Looking for tips on cutting down/out sugar

[helena]

My family needs to cut back on sugar. Way back.

Has anyone been down this road? 

Can you share any easy tips, substitutes... encouragement...  :lol:

It's starting to feel like sugar is everywhere, in everything we eat. And we eat pretty well!! I cook mostly fresh meals with natural ingredients, I buy nice health food brand sugars, my kids and husband are vegan. 

 

My 15yo loves to bake. If you're a low sugar family, what do eat when you have a sweet tooth? Do you still do the fall baking, cozy pie in the oven thing (but low sugar?)

 

Can you recommend any cookbooks or websites?

 

My family is on a kick to improve their diet and I want to run with it!

 

ETA: I don't want to use any kind of chemical-y sweeteners, just natural stuff. 

[EmilyGF]

When I've cut back on sugar, I've just decided no sweets M-F (unless it is a "special" day - my birthday, my child's birthday, Christmas...). Then I can eat good-tasting sweets on weekends instead of imitation sweets all the time, even if the imitation sweet is made with date sugar or over-ripe bananas, or whatever.

 

Also, my desire for sweet things was reduced when I ate non-sweets during the week. 

 

Emily

[helena]

When I've cut back on sugar, I've just decided no sweets M-F (unless it is a "special" day - my birthday, my child's birthday, Christmas...). Then I can eat good-tasting sweets on weekends instead of imitation sweets all the time, even if the imitation sweet is made with date sugar or over-ripe bananas, or whatever.

 

Also, my desire for sweet things was reduced when I ate non-sweets during the week. 

 

Emily

To the bolded, this is where I need to get my family. They have ridiculous expectations of wanting sweets all the time. I need to grow a backbone! (And lose a few pounds  ;) )

[Catwoman]

There is an obvious solution.

 

Send all of your sweets to me and I will dole them out to your family as I see fit, assuming there are any left once I perform my required scientific taste tests on everything.

[Ann.without.an.e]

We love stevia.  I will say, sugar is hard to break.  I find that if I stay away from it then I don't need it.  If I try to cut it back then I just crave it more  :confused1:

[Slache]

We only snack on veggies. If you're really hungry you'll eat broccoli. This is also great for ensuring they actually eat veggies in the first place.

[bolt.]

I tend to think mathematically about sugar: not everything that "contains sugar" actually has more than a gram or three per serving.

 

Therefore, I try to

 

1. Eliminate major sources (pop, juice, large treats, abd other things that exceed, say, 25g);

 

2. Limit moderate sources (1 or 2 per day of about 10g -- small squares of chocolate, splitting a can of pop, one cookie, sharing big treats);

 

3. Ignore negligible amounts, unless its something I eat quite a lot of.

 

I parially sweeten with stevia, but I can taste it if there isn't and sugar to balance the flavour. Usually I add 1/4 tsp sugar to a cup of stevia'd tea.

 

I make a kids drink:

5c water

8 drops stevia liquid

1 tsp sugar (5g)

1 or more packets of true lemon or true lime (full flavours, but not too sour)

Sprinkle in a small amount of koolaide powder (the kind in envelopes with no sugar, but no artificial sweetener either -- you are intended to be adding sugar.)

 

The result is "not water" for drinking, and the flavour is appealing without being very strong. The 8 drops of stevia, 1 tsp of sugar combo also makes nice semi-sweet chilled tea.

 

(Note: I'm very sensitive to the sweetness of stevia, so for my taste buds, a little is very sufficient, and a lot is just too much. I've never befn able to use the suggested conversions for sugar... I think taste buds vary.)

 

Oh, and keep an eye on dry fruit. It's got more sugar than I would have guessed.

[gardenmom5]

first - sugar is sugar is sucrose, is fructose, is lactose, is glucose, is honey, is agave, is molasses, etc.  I've done it in the past where I had almost none (took a month, but I felt fabulous), but found I need to be able to, i.e., have a small piece of chocolate cheesecake at a family event and not completely 'starve' myself.  It gives me more motivation to continue for the long haul.  but now, most days I easily come in under my 'daily allowance' of sugar. (there's sugar in carrots too, . . . . )

I did so well, that when 2ds made fudge (his is very good), I only ate one matchstick size piece.  (and even though it has been sitting there - I didn't care and had no desire to grab some.)

 

"natural" sweeteners aren't any better for you than processed sugar cane.  (though they are all better for you than artificial sweeteners.)  I tend to avoid them all.

 

my doctor put me onto "myfitnesspal.com to track diet and exercise.  (there are many sites that offer the same thing.  they are free.)  I was shocked to find out how much sugar is in plain fruit. (some more than others.  I don't care what my gyn says - I will not eat apples due to the amount of sugar in the unprocessed fruit.!)  dried fruit has a lot of sugar too.  (nor do I eat bananas anymore.  lots of sugar.)

 

the only milk product I eat with any regularity is non-fat greek yogurt. (they vary in sugar - so read labels. I'm currently trying the Costco/Kirkland brand. I do plain and add my own fresh fruit.  they also have a lot of protein for the calories, as well as five kinds of probiotics)  I will not eat standard commercial yogurt as it tends to be loaded with sugar - which is pointless to even eat it.

 

keep in mind - you do want fermented foods, greek yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, etc.  the bacteria in your gut will thank you.  ETA:  the reason I say this is when you eat sugar, the yeast in your gut can become dominant.  it lives on sugar, and will make you crave it.  when you do things to encourage the healthy bacteria, they can become dominant and the sugar cravings go away.

 

then just eat veggies and grains.  I eat meat, and won't give that up as it is a good source of protein.

 

I'm getting to the point where sweet stuff for the most part, isnt' interesting to me anymore.  I had a horrible sweet tooth.  (and why I'm having health issues now.)

[helena]

There is an obvious solution.

 

Send all of your sweets to me and I will dole them out to your family as I see fit, assuming there are any left once I perform my required scientific taste tests on everything.

What would you like to start with? She does a mean cardamon cake, whoopie pies, German apple cake... There's worse things to be good at, right?? :)

 

 

We're already thinking about which holidays are coming up, so we have a legit reason to bake. It's bad.  :glare:

[AmandaVT]

Check out chocolate covered Katie's website: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

 

She's vegan and makes lower sugar (for the most part) treats. 

 

Also Happy Herbivore is plant based and uses fruit in her baked goods. Mashed banana, applesauce, crushed pineapple instead of sugar. 

 

www.happyherbivore.com

[helena]

I cut baked w/sugar dessert back to once a week and brew my own iced tea. Eat fruits if you want something sweet, but in moderation. Serve savory and spicy food too. Track your consumption for a while so you find where it is sneaking in.

This is a very good start for our lifestyle and diet. :)

[helena]

first - sugar is sugar is sucrose, is fructose, is lactose, is glucose, is honey, is agave, is molasses, etc.  I've done it in the past where I had almost none (took a month, but I felt fabulous), but found I need to be able to, i.e., have a small piece of chocolate cheesecake at a family event and not completely 'starve' myself.  It gives me more motivation to continue for the long haul.  but now, most days I easily come in under my 'daily allowance' of sugar. (there's sugar in carrots too, . . . . )

I did so well, that when 2ds made fudge (his is very good), I only ate one matchstick size piece.  (and even though it has been sitting there - I didn't care and had no desire to grab some.)

 

"natural" sweeteners aren't any better for you than processed sugar cane.  (though they are all better for you than artificial sweeteners.)  I tend to avoid them all.

 

my doctor put me onto "myfitnesspal.com to track diet and exercise.  (there are many sites that offer the same thing.  they are free.)  I was shocked to find out how much sugar is in plain fruit. (some more than others.  I don't care what my gyn says - I will not eat apples due to the amount of sugar in the unprocessed fruit.!)  dried fruit has a lot of sugar too.  (nor do I eat bananas anymore.  lots of sugar.)

 

the only milk product I eat with any regularity is non-fat greek yogurt. (they vary in sugar - so read labels. I'm currently trying the Costco/Kirkland brand. I do plain and add my own fresh fruit.  they also have a lot of protein for the calories, as well as five kinds of probiotics)  I will not eat standard commercial yogurt as it tends to be loaded with sugar - which is pointless to even eat it.

 

keep in mind - you do want fermented foods, greek yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, etc.  the bacteria in your gut will thank you.  ETA:  the reason I say this is when you eat sugar, the yeast in your gut can become dominant.  it lives on sugar, and will make you crave it.  when you do things to encourage the healthy bacteria, they can become dominant and the sugar cravings go away.

 

then just eat veggies and grains.  I eat meat, and won't give that up as it is a good source of protein.

 

I'm getting to the point where sweet stuff for the most part, isnt' interesting to me anymore.  I had a horrible sweet tooth.  (and why I'm having health issues now.

 

I just read your post to my 15yo. :) I can tell all of this is heavily on her mind. She just found out that she has cavities for the first time and it's making her question her eating habit. 

[regentrude]

I, too, have a teen who loves to bake. Bake, not eat. So, let your DD bake to her heart's content, have a small taste for the family, and let her take the goodies somewhere else :-) Everybody loves the girl who shows up with cake, brownies, pies etc to meetings... great way to make friends.

 

Also, cut out the large amounts where it does not hurt. If you drink sweetened beverages, you will make a huge dent into sugar intake by eliminating those.

[JonesinIndiana]

Your 15 yr old has cavities? Try xylitol as a sweetener. It actually helps prevent decay! (The bacteria that cause decay consumes it but can't digest it and they die.) You need a certain amount a day, I think 5 grams a day to get the benefits. Larger amounts can cause diarrhea.

 

I like xylitol because I bake with it and no one knows I've substituted it for real sugar. It is measured equally for sugar 1 C = 1 C

It is more expensive than sugar though.

[Truscifi]

The biggest thing for me was cutting out sugar in my morning coffee. It took a few days to adjust and I started putting a cinnamon stick in the cup to give it a little extra flavor. But now that I don't start my day with a sweet first thing I find that other foods taste sweeter to me. And "sweets" are often too sweet. I don't like them much anymore.

[Jaybee]

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/index.html

 

I read her book, The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program. I don't do the potato, but found that her steps were very helpful. Until I began following her steps, I had never been able to eliminate sugar for more than 24 hours--it just made me feel too bad. But with these steps, I hardly even noticed. Now, I do use a little sugar occasionally, but I find these principles keep me from overdoing it. And I am slowly reducing the amounts in what I do use.

[Momof3littles]

Up fats (avocados, avocado and coconut oil, some nuts) and protein to ease the transition.  I personally think it is best to recalibrate by eating really clean for at least 2-4 weeks.  I've eaten very low sugar, lower carb, heavy paleo influence for most of the last decade thanks to PCOS.  I do use stevia here and there, I will bake using almond and coconut flour, etc.  BUT I think it is best to back off as much as possible and then reintroduce later. I just think breaking the habit and readjusting your taste buds is really important.

 

Smoothies are great for a sweet tooth.  Fruit, unsweetened yogurt (can you do a coconut milk yogurt with little or no sugar?), unsweetened almond milk, sprinkle of stevia if you must. We use lower sugar fruits like berries.  Kid friendly. 

 

If you feel you really need to bake, or just want to know there are options, this is my favorite low sugar site for baking: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/  but I would encourage you to pare back for a few weeks initially to let your taste buds readjust.

 

Natural-y stuff is tough to define.  I personally feel fructose (agave, high sugar fruits, honey, etc.)impacts me negatively.  So I bake, just not that often, and use erythritol and stevia.  I don't find they impact my insulin levels adversely, and as a result, for me they are the best option.  I don't think any sweetener is ideal, really, including the more natural high fructose options. 

 

Yes, hidden sugar is in an enormous # of foods, and that's not counting all of the obvious sugars we are bombarded with.

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

No juice

 

If you drink almond or coconut milk make sure it's unsweetened

 

Make your own jam with stevia

 

buy plain yogurt and you can sweeten with stevia if desired

 

Basically, anywhere I would normally use sugar I use stevia or xylitol.

[73349]

You might like this book: http://www.amazon.com/Year-No-Sugar-Eve-Schaub/dp/1402295871/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406209421&sr=1-1&keywords=year+of+no+sugar

 

Make sure water is your default drink.

[Wildiris]

When I've cut back on sugar, I've just decided no sweets M-F (unless it is a "special" day - my birthday, my child's birthday, Christmas...). Then I can eat good-tasting sweets on weekends instead of imitation sweets all the time, even if the imitation sweet is made with date sugar or over-ripe bananas, or whatever.

 

Also, my desire for sweet things was reduced when I ate non-sweets during the week. 

 

Emily

 

I've found the bolded above to be true. The less sugar you eat the less you want to eat. Sugar hides in everything, so read your labels. I so dislike sugar hangovers. You know, the day after you've eaten way too much sugar and you feel lousy the next day.

 

One solution to the fruit juice/sugar problem--I fill a glass 1/4 with juice and the rest with sparkling mineral water. It's bit more fun than just plain water all the time.

[MIch elle]

I have full fat Greek yogurt with raspberries (frozen & thawed) and splenda for my dessert.  I've had a few of Linda's: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/dessert_recipes.html

[FO4UR]

Cutting *my* sugar intake?  Easy. (I allow all the fruits I crave fwiw. It's much better to eat an entire honeydew vs an entire pan of honey rolls.)

 

 

Cutting sugar for the rest of the family....ack!  Much harder!

[mirth]

 

Can you share any easy tips, substitutes... encouragement...  :lol:

It's starting to feel like sugar is everywhere, in everything we eat. And we eat pretty well!! I cook mostly fresh meals with natural ingredients, I buy nice health food brand sugars, my kids and husband are vegan. 

 

My 15yo loves to bake. If you're a low sugar family, what do eat when you have a sweet tooth? Do you still do the fall baking, cozy pie in the oven thing (but low sugar?)

 

Can you recommend any cookbooks or websites?

 

My family is on a kick to improve their diet and I want to run with it!

 

ETA: I don't want to use any kind of chemical-y sweeteners, just natural stuff. 

 

You're right … added sugar is everywhere, and it's not cute anymore b/c sugary things aren't special anymore.

 

• When I bake, I use raw honey.  Not only is it slightly better for you, it keeps things moist.  (Honey doesn't do much for adding body to cakes but you can give it ummmfph in other ways.)  Also, raw honey is way more expensive than sugar.  It makes you want to use less.
• Another thing is to not consume frozen or chilled sweets.  Cold temperature requires the addition of more sugar to something to make it taste just as sweet as it would at at higher temp.  An example is that a milkshake left at room temp is cloyingly, syrupy sweet but when it was frozen it wasn't so bad.
• I don't drink any sweetened drinks (or alcohol) at all.  I take coffee and tea without sugar or any sweetener.  I don't drink any regular or diet sodas, but I do enjoy fruity sparkling water.  As a result, I have lost the taste for sugar.   (Like Gollum, who had no access to ovens and mills, lost the taste for bread over time and wouldn't eat bread even when he could.)  Many normal things taste bizarrely sweet to me now -- certain brands of bread or spaghetti sauce, for example.
• Find something that you know is sweet and is universally recognized as a dessert. Vanilla ice-cream for example.  Look on the nutrition label at the grams of sugars and divide by the serving size weight.   In my example, it is 21g/102g = 20.6% sugar.  Let this be your guide and bring your calculator to the store --  that no food you buy (except honey or actual sugar I guess) may be greater than 20.6% [or whatever your cut-off is] by weight sugar.  You may be surprised how many breakfast cereals, granola mixes, granola bars, yogurts, fruit snacks, breakfast foods, nut butters easily surpass this.  

 

Sugar is damaging because it is ubiquitous but it is not inherently evil.  I am convinced, however, that artificial sweeteners are actually evil.

[J-rap]

One of my daughters has always had an almost insatiable sweet tooth.  She craved sugar, all the time.  (She did eat lots of healthy food too, but just really craved sugar as well!)  In high school, she started to have health problems (mostly chronic migraines), and so we made major diet changes to see if that might help.  It has included completely eliminating all gluten and dairy (for my daughter), and drastically limiting sweets.  Being on this diet helps.  She does allow herself one carefully prepared small "sweet" each day.  One that she bakes herself with gluten-free/dairy free ingredients, etc.  She finds that if she can have this one small sweet each day, she can survive.  :)  She is a baker, and spends hours in the kitchen every day.  Her specialty is desserts.  I honestly think it's all related to her intense sugar craving.  Just baking delicious desserts helps to satisfy those cravings, even if she doesn't eat them.  She constantly bakes desserts for others, and has perfected many gluten free/dairy free desserts that have the smallest amount of sugar possible.  She does not eat any processed foods or really anything that is not made from scratch.

 

Interestingly, even though she has cut back 90% on her sugar intake, her craving for it has not subsided at all.  She still craves it just as much as before.  What helps is at least being full -- (she eats mostly a Mediterranean diet).  She also has a pitcher of herbal unsweetened iced tea on hand all the time;  being able to have a glass of that anytime her sweet craving gets too intense somehow helps.

 

I think it's strange that her sweet craving has not diminished at all.  I have heard that people with migraines often crave sugar, so maybe that has something to do with it.