Clean eating recipes and sugar

jahmanrv

So I know there are varying degrees of clean eating, some more cleaner than others. For me, I have dropped processed foods, pasta's, breads, and trying to avoid unnatural sugars. This is what though I'm having trouble with. Mostly in recipes.

Quite a number of clean eating recipes have some form of sugar in them, via honey, juices etc. How can I incorporate these into my eating? I know I can make my own juices although I haven't yet, as I'm not a big juice drinker, never was. But is my pickiness with what sugar I eat going overboard I'm wondering.

Guess my question is how many clean eaters here do eat some form of sugar? If you don't other than natural sugars, what do you substitute in recipes that call for sugar?

violetsrblue

I like to make date paste. Google can provide you with a simple method. Read up on dates too for some motivation and support for consuming this nutrient rich fruit! I use date paste in much of my baking ( just adjust other liquids to allow for the moisture). I use in my smoothies, greek yogurt, even make date paste with vanilla as a caramel dip or with cocoa as a fudge sauce to top bananas for dessert! Good luck!!

rendress269

Hi jahmanrv,

I'm sure plenty of folks eat cleaner. We try to avoid processed anything and make a lot of our own foods.

Habi g saud that, I do use organic sugar for my coffee ( haven't given that up yet). For recipes, I use honey (locally sourced) or organic agave syrup. Just made a Strawberry syrup and Strawberry jam using honey instead of sugar. Both were delicious and I like that I could control the level of sweetness.

Pinterest has a ton of healthy recipes with alternative sweeteners. A few weeks ago I made Banana chocolate chip cookies- no sugar, no flour.

Good luck!

cynhkr1300

Personally, I see sugar as sugar - no difference as far as the body cares, between white cane sugar and other kinds like agave. So I use a bit of cane sugar, because it works well in recipes and has a neutral and consistent taste. But I limit it to the American Heart Association's guideline amount. For women (like me) that is 6 teaspoons, or 25 grams, or 100 calories' worth, per day. For men it's 9 teaspoons (150 calories worth). Those levels are based on what the liver can process without getting overwhelmed. Most days I eat less than that, and I try never to go over half that amount in any one meal. Also it's good to make sure you have some fiber together with your sugar, to make it digest more slowly -- nuts in your treats, etc.

For many recipes you can cut the amount of sugar called for by 1/3 or so, and it won't be noticed. (Though if they are recent recipes, designed for "clean" eating, they may already be pared down to the minimum!)

Good luck with your eating plan!

jahmanrv

Thanks all. Your input is greatly appreciated. Did make a meal today and used honey. First none natural sugar I have had in a bit. Lord it tasted great.

juniper68

If you like maple syrup, that can be a helpful addition to a no-sugar diet, too.

violetsrblue

Hello again. I wanted to comment about my earlier post on date paste in reference to the other comments about "sugar is sigar"and using honey or maple syrup instead as an alternative. While honey or maple syrup can offer health benefits if eating raw unfiltered honey or grade B organic maple syrup, they are processed in the body very similarly to refined sugar, organic or not. The difference with date paste is that it is being consumed as a whole food, no refinement. Therefore it is complete with all of its enzymes and other natural nutrients that do make the body respond differently to it. Dates/ date paste are likely to be diabetic friendly as where other sweeteners mentioned are not. It's like comparing table sugar to eating a whole apple. While the apple contains sugars, they are along with it's complimentary components of enzymes and fiber. Dates are one of the healthiest fruits world wide! That said, I still believe anything with sugar is best in moderation, but dates are by far (in my opinion) the best alternative when it comes to our health.

jahmanrv

Thank you. Haven't done the date paste yet but will certainly give it a try. I'm starting to feel like I'm going overboard with attempting to cut out all sugars unnatural ones at least. I had cut out all diary too and have recently added with greek yogurt. Might do a recipe or two with sugar but know I'll feel guilty afterwards.

Braincatcher

cynhkr1300 wrote: »

Personally, I see sugar as sugar - no difference as far as the body cares, between white cane sugar and other kinds like agave. So I use a bit of cane sugar, because it works well in recipes and has a neutral and consistent taste. But I limit it to the American Heart Association's guideline amount. For women (like me) that is 6 teaspoons, or 25 grams, or 100 calories' worth, per day. For men it's 9 teaspoons (150 calories worth). Those levels are based on what the liver can process without getting overwhelmed. Most days I eat less than that, and I try never to go over half that amount in any one meal. Also it's good to make sure you have some fiber together with your sugar, to make it digest more slowly -- nuts in your treats, etc.

For many recipes you can cut the amount of sugar called for by 1/3 or so, and it won't be noticed. (Though if they are recent recipes, designed for "clean" eating, they may already be pared down to the minimum!)

Good luck with your eating plan!

Thanks for sharing this. It seems like a pretty sane guideline.