So, diabetes or overweight demand you to cut down on sugar. Better even, to cut it out completely. You noticed that you are one of those who react very sensitive on artificial sweeteners, and you learned that natural sweeteners still do contain calories so there are no option for you either. But you simply love the sweet taste of food and you don't want to sacrifice it. Now, what to do?
The best thing is to combine the following two strategies:
\"Sugar Free Recipes\"
- give up sugar and get used to less sweetness
- use naturally sweet foods to add sweetness to your meals
Giving up sugar
The taste of sugar is somehow addictive, and we often add sugar to foods merely out of habit. If you want to give up sugar, it's similar to healing an addiction.
You might find that the easiest way is to gradually get used to less sweetness. If you put three spoons of sugar in your tea, try two and a half only for a while, and once you've gotten used to that you reduce it further to two spoons and so forth until you can comfortably drink you tea unsweetened in the end
If it comes to cooking and baking, most recipes allow you to reduce the sugar amount without problems or even cut it out completely, unless the sugar is an essential part of the recipe.
Naturally sweet foods
Many fruits taste naturally sweet and some vegetables too, for example:
- rasp-, black- and cranberries
- peaces and nectarines
- apples
- melons
- butternut
- corn
- red and yellow pepper
Adding these to your meals can eliminate your need for sugar. Heating vegetables, especially roasting them, also makes them taste sweeter. If you, for example, add half an apple, half a banana and a few grapes to your oat breakfast, some berries to your yogurt or apples and raisins to your muffins, they will be lovely sweet and very healthy, containing lots of nutrients sugar could never give you.
Limits of sweetening with fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods, but not all of them you can eat unlimitedly when you need to watch your sugar intake. Fruits contain different amounts of sugar and some vegetables are high in carbohydrates. When you have to keep your sugar and carbohydrate intake very low, you should best limit foods like:
- bananas
- mango's
- cherries
- grapes
- pears
- figs
- carrots
Also be sparing with processed foods as they are often high in carbohydrates, and with canned fruit which usually contain added sugar. Dried fruit, whilst being a great source of energy and nutrients, contain more calories than the same amount of fresh fruit, therefore you should use small amounts only. The best and safest thing is to generally prefer fresh fruit and vegetables.
The bottom line
Giving up sugar and using healthy naturally sweet foods to satisfy your longing for sweetness is certainly the best way of living without sugar. You then don't have to worry about the calories in natural sweeteners or the possible side-effects of artificial sweeteners. It will be a much cheaper way, too. Remember that your chances of success are most likely higher when you make these changes gradually and take time to get used to your new way of eating.
Living Without Sugar - How to Give Sugar Up and Find Healthy Ways to Still Enjoy Sweetness
Bettina Berlin is a health professional specializing in healthy nutrition even on a tight schedule. Eating healthy and thus maintaining a healthy weight can significantly improve your health and help prevent many diseases. Visit http://www.elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com to discover the healing power of food, and learn TODAY how to eat yourself to a healthy and long life! Get your healthy eating guide and exciting bonuses NOW!