Feeling deprived, sets up a craving for “comfort foods” that ultimately make you feel even more unhealthy and uncomfortable.  So rather than deprive yourself of unhealthy foods, I recommend indulging in healthy foods.

Hints that have helped me avoid the deprivation trap.

1) The more flavors I put in my salads and smoothies — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent (hot, spicy) — the more satisfying my food is and the less I crave things that are not good for me. (See Miracle foods made easy.)

2) If I find myself craving something that isn’t good for me (chocolate, corn chips, cheese or anything else), I intentionally overdose on it. I eat as much of it as I possibly can at one sitting. Once I’ve had a stomach ache from too much, it turns me off instead of on. Do not try this if you are diabetic.

3) Yet craving indicates things I legitimately need, so I analyze what is attractive about the foods I crave. White sugar by the spoonful is not interesting, flour by itself is not interesting, so that is not what I want. What is interesting in a candy bar or a cookie or a cake is the fruit or the nuts or the raw cacao or vanilla… so I make a dish of the good items minus the sugar. (See Staying on good food.) Chips are interesting due to the crunch, the oil & salt, so I learned to use a high quality olive oil generously on my salad. With a dehydrator I can make vegetable chips with flax that rival or trump commercial chips… or just eat a carrot! I make a simple sunflower seed cheese and it satisfies me as much or more than a cheese from the deli counter. (See Love cheese — but can’t digest it?)

I use plenty of my favorite seasonings and spices…

Never, never, never, ever allow yourself to feel deprived. Avoid bad foods by indulging in the flavors and textures you love safely, by choosing healthy alternatives.