It's time to answer your cravings with a clarity check
Reader,
If holiday cravings have been creeping in lately, I want to remind you of something I wrote in last week’s blog: cravings are rarely about “willpower.”
In our Seasons in the Orchard membership community, we shared a new tool for our ladies to overcome their cravings by answering them with wisdom and grace.
I'm calling it The Craving Clarity Check
“A simple way to get out of autopilot and respond instead of react.”
When a craving hits, most women either white-knuckle it or give in.
Neither works long-term.
The Craving Clarity Check helps you pause for 10 seconds, get clear on what kind of craving this actually is, and choose a response that supports your goals — instead of sabotaging them.
Step 1: Notice the craving without judgment.
You’re human. You have hormones. It happens.
No shame, no drama — just awareness.
Step 2: Name the direction it’s coming from.
Is this craving:
- Mostly about sweetness?
- Mostly about salt or crunch?
- Mostly about comfort or emotion?
You don’t need a deep analysis — just a quick gut check.
Step 3: Match it with a supportive next step.
Instead of reacting automatically, you choose on purpose.
If it’s a “sweet” craving:
Think stabilize the blood sugar.
If it’s a “salty” craving:
Think hydrate + mineral balance.
If it’s an emotional craving:
Think pause + support. Take a deep breath!
Step 4: Move on quickly — without spiraling.
A craving doesn’t require a confession, a meltdown, or a Monday restart.
Just clarity → action → done.
Most of the time, these cravings are your body asking for hydration, minerals, steadier blood sugar, or a break in the cortisol storm.
And when you support those things?
Your cravings get a whole lot quieter.
Which brings me to my new favorite midlife hack — especially for those of us who are somehow sweating in December while everyone else is wrapped in heated blankets.
My basil seed drink becomes a fast, simple craving reset because it checks several boxes at once:
- Hydration (huge for salt + emotional cravings)
- Soluble fiber (supports blood sugar & sweet cravings)
- Light fullness (helps interrupt grazing)
- Cooling effect (great for stress-triggered cravings + hot flashes)
It’s an automatic “matched response” for the two biggest craving categories — sweet and salt/mineral — without you having to think about it.
👉 My Cooling Basil Seed Drink.
Not only does it keep you from melting into your holiday sweater, but it’s a shockingly effective craving-curber.
Here’s why it works:
1. Hydration that actually sticks.
Most of us aren’t dehydrated… we’re poorly hydrated.
Basil seeds form a gel that slows water absorption, helping your hydration stay in your system where it belongs.
Stable hydration = fewer mixed hunger signals.
2. Built-in soluble fiber to steady blood sugar.
Those random urges for cookies at 2:00 p.m.?
Often a blood sugar dip.
The fiber in basil seeds helps level out glucose swings — which means your brain stops yelling “snack now.”
3. Gentle fullness that calms the impulse-eating cycle.
When basil seeds expand, they create a light, natural fullness.
Not diet culture fullness…
but peaceful, “I can think clearly again” fullness.
4. Cooling effect for those of us having our own personal summer.
Everyone else may be freezing this time of year, but if you're in peri or meno, you know the truth:
Sometimes you need something cold even when it’s snowing — unless you enjoy the option of planting your face in the snowbank between Zoom calls. 😅
This drink is a way more dignified alternative.
Here’s the Bigger Picture:
When your hydration, fiber, and blood sugar are supported…
your cravings lose their power.
Not because you’re stronger.
But because your body is finally getting what it needed in the first place.
And this simple basil seed drink makes that incredibly easy.
I put the full recipe + all the benefits on the blog for you.
You’re going to want this one in your midlife toolbox — especially during the holidays.
👉 Read the recipe + benefits here
Cheering you on in every season,
💕 Coach AJ
💌 P.S. In January, our Seasons in the Orchard community is starting something special — a guided book study designed to help you see what’s actually possible when we treat our bodies like good, wise, God-designed places to live. More to come soon.