types of non-food cravings might point to a mineral deficiency.
Healthy Choice:
Make sure you’re eating lots of dark leafy greens, green vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
Listen to yourself and treat yourself with The Jar Healthy Vending!