QUIT SMOKING DAY 8 !

     O.K....here it is, day 8 and I'm feeling much better. The past couple of days were torture, ohhh the cravings.....but I discovered something else, it's not so much the chemical that i crave, rather, it is more the "companionship" that I am missing. I know, it sounds sick....and it is, by all accounts ! Again, the evil friend that you love to hate and terribly miss. The mind games are the worst experience of all.  Quitting cold turkey is not for everyone (why and who coined it "cold turkey"...it's weird and what's the correlation !!!!.........anyway).
     My body was also going through periods of fatigue, light headed, dizziness and my voice changed for a day.  Needless to say, my body was not happy with me, begging for some relief...chewing gum, patch, electric thing that blows out vapor, something, anything........
......................................but i refuse.............................................
YIKES and OUCH !  So how does one overcome the cravings and physical torture. I have been trying a few things that really help with the symptoms and prevent weight gain;

• For cravings - a small cup of coffee instantly helps, the caffeine works great. 
• For the oral satisfaction - I keep healthy dips and spreads around to pick on with pita chips, like hummus, spinach, avocado, eggplant  or a shake with protein powder, fruit or yogurt.
• For the anxiety - much much walking, or exercise.
• For the fatigue - drink tons of water, nap if you can and plenty of rest.

Recipes: 

         dips & spreads - you can use any vegetable that you like and make it simple, no need to get fancy...your under plenty of stress, so make it easy !  these recipes don't require exact measurements....make it to your liking, use 1 garlic clove or 5. 

For myself, I prefer plenty of olive oil.

- hummus - puree a can of chick peas, garlic clove (s), tbsp. of tahini or peanut butter, olive oil, 1/2 lemon and salt. (you can also add sun-dried tomato's, olive's, roasted peppers or whatever else you like)

- spinach -  puree a bag of fresh baby spinach, olive oil, salt, grated cheese and some leftover hummus.

- avocado -  puree or cut up 1 or several avocado's , salt, olive oil and feta if you have it.

                   

- eggplant -  same as any one of the recipe's above. 

- Italian vegetable medley -  chop 1 onion, a few garlic cloves, a couple of potato's, 1 can of chick peas, 1 head of cabbage, can of whole tomato's, oilve oil, salt and crushed red pepper. throw in a large pot covered and let cook until tender.  ONE OF MY FAVORITE'S ! 

STAY TUNED.................