22 Ways To a Sweet Life without the Sugar

Holiday time, or anytime, the sweet tooth in all of us gets so-o-o-o-o antsy.  It craves and craves and craves, sugar.  Do we know why?  Yes.  Other important nutrients are lacking and the sweet tooth, the small voice that says "Oh go on, just one more time. It's ok", wants to stay front and center and hammers many of us until we give in.  I believe most of us can relate to this.  Well we are going to give the sweet tooth the boot!

Cane sugar has no nutritional value to you and is actually quite toxic to your body when taken in in excess over time.  An imbalance is created. It's GI is 80. Do you need to give up sweets?  No.  There are delicious ways to bake, "bake" or make many recipes that you love without using sugar or unsafe sweeteners.

The sweeteners that are not good for you are cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, Agave (it's the processing and what that breeds that makes this unsafe and toxic), and the little packets of artificial sweeteners that are everywhere.

To curb sugar and sweet cravings have a green smoothie with apple or other "sweet" fruits in the morning. Over time you will see yourself removing more of the sweeter ingredients and using more greens.  The greens, especially dark leafy greens, have so many nutrients in them that your body is satiated, satisfied and the cravings become less and less over time and then they are totally gone.  There are hundreds and hundreds of delicious smoothie recipes available, so there is no reason for you to become bored.  I myself like the variety but I also gravitate to a few favorites and one of them is definitely not sweet. You will find this probably happen to you too. 

Do start off at the pace you know you will stay with and experiment with the vegetables, greens and fruits you know and like for now and then add in new ones as you go. Please contact me if you would like some suggestions or to just talk about these simple and delicious meals to start your day in a truly easy and healthy way.

One of my favorite smoothies is a salad smoothie, no sweets. It uses cilantro and garlic in it.  Who would have thought. Yum!

Before you read the list of healthy sweeteners, do use all sweeteners in moderation as the goal here is to be and live in optimal health.  If you have a dis-ease, Diabetes for example, please work with your health care practitioner, and or a nutritionist or coach such as myself to understand and follow what works best for you. We are all different and can not follow the one size fits all approach.

Healthy Sweetners - Use raw and organic products most often, those with* are not vegan

Stevia - green leaf, not the processed white powder! is an herb. Herbs do not affect blood sugar
Xylitol - from the birch tree

Coconut Sap

Coconut Crystals
Coconut Meat
Dried Coconut

Medjool Dates
Date Crystals

Honey (local best)*
Apples
Bananas
Mangos
Carrots
Beet Sugar
Pureed berries
Black Strap Molasses
Maple Syrup
Maple Crystals
Brown Rice Syrup 

The sweeteners above that are in bold are hyper-glycemic and not recommended for diabetics. If you use them once in a while in a smoothie or a juice they must be paired with  a 1/4 amount of the sweet to at least 3/4 amount of dark leafy greens. Those sweeteners in italics are known to be safe for some diabetics.  Please note dried fruits have a much higher concentration of sugar than their natural state counter part. Click here to view a chart of various sweeteners and their GI rating by Organic Lifestyle Magazine.

Of course Love, Passions and Compassion are 3 more ways To a Sweet Life, a life that transforms you to a refreshing holistic lifestyle. 

Want to learn more? Give me a call or email  me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA