— Diane Kirschner

Wow, cravings for sweets. I should, I should know this because I've got a, all of my teeth are, are, are sweet tooths. And, um, so, you know, one, one thing that, uh, has brought me satisfaction is the sweet potato. Okay? And I, I'll eat these. I, I eat them probably most months outta the year. Sometimes I fall off the wagon and, and don't roast them for a while. Maybe it's because of, of, of, uh, the, the, the hot summer days that I, I don't wanna turn on the oven, but, um, you know, I find that natural sweetness, uh, to be satisfying, and the fiber, uh, from that food is also satiating. So, uh, that's what I would consider. And, you know, there are many sweet potatoes on the market, and each one has its own personality. They have different, uh, levels of sweetness. Um, they have different textures, different moisture contents, and, um, I would recommend that you give them all a try and, uh, maybe settle upon a couple of 'em that are favorites for you and see how you like that. Okay? Um, you know, other things, um, you know, could be, uh, like soy milk. Um, you know, I had a student years ago who was, uh, a monk in Thailand for about 10 years before he left the monastery, came to Portland, Oregon to study cooking. I was blessed to have met him among, uh, the, the, the, the in, you know, the, the conversations we had and the information that he shared with me was that, you know, one of the things that the monks did was drink soy milk, um, to, uh, keep cravings down. And, uh, this was largely, uh, hunger cravings generally. Um, but I have adopted that, and I, I, I do that every once in a while, but I notice that, um, it, it's, it's good for everything, at least for me. And I prefer to get a, a soy milk that is just soybeans and water. Um, so nothing with any sweeteners added to it. Um, I go to a nearby Asian grocery stores. That's where I tend to find, uh, what I think is probably the best quality product that has two ingredients, soybeans and water. And, um, there's some sweetness to it. Uh, and, um, and I find it satisfying. And, and maybe you will too. I hope you'll give that a try. Okay? But, uh, think about, um, uh, fiber. Okay, carrots. Okay. Um, celery. Um, I like to use those, um, as, uh, little dippers for hummus, uh, or other bean purees that I make. I'm a big fan of beans. I I must have them every day, um, probably for a couple of meals at least. I had some for breakfast this morning, as a matter of fact. And, um, so, you know, to, to combine, uh, the beans themselves, which are gonna be satisfying, but with something that's sweet, like carrots and celery, uh, can be satisfying to that sweet component that you're addressing.