For many of us, PMS comes in the form of extreme cravings. We can feel an urge to eat the whole fridge and contents of the supermarket.
I am a HUGE advocate for balance and everything in moderation. But, sometimes it can be easy to slip into a rut of eating rubbish day in, day out whilst PMSing.
I decided to experiment with creating healthy alternatives to junk food I crave most. These taste AMAZING (if I don’t say so myself) and never fail to curb my cravings. Try swapping out your junk food for these alternatives. I promise you, you will get the same delicious taste, whilst benefiting your health! You can also make these vegetarian friendly by swapping the meat for an alternative.
Fakeaway Pizza:
This is my favourite for a Friday night in. They’re so simple and quick to make as well – which is always a bonus. You can make them with so many different toppings, but the recipe below includes my go-to toppings!
Ingredients required:
– 2 pitta breads
– 1 can of chopped tomatoes
– 1 chicken breast diced
– 120g of mushrooms chopped
– Handful of tomatoes sliced into halves
– Few slices of mozzarella
– Spoonful of coconut oil
– 3-4 basil leaves to top
– Sprinkle of oregano to top
Method:
1) Spread the chopped tomatoes over the pitta breads.
2) Place the coconut oil in a pan and add the diced chicken breast
3) Cook for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms. Ensure the chicken has cooked, by slicing into one of the larger pieces and checking there are no pink bits left.
4) Place the cooked chicken and mushrooms on top of the pitta breads. Then add the sliced tomatoes and mozzarella.
5) Top with the basil leaves and oregano for extra flavour.
Spring Rolls:
Chinese food is one of my favourite takeaways. It’s hard to make a healthy version, but these make me feel like I’m tucking into spring rolls. Quick, simple and delicious!
Ingredients required:
– 3-4 chicken sausages (Heck is my personal favourite)
– Filo pastry (the amount you need depends on how crispy/thick you want them)
– 1 egg
Method:
1) Start by taking one sheet of filo pastry and slicing it into half.
2) Place the chicken sausage at the end of the pastry, fold in the edges and then begin rolling the sausage.
3) Place this onto the other half of the filo and repeat.
4) Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk until smooth.
5) Wipe some of the egg over the filo – this will make it crunchy, but ensure the filo doesn’t burn.
6) Repeat with all the other sausages – you can wrap in more filo if you would like!
Chocolate Milkshake:
Raw cacao is PERFECT to curb chocolate cravings. You can use it in so many different ways. I use it pretty much everyday to create this delicious breakfast concoction. It tastes like a chocolate milkshake! Cacao has so many health benefits as well. It has 40 times more antioxidants than blueberries and green tea. It is also the highest plant-based source of iron and a natural mood booster.
Ingredients:
– Approx 7 fluid qunces of almond milk (or soya if you prefer this)
– 10-12g of raw cacao powder
– 50-80g of oats
– 50g of blueberries
– 1/2 avocado
– 12g flax seeds (optional)
– 1 Scoop of vanilla protein powder
Method:
1) Place all the above ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Hot Chocolate:
This is another way to use cacao powder. I actually prefer the taste of this to standard hot chocolate, so I will always opt for this instead!
Ingredients:
– Half a cup of almond milk
– 1-2 teaspoons of cacao powder
Method:
1) Blitz the ingredients in a blender to mix it up.
2) Either place it in a saucepan and warm it up or stick it in the microwave for a few minutes.
Chicken Nuggets and Chips:
This was my favourite meal as a kid, so it is unsurprising that I still get cravings for it now! You can use sweet potato or white potatoes for the chips. For the breadcrumbs, I tend to opt for gluten free alternatives or brown bread because I prefer it, but it’s up to you!
Ingredients:
– 1-2 large white or sweet potato(es)
– 1 large chicken breast
– 1-2 slices of bread
– 1 egg
– Olive oil
– Flour
– Salt
Method:>
1) Take the potatoes and cut them in half long ways. Take the halves and slice these even smaller to create the chip shapes. Place these onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt then place into the oven.
2) Place the slices of bread into a blender until they have turned into breadcrumbs and place into a bowl.
3) In a separate bowl, crack an egg and whisk until smooth.
4) Slice the chicken into small cubes.
5) Dip these into flour, then egg, then the breadcrumbs.
6) Repeat with all the other pieces of chicken and place them onto a baking tray.
7) Cook for approx 20 mins but keep an eye on these and the chips, it depends how crispy you want them!
It is surprising how many healthy alternatives there are to junk food. Eating these makes it so much easier to stay on track. It tastes like you’re eating something naughty, but with health benefits! Try some of these when you have PMS cravings and let me know your thoughts by tweeting @totmorganic!
Recipes provided by Alex, Social Media Exec at TOTM
