I think I get to carb craving because my body is really wanting energy.

Thanks, everyone, for all the great ideas! I'll be using many of them...

And thank you, Nixie, for raising the question that added so many tools to our toolkits!

I'm going to diverge from the advice given so far to a great extent.

First of all, avoiding wheat and other high-gluten foods is mostly a fad. So is the Adkins diet, the low-fat diet, the grapefruit diet, and the Pleistocene or Stone Age diet. I recommend staying far away from fad diets of any kind. Mainstream nutrition specialists also strongly recommend staying away from them.

To be healthy, eat a BALANCED diet of fat, complex carbohydrates, and protein. The protein doesn't have to come from meat, it can also come from oats, soy, whole wheat, sesame, legumes, etc. A breakfast of oatmeal with some peanut butter has more protein than a similar quantity of steak with dinner rolls. Most of the beef available in supermarkets has most of its calories in the form of animal fat, not protein. The fat is in the red part, not just the white part.

But be careful, the fad diets which are high in protein and low in fats and carbs can cause serious health problems. We don't need to eat a high protein diet...once we meet our needs, the rest of it is converted to carbohydrate and urea. Too much protein stresses the kidneys.

No one mentioned fiber, something that is critically important to digestive health, cardiac health, etc. Eating a wide variety of whole grains and veggies will take care of our need for fiber. And don't fall for the number of servings game...that's just hogwash.

Don't get sucked in by fads, gluten sensitivity can be tested by a doctor. If you don't have Celiac disease, there's no reason to avoid gluten. I've looked into this and concluded that dietary gurus who rail against gluten are quacks out to make money off a fad.

And avoid eating too much fruit. Cultivated varieties of fruits like peaches are very high in sugar. Our bodies don't need sugar in any quantity, but small amounts from moderate amounts of fruit are not harmful to most people. Modern varieties of carrots have as much sugar as strawberries, avoid eating large amounts of carrot too.

Just eat normal food. Avoid sweets, junk food in microwaveable plastic and fads, and you'll probably find that you feel better. I make soup when I'm not feeling well...just toss some chunks of potato, some cooked beans, and a variety of veggies in a pot of water, add some seasonings like onion, garlic, cumin, sage, turmeric, etc. and cook until the potatoes are done. That's easy, and it's food you can live on. I like a little olive oil, a dash of vinegar, and a little soy sauce added after it's done...so the olive oil doesn't get cooked.

Tastes a lot better than some chemical-laced concoction thrown together in a food factory in the industrial part of a city. Respect yourself and don't eat swill like that.

Dark chocolate 70% or more cocoa is ok for me...and I've switched out my daily coffee for green tea and matcha. Matcha is interesting for l-theonline content...a calming agent.

I like meat in moderation, and an occasional serving of red meat does me well. My acupuncturist prescribed it...

Hi Nixie, I'm on board with Triunfadora. If you can get a NutraBullet,
they can actually be a lot of fun to use. Sometimes they run
specials on the TV ads again if you can afford one. They come with
a helpful recipe book. I do green drinks in the morning. Cukes,
celery, lettuce, parsley, protein powder, ground up flax seeds,
maybe some yogurt, and
granny smith apple. You can add berries, nuts, fruits. So many
things. Gets your day started on a healthy path.
There are healthy TV dinners too. There are frozen veggies
if you can't go to the store. I use these for backup.
I eat carrots and almond butter for snacks. Or celery
and humus. I drink lots of herbal teas. And like energy lost
I use fresh ginger root for teas. I really don't even miss some
of the 'junk food' I used to have or soft drinks or any of that.

p.s. Oops.
Sorry if I repeated myself here. My previous post didn't show
up when I scrolled down and I didn't remember answering
before. Senior moment here.

I call those "duh..." moments ;-)

Just an addenedum to the suggestions recommending smoothies: my grocery store offers baby carrots, sliced apples, lots of pre-prepped ingredients you can use to save yourself some timme and energy. Maybe yours does too.

hth

Recipe for Chicken Bone Broth: definitely use grass fed, organic chicken. After you cook it in water, take meat off bones and add 2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon to broth w/bones. Add 3" piece of kombu seaweed , 1 onion, 2 lg carrots, 3 celery stalks, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns 2 allspice or juniper berries. bring to boil. Cover and sinner 12 -24 hours. Strain broth. Cool it completely and put in fridge. Remove fat when cold. you can use it or freeze some of it.
Good luck!

There's a wonderful cookbook for people who are recovering from cancer, but can be used for any immunity issue. Nourishing Connections by Cathryn Couch and JoEllen DeNicola These recipes take a good amount of prep, but you can do it over a day or so. They make large amounts so you can have leftovers. A must!

I apologize if any of this has already been posted by others but I'll share what helps me.

First, it is very hard, I agree, to find the energy and time to make healthy meals or prep healthy snacks when you feel so exhausted, etc. I will validate that in a heartbeat!

But, some things that help are ...

plain old greek yogurt (no sweetners or flavors). I add stevia and vanilla to this and it does give me more energy.

when I make dinner, I try to prep some extra veggies that are ready to pack in lunches or have for snacks. This feels way less taxing than chopping/washing for each and every snack/meal!

Also, I try to just make a couple of extra servings of a healthy dinner for me to microwave for lunches and that helps me to stay on the better path.

I've been trying to have one fruit with breakfast (fruit and greek yogurt make a good breakfast)
and one fruit/veg with lunch
and then two veggies with dinner.

I'm finding that if I wrap my head around what fruit/veg I'm having then I don't think about or miss the bad carbs/starches in the meals as much.

Having pretty fruit in a giant bowl in the kitchen helps me avoid grabbing bad snacks more often. I try to pad a light lunch (like your MOW lunches) with an apple or banana.

Lastly, one meal that my whole family loves is to take leftover oddsnends veggies I've cooked (steamed) in the days prior and then pour beaten eggs and a little cheese over them and bake (like a crustless quiche) and serve with a simple salad. Everything tastes better with eggs and cheese on top lol.