Helllloooo Tribe! Time to talk about one of my FAVORITE topics – sweets! If you’re anything like me, deciding to follow a more mindful nutritional path was challenging only because you knew one thing HAD to change – sugar.
Sugar is in EVERYTHING and when you decide that you’re ready to clean up your physical body, one of the first places that is HIGHLY recommended is cleaning up your sugar intake. I will not get into a long diatribe about why minimizing your sugar intake is wise, because a.) I’m not a nutritionist and b.) Google is a thing as are nutritionists. So if you REALLY want to know what’s the deal with sugar – look it up.
That being said, I have a few staples that I keep in my house to help me when I’m wanting that sweet something in my day. I bake with these, make tea with these, make pancakes and muffins and cookies (all gluten free, #autoimmunitylife) with these and I’ve supplemented the use of sugar nearly completely from my house with these THREE handy subs.
Organic Raw Honey (Manuka is BEST)
Honey is basically a magical substance produced by these magical small creatures that have extensive communication techniques and very soft fuzz. But, in all seriousness, the benefits of raw honey (raw being key, here) are noteworthy and remarkable. Here are a few key facts taken from Dr. Axe’s site, which if you’re not a fan of YET, you should be, he’s great.
- Healthy Weight Management
- Counters Pollen Allergies
- Natural Energy Source
- Antioxidants Galore
- Sleep Promoter
- Wound & Ulcer healer
- Diabetes Aid
- Natural Cough Syrup
Like whaaaat? Isn’t that amazing? Again, basically magic.
How I Use Raw Honey: On yogurt, on peanut butter & apples, in tea, for sore throats, sometimes in coffee, for homemade face masks, wound care. You cannot go wrong, this stuff is good for EVERYTHING.
Where You Can Find It: Amazon – of course! Here’s a good example!
Organic Coconut Sugar
This is my ABSOLUTE favorite sweetener of ALL time. I’ve used it to substitute every recipe I ever use for ANY sugar item – cookies, pastries, oatmeal, coffee, tea, spaghetti sauce, EVERYTHING. Anything you would normally use sugar in, this is a 1:1 ratio and it’s PERFECT.
My favorite part? It’s LOW GLYCEMIC measuring only at 35 on the index, whereas table sugar ranks somewhere between 60 and 70! How cool is THAT?
So what is it exactly!? It’s made from the dehydrated sap of the coconut palm, and it has many more vitamins and minerals as well as mood boosters, less fructose, and it’s earth friendly!! I mean…need I say more!? Read more about coconut sugar benefits on LIVESTRONG.
How I Use Coconut Sugar: baking, cooking, coffee, tea, oatmeal, granola, hot chocolate – literally EVERYTHING you would use regular sugar for at a 1:1 ratio.
Where You Can Find It: ..You Guessed It – Amazon! And this is the specific brand I purchase.
Enjoy – Semi/Sweet & Dark Chocolate Chips
I LOVE chocolate. Like, LOOOOOVE. Can’t get enough of it, really. And, I know that a lot of chocolate is also pumped FULL of sugar and not really chocolate at all. Whenever possible I go for dark chocolate because it has the highest cacao content (great for heart health and mood enhancement) and it just tastes better to me. That being said, I know that not everyone is sold on it, so I give you TWO options here!
Enjoy is the BRAND, they produce a chocolate chip that is FREE of the seven major allergens most people have sensitivities to including gluten, dairy, and soy! This is a HUGE deal because one of the MAIN ingredients in all chocolate is soy lecithin which is a by-product of soybean oil. So, if you’re like me and like to be as clean of any possible triggers as possible, these chips are for you!
How I Use Enjoy Chocolate Chips/Morsels: In cupcakes, pancakes, cookies, on top of apples with peanut butter, as a snack, I melt them down and do fondue with them – the possibilities are literally limitless!
Where You Can Find It: This is the link to the SEMI-SWEET Chocolate Chips and here is the link to the DARK CHOCOLATE Morsels. The dark chocolate morsels are much larger than the semi-sweet ones and they are BOTH delicious and melt down super well.
I hope by now you feel more encouraged to drop all the sugar and instead make some more conscious sugar subs that are still delicious, but also cleaner, and will satisfy that sweet tooth! If you find that you have made serious substitutions in your life and you are STILL combating serious cravings – contact me HERE and let’s talk about helping you get those under control. I have managed to GREATLY minimize my cravings and I’d like to show you how.
Now, go out there and live deliciously healthy lives!
Sincerely,
Shakti <3