There is no day like today! We can make it what ever we want too. My day started with some technical issues trying to get my new website up and after switching my photography blog URL from a .com to .net, I lost all the images I spent so much time adding over the last year. Well OK, maybe I can still figure it out. Phone calls are out… Now on to the rest of the day that I can make what whatever I want to make it… 🙂 (blog got fixed thanks to my technical genius partner.)
I got an email from a women yesterday asking me about this blog and what I’m doing to loose weight. When I told her I am sugar free etc, she said that “she has such a sweet tooth that she didn’t think she could do that. First of all, I never tell anyone that they should do what I’m doing, but I did let her know that there are alternatives to eating sugary foods for a sweet tooth. I told her I would post a few here on my blog. My sweet tooth has been mostly under control since I have been off sugary foods. I don’t seem to crave sweets as much; I seem to have crunch craving though.
I buy salt free brown rice cakes. All it is is brown rice. Then I spread natural peanut butter or Almond butter on it. Then I take a half a teaspoon of “all fruit” and spread it on it. It satisfies a crunch and a little sweet at the same time.
Also, natural whole fruit is always a great choice. A sweet delicious orange… YUM! Nature has done a great job at giving us a variety every season. Here in the north east, citrus, apples, and pears are in in the fall and winter and peaches, nectarines, plums and berries are readily available in the spring and summer. Of course here in the US, we can get all varieties year round but I tend to stick to what is in season because the seasonal fruits seem freshest to my taste buds.
Then we have raw almonds and honey. Put 10 or 12 raw almonds in a bowl and lightly drizzle a tablespoon of raw organic honey over them. I love this little treat!
And let’s not forget LaraBars. I tried another one this week. Tropical Fruit Tart. I love the pineapple and coconut combo with nuts. This is also another really good bar in my opinion.
Ingredients: dates, pineapple, unsweetened coconut, almonds, extra-virgin coconut oil, cashews, orange juice concentrate, orange peel
If you have any suggestions to add as alternatives to sugary sweets, please share them with us here.
I promised to post my Split Pea and Ginger soup recipe at least a week ago so I better follow up with that? Something to post later.. I also want to come up with a Carrot Ginger soup I can post.
I really enjoy cutting up a nice crisp apple and putting a half teaspoon of almond butter or natural peanut butter on each slice. The juice, the sweet and the tart are so good with the nut butter. The apple has a nice crunch to it too. It also picks me up and takes the edge off. Gets me through a few hours till dinner. The same thing could be done with a banana and honey with chopped walnuts sprinkled on top. It almost tastes like a banana split but has no dairy or animal fat.
One my favorites is sweet potato or butternut squash. I just love it as a desert or a meal. Sometimes, I will slice the cooked sweet potato and put it on a frying pan with pam spray and maybe a little cinnamon and sweetener. Or even without the cinnamon, it’s a nice treat!
Maggie, that sounds yummy!
The two months that I gave up white cane sugar were not free of sweets, but quickly freed me of cravings. I used honey, pure mle syrup, or rapadura which is unrefined cane sugar with all the nutrients left in.
I did lose six pounds but at a holiday party, ate a cream puff which led to cookies and more.
An easy quick snack without sweetener is to take pitted dates and add peanut butter, roll it in coconut… Delicious and satisfying.
I’m definitely going to try those dates rolled peanut butter and coconut.
My favorite “sweet” is definitely fruit… But sometimes, I need a “dessert”. For a quick grab, I love sugar free jello, and add a dollop of fat free topping… Also, I really like making a baked apple – cut apple in half, core it, sprinkle with a little cinnamon, splenda (if desired), and put a little lemon-lime seltzer in bottom of pan.. Cover in foil and bake at 325 until apple is soft. Put a little fat free topping or or fat free frozen yogurt on it…and it feels like a real treat!! Also, I like rice cakes with peanut butter, like you said, but I put raisins on them…adds a little sweet to that too. I also found that dairy products have have sugars in them, and can satisfy a sweet craving in us. I actually learned this when I had to give up dairy when nursing my son, who was allergic to dairy and soy! I was all of the sudden craving sweets, when prior, I didn’t have the biggest sweet tooth. My doctor told me that dairy had sugars in them, and my body was used to getting “sweet” thru the dairy I was eating. So maybe adding cheese, or milk products, can help cut back on sweet cravings too!!
WOW! Thank you Laura for adding your suggestions.
Sounds good, Josie. You’ve inspired me to try that particular LaraBar. Thanks!! Keep up your great work.
Thank you Debbie!