banana foster pudding made with coconut milk

The controversy over cravings and why you can’t lose weight has been going on for decades. From gimmicks to starvation to just deprivation as being the common answers, I want to challenge you to something more. Something that actually allows you to eat banana foster pudding made with coconut milk and enjoy every single bite.

It’s not necessarily that all diets are wrong. In fact, some contain great starting points for us to get our feet under ourselves. But long-term we have to know that anything that causes intense cravings, a shift in our mood, energy, libido or just how we are feeling over all is something to be cautious of. Of course unless it is in a positive direction.

If you’re thinking about jumping onto the next sugar-free course or becoming paleo just because you think it is your answer, I caution you to remember what foundational health means and the only way you can actually achieve lasting health. 

It doesn’t come from beating your body into submission orfrom tricking your body or trying to out-smart it. It comes from a harmony of allowing yourself grace but not excuses. It comes from living with a passion for something more.

can willpower stand alone?

I don’t want to say there isn’t value in going sugar-free. It is true that if we can withstand from sugar for a period of time we can lessen our taste for sugar especially if done in the right way.

However, most people forget about the right way and just cold-turkey it without having any understanding of why you crave sugar to begin with. This leaves you to rely on the horribly inefficient willpower to keep you afloat, which most likely always ends in a sugar binge.

Don’t worry you’re not alone and we can’t expect anything less when we rely on willpower, because willpower really can’t hold itself for more than 20 minutes at any given time. Not to mention most of us exhaust willpower by mid afternoon leaving the vulnerable evening hours with nothing standing between you and those scoops of chocolate ice cream.

Save willpower for those times when you need to muster up strength to actually complete something rather than withstand from something. I can assure you, it will fail you nearly every single time.

is sugar-free the answer?

So that brings us to the burning questions, is sugar-free our answer to lasting health? You can already probably assume what I will tell you; no, no and no again. Just eliminating sugar, cold-turkey, is not going to do anything long-term.

In the short-term it works incredibly well, of course if you can actually do it. What we do know is that high amounts of sugar, or even moderate amounts are causing damage in our body, especially when we are getting the majority of our sugar from processed sugars.

However, just going cold-turkey doesn’t generally teach you anything about being realistic. For most of us, we can only cancel on so many birthday parties and social gatherings simply because we are scared to be around food we can’t have.

Unrealistic isn’t it?

how to handle sugar

Here’s the deal, cutting back on sugar is a really good idea for all of us, but cold-turkey will always eventually come back to bite you. This isn’t realistic and naturally we’re born with the drive to eat carbohydrates simply because they provide essential energy, especially for our hormones.

Cutting back can only realistically be done when you understand and value your biofeedback markers which tell you how well your body is flowing. For instance, if you have intense thirst signals, you’re probably not rehydrating well. If you’re tired, you need to get more sleep or deeper sleep.

The same goes with cravings. If you’re having intense cravings, this is signaling to your body that it is not working as well as it should. In the case of cravings your hormones are out of whack. The best way to eliminate cravings and decrease your sugar consumption naturally and with ease is to balance your hormones.

fix your hormones

One of the greatest way to balance your hormones is to sync your circadian rhythm which is one of the most important hormonal signals of your body. It is our hormonal reset at the end of everyday. Critical with a capital “c”.

How do you get back your circadian rhythm? Here are a few quick tips:

natural light cycles

Honor natural light cycles. If you’re staring at blue lights all night {TV, phones, tablets, or computers} your natural circadian rhythm, cortisol levels and melatonin release is not going to fire naturally. A great way to solve this is a pair of inexpensive blue-light blocking glasses and shut the devices off at least an hour before you sleep.

intermittent fasting

Honor your eat and rest cycles, which is called intermittent fasting. You allow a designated period of each 24 hour cycle to be for eating and a time for rest.

If you want to do this well, allow 12-16 hours a day in the fasting state and 8-12 hours eating. That means if you eat breakfast at 7:00 am you need to be completely finished for the day at 7:00 pm.

Another good option is to cease eating a minimum of three hours before bed. If you want to see more value, cease eating 4-5 hours before bed.

prioritize sleep

Know your sleep chronotype so you know how much sleep you need is essential. Because sleep is essential. Once you know exactly how much sleep your body needs it is critical to stay as consistent with your sleep and wake cycles as possible. That means not staying up too late and sleeping in or staying up late and waking up early. Take this quiz to find out how much sleep you need and then stay consistent in that.

fix your hormones

Here’s the deal, if your cravings are out of control you need to reset your hormones and get them flowing again. This comes from a place of working with your body instead of against it.

I have developed a five-day hormonal reset plan that can help you get your hormones flowing again. This will provide you with more energy, deeper sleep, better moods, natural monthly cycles, weight loss and mental clarity to name a few.

Our hormones run our show. They are the answer to lasting health. Now it is time to honor them. I can assure you that doesn’t come from trying to beat your body into submission. Instead it comes from trusting and honoring it.

Learn about the five-day hormonal reset here and sign up to reset your communication system and eliminate cravings once and for all.

what about the pudding?

Lets bring it back to the pudding, because by now you are probably wondering how this even fits in. Going cold-turkey on sugar elimination isn’t the answer but rather finding healthy and natural ways to eat foods you love. This prevents you from jumping on the damaging effects of the sugar roller coaster.

Stop depriving yourself and instead just find foods you love and healthy ways to make them. It’s the change from saying no to all foods you love and instead saying yes to foods that excite you and leave you with true energy.

In the case of this banana foster pudding made with coconut milk we’ve done just that. You have the healthy fats of the coconut milk topped with the natural sweetness of fried bananas and nature’s sprinkles {chia seeds, hemp hearts, cocao nibs}. It’s made from real foods, with real nutrients and limited sugar.

I can promise this is exciting to your taste buds and will still provide natural energy in the form of nutrients. It isn’t too good to be true.

A great addition to your breakfast or lunch and a welcome treat to your family.

It’s little changes, not drastic ones that will provide you with great rewards!

Banana Foster Pudding Made with Coconut Milk

PREP TIME

5 MINS

COOK TIME

20 MINS

TOTAL TIME

25 MINS

Author: Alexa Schirm

Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 batch coconut milk pudding
• 4 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil {butter}
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of cloves
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
• TOPPINGS
• chia seeds
• hemp hearts
• bee pollen
• cocao nibs
• coconut-milk caramel sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the coconut milk pudding.
2. Once turn off the stove and leave in the pan to let cool and thicken.
3. Meanwhile heat a medium skillet over low-medium heat.
4. Add coconut oil {butter} and once sizzling add maple syrup, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
5. Stir and add in sliced bananas.
6. Cook 1-2 minutes and flip cooking an additional 1-2 minutes.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Add pudding to bowls, top with bananas, walnuts, and any additional toppings.
9. Enjoy!

source:https://simplerootswellness.com/banana-foster-pudding-made-with-coconut-milk