Fed up challenge

PatriciaMcCamley
PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
edited November 21 in Food and Nutrition
so in trying to eat absolutely no added sugars and I'm only on day three of this life style change and I don't have many good recipes that don't have any sugar.
There are a few I love like roasted eggplant and salsa, baked peppers, asparagus, seafood and stuff like that. I just want some more things to try out :) anyone have any good ideas or tips? Maybe some things I should try out that don't have added sugars (like some things to replace bread other than wraps). :)
Thank you.
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Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Add more oil -- Make a cucumber salad with avocado and feta cheese.
  • kraft_kris
    kraft_kris Posts: 157 Member
    You could try Kalyn's Kitchen recipes - she has a lot of really good low carb recipes.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Lol yea follow a food challenge based on a terrible documentary that's based on bad science. That'll end well haha
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    edited July 2015
    I haven't given up sugar. I only lost 60 pounds, maybe giving up sugar would have worked better?

    Don't demonize any food, there is no good or bad, only over consumption.
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Lol yea follow a food challenge based on a terrible documentary that's based on bad science. That'll end well haha

    I am simply cutting out added sugar, I titled this "fed up challenge" because I thought that it's similar to what I'm doing. Sugars are not benefiting my health so why keep them? I am not actually doing it as a challenge type thing, I am just wanting to get rid of sugars because I think I can benefit from not eating crap. There is no reason to comment on here with your negativity.
    You don't have to cut out sugars, I'm not telling you what I think you should and shouldn't do with your diet so why are you commenting on here telling me it's a bad idea?
    I would be okay with you telling me why sugar is good for me but if you don't give me legitimate feed back that can help me than I have no interest. So please tell me why is cutting sugar bad? How does my body gain anything from it? I eat fruit so I have natural sugars, but I don't understand why I shouldn't cut them out.

  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    kraft_kris wrote: »
    You could try Kalyn's Kitchen recipes - she has a lot of really good low carb recipes.

    Thank you :) I'll be sure to check her stuff out.
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    RodaRose wrote: »
    Add more oil -- Make a cucumber salad with avocado and feta cheese.
    I love cucumber salad, feta cheese in it sounds like a great idea.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2015
    I don't have many good recipes that don't have any sugar.

    I don't understand this. Do you actually add sugar to your savory meals?

    My normal cooking is a protein source (meat, usually), a starch, and various veggies combined in some way. Often just dull like roasted chicken with some roasted potatoes and green beans plus cauliflower and mushrooms, or salmon with corn and asparagus, but sometimes a pasta with a homemade sauce -- this could be a meat sauce with tomatoes, lean ground beef, lots of veg (I never add sugar) or something simpler like vegetables and shrimp sauteed in olive oil. Maybe a stirfry with sauteed veggies and tofu (or chicken or beef) and rice. On and on, but none of this would ever call for sugar.

    I gave up added sugar for a month (it didn't make much difference for me, as it happened, so now I eat it in moderation -- and it wasn't due to Fed Up, which I've heard horrible things about). Anyway, since I never actually add sugar to things (I usually don't even own any), this simply meant not eating sweets/desserts and replacing it with cheese or the like, not eating flavored yogurt (a habit I've mostly kept) and checking sauces or foods purchased elsewhere (which for me wasn't a big thing since I don't use a lot of purchased sauces and dislike ketchup--it basically meant not using some spicy sauces).

    Oh, I suppose if you got packaged bread you'd have to try and find a replacement or give it up. I don't do a lot of bread except if I buy a sandwich, so that was easy to give up for a period of time.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    You can try these sites:

    www.rippedrecipes.com

    www.proteinpow.com

    Some ideas for you. Good luck.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Onions are very sweet. Fruits, especially berries, are sweet.

    Buy herbs and spices - fresh when you can - and learn to experiment with flavor. Your taste buds will learn to like new things. :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2015
    Cooking with fruit, if that's acceptable, is a good idea.

    Pork chops with apples, onions, and sauerkraut is great -- or apples and something else if you prefer.

    Beef (or venion or duck) with cherries.

    I've been doing lots with rhubarb in savory food, although that's not sweet!

    I was assuming that you used herbs and spices already, but of course you should do that.

    For taste, goat cheese or feta cheese or olives can add a ton of flavor (as can some jalapenos or other pepper).
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I don't have many good recipes that don't have any sugar.

    I don't understand this. Do you actually add sugar to your savory meals?

    My normal cooking is a protein source (meat, usually), a starch, and various veggies combined in some way. Often just dull like roasted chicken with some roasted potatoes and green beans plus cauliflower and mushrooms, or salmon with corn and asparagus, but sometimes a pasta with a homemade sauce -- this could be a meat sauce with tomatoes, lean ground beef, lots of veg (I never add sugar) or something simpler like vegetables and shrimp sauteed in olive oil. Maybe a stirfry with sauteed veggies and tofu (or chicken or beef) and rice. On and on, but none of this would ever call for sugar.

    I gave up added sugar for a month (it didn't make much difference for me, as it happened, so now I eat it in moderation -- and it wasn't due to Fed Up, which I've heard horrible things about). Anyway, since I never actually add sugar to things (I usually don't even own any), this simply meant not eating sweets/desserts and replacing it with cheese or the like, not eating flavored yogurt (a habit I've mostly kept) and checking sauces or foods purchased elsewhere (which for me wasn't a big thing since I don't use a lot of purchased sauces and dislike ketchup--it basically meant not using some spicy sauces).

    Oh, I suppose if you got packaged bread you'd have to try and find a replacement or give it up. I don't do a lot of bread except if I buy a sandwich, so that was easy to give up for a period of time.

    Well I work a whole lot so I want things that aren't too time consuming and maybe some ideas of things that just don't have sugar in it. I'd have to make the sauce my scratch cuz I only can find sauce that has added sugars in it.
    Many people have some great ideas that even though simple I just never thought of. I been making up a lot of stuff when cooking cuz lots of recipes use things that have sugar. I use to eat a lot of sandwiches, they are quick and easy to make. I found really good wraps though that don't have sugar, I was just seeing any ideas everyone else had on here.
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Onions are very sweet. Fruits, especially berries, are sweet.

    Buy herbs and spices - fresh when you can - and learn to experiment with flavor. Your taste buds will learn to like new things. :)
    Thank you :)
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    You can try these sites:

    www.rippedrecipes.com

    www.proteinpow.com

    Some ideas for you. Good luck.

    Thank you very much, I'll save these so I can check them out tonight.
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    I haven't given up sugar. I only lost 60 pounds, maybe giving up sugar would have worked better?

    Don't demonize any food, there is no good or bad, only over consumption.
    Well I have natural sugars from fruit, but I don't want any added sugars that I have not found to benefit me at all.
    It may help you lose weight, 60lbs is amazing though. Great job on that accomplishment :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I don't have many good recipes that don't have any sugar.

    I don't understand this. Do you actually add sugar to your savory meals?

    My normal cooking is a protein source (meat, usually), a starch, and various veggies combined in some way. Often just dull like roasted chicken with some roasted potatoes and green beans plus cauliflower and mushrooms, or salmon with corn and asparagus, but sometimes a pasta with a homemade sauce -- this could be a meat sauce with tomatoes, lean ground beef, lots of veg (I never add sugar) or something simpler like vegetables and shrimp sauteed in olive oil. Maybe a stirfry with sauteed veggies and tofu (or chicken or beef) and rice. On and on, but none of this would ever call for sugar.

    I gave up added sugar for a month (it didn't make much difference for me, as it happened, so now I eat it in moderation -- and it wasn't due to Fed Up, which I've heard horrible things about). Anyway, since I never actually add sugar to things (I usually don't even own any), this simply meant not eating sweets/desserts and replacing it with cheese or the like, not eating flavored yogurt (a habit I've mostly kept) and checking sauces or foods purchased elsewhere (which for me wasn't a big thing since I don't use a lot of purchased sauces and dislike ketchup--it basically meant not using some spicy sauces).

    Oh, I suppose if you got packaged bread you'd have to try and find a replacement or give it up. I don't do a lot of bread except if I buy a sandwich, so that was easy to give up for a period of time.

    Well I work a whole lot so I want things that aren't too time consuming and maybe some ideas of things that just don't have sugar in it. I'd have to make the sauce my scratch cuz I only can find sauce that has added sugars in it.
    Many people have some great ideas that even though simple I just never thought of. I been making up a lot of stuff when cooking cuz lots of recipes use things that have sugar. I use to eat a lot of sandwiches, they are quick and easy to make. I found really good wraps though that don't have sugar, I was just seeing any ideas everyone else had on here.

    I am a super fast cook but always make sauce from scratch (or just with canned tomatoes if doing that kind of tomato sauce), because I just don't think the storebought ones taste good.

    A good internet site for food ideas is 101cookbooks.com, and if you are interested in a basic cook book that uses whole foods and no sugar that I can think of (I actually think it's the rare recipe I've seen that uses sugar), try Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

    It's really and truly hard to get simpler than the kinds of meals I mentioned in my first post, and none of them would involve any sugar.
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I don't have many good recipes that don't have any sugar.

    I don't understand this. Do you actually add sugar to your savory meals?

    My normal cooking is a protein source (meat, usually), a starch, and various veggies combined in some way. Often just dull like roasted chicken with some roasted potatoes and green beans plus cauliflower and mushrooms, or salmon with corn and asparagus, but sometimes a pasta with a homemade sauce -- this could be a meat sauce with tomatoes, lean ground beef, lots of veg (I never add sugar) or something simpler like vegetables and shrimp sauteed in olive oil. Maybe a stirfry with sauteed veggies and tofu (or chicken or beef) and rice. On and on, but none of this would ever call for sugar.

    I gave up added sugar for a month (it didn't make much difference for me, as it happened, so now I eat it in moderation -- and it wasn't due to Fed Up, which I've heard horrible things about). Anyway, since I never actually add sugar to things (I usually don't even own any), this simply meant not eating sweets/desserts and replacing it with cheese or the like, not eating flavored yogurt (a habit I've mostly kept) and checking sauces or foods purchased elsewhere (which for me wasn't a big thing since I don't use a lot of purchased sauces and dislike ketchup--it basically meant not using some spicy sauces).

    Oh, I suppose if you got packaged bread you'd have to try and find a replacement or give it up. I don't do a lot of bread except if I buy a sandwich, so that was easy to give up for a period of time.

    Well I work a whole lot so I want things that aren't too time consuming and maybe some ideas of things that just don't have sugar in it. I'd have to make the sauce my scratch cuz I only can find sauce that has added sugars in it.
    Many people have some great ideas that even though simple I just never thought of. I been making up a lot of stuff when cooking cuz lots of recipes use things that have sugar. I use to eat a lot of sandwiches, they are quick and easy to make. I found really good wraps though that don't have sugar, I was just seeing any ideas everyone else had on here.

    I am a super fast cook but always make sauce from scratch (or just with canned tomatoes if doing that kind of tomato sauce), because I just don't think the storebought ones taste good.

    A good internet site for food ideas is 101cookbooks.com, and if you are interested in a basic cook book that uses whole foods and no sugar that I can think of (I actually think it's the rare recipe I've seen that uses sugar), try Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

    It's really and truly hard to get simpler than the kinds of meals I mentioned in my first post, and none of them would involve any sugar.

    Thank you :)
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Lol yea follow a food challenge based on a terrible documentary that's based on bad science. That'll end well haha

    I am simply cutting out added sugar, I titled this "fed up challenge" because I thought that it's similar to what I'm doing. Sugars are not benefiting my health so why keep them? I am not actually doing it as a challenge type thing, I am just wanting to get rid of sugars because I think I can benefit from not eating crap. There is no reason to comment on here with your negativity.
    You don't have to cut out sugars, I'm not telling you what I think you should and shouldn't do with your diet so why are you commenting on here telling me it's a bad idea?
    I would be okay with you telling me why sugar is good for me but if you don't give me legitimate feed back that can help me than I have no interest. So please tell me why is cutting sugar bad? How does my body gain anything from it? I eat fruit so I have natural sugars, but I don't understand why I shouldn't cut them out.

    First off, calling anything with added sugars "crap" is extremely ignorant of nutrition as a whole.

    To answer your question, cutting should only be done if it must be done. The reason for this is that restrictive diets are inherently troublesome. Unless you legitimately plan to completely avoid "added sugars" for the rest of your life, then don't restrict them now. What happens when you do that is that when you inevitably eat something sweet like a cookie or a brownie or chocolate, you will binge and you will binge hard. It happens to everyone that tries to eliminate sugar from their diet and it will happen to you. The amount of time it takes varies based on willpower but it will happen. You develop unhealthy eating habits and what started as a challenge becomes unhealthy. If you stop treating sugar like something that's unhealthy and start treating it like what it actually is (an extremely efficient fuel source) then maybe you might have a better relationship with it. Sugar is not bad, insulin is not bad. If you're eating at maintenance or in a deficit, sugar does not cause fat gain, it restores glycogen in the muscles and liver. As far as your natural sugars, do you really think they are different on a molecular level than "added sugars". Your body recognizes and responds to them in the same way.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited July 2015
    The problem with added sugar is the calories . It's excess calories that leads to excess weight and associated health conditions

    It's not the sugar per se unless you are diabetic / have a medical condition and even then it's tracking not elimination

    So if you want to avoid adding sugar in order to cut your calories then cooking from fresh and reading package nutrition is one way ...although if you're doing that may as well just focus on the calories IMHO
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Paleo sites might be good for you to use. There's not much sugar added and the flours used are generally almond and coconut, which are lower in carbs and higher in protein. I've seen some really tastey paleo vegetable recipes like peppers stuffed with sausage and diced veggies (like onions and celery).

    I find cooking extra so I can eat leftovers for another meal is helpful. Steak for dinner and then cut up steak on a spinach salad the next day. KWIM?

    Sweetening with Stevia drops can be a good way to sweeten up a recipe without sugar. The drps are very sweet though. For example, I just need 1 drop in acup of coffee. I made coconut flour blueberry muffins from my kids the other day with about 25 drops of stevia. They said it was very sweet, and they are picky about me reducing tehir sugars. LOL

    Good luck. I'm sure you'll have great success. :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2015
    AJ_G wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Lol yea follow a food challenge based on a terrible documentary that's based on bad science. That'll end well haha

    I am simply cutting out added sugar, I titled this "fed up challenge" because I thought that it's similar to what I'm doing. Sugars are not benefiting my health so why keep them? I am not actually doing it as a challenge type thing, I am just wanting to get rid of sugars because I think I can benefit from not eating crap. There is no reason to comment on here with your negativity.
    You don't have to cut out sugars, I'm not telling you what I think you should and shouldn't do with your diet so why are you commenting on here telling me it's a bad idea?
    I would be okay with you telling me why sugar is good for me but if you don't give me legitimate feed back that can help me than I have no interest. So please tell me why is cutting sugar bad? How does my body gain anything from it? I eat fruit so I have natural sugars, but I don't understand why I shouldn't cut them out.

    First off, calling anything with added sugars "crap" is extremely ignorant of nutrition as a whole.

    I'll second this.

    As I mentioned, I don't add sugar very often, but there are genuine reasons that someone might add a bit of sugar to a recipe and most often it adds very few calories and just a bit of taste. It doesn't transform the food from healthy to "crap." This is why the distorted focus on "sugar=evil" and not simply nutrition bothers me.

    For example, I have a good Italian cookbook that does recommend a tsp of sugar in a red sauce. This is traditional, to cut acid. I don't think it's necessary if you add lots of veggies and I tend to be sensitive to sweet in my savory dishes and usually don't like it, so I've never done that, but if I did it wouldn't make a good sauce "crap." (Nor would it make much of a difference to the grams of sugar in a serving of the sauce.)

    Similarly, I've played around with rhubarb sauces and really like tart, so I usually temper them only by cooking or with cherries or strawberries, but I've done rhubarb sauces in the past that used sugar and I don't see why adding a bit of sugar (after which there's still less sugar than in most fruit) would make any dish with them "crap."

    I don't like oatmeal sweetened, but if that's how you like your oats, you shouldn't think adding a touch of sugar removes the nutrition.

    There are various homemade BBQ and hot sauces (as well as commercial sauces) that use sugar in small quantities. Again, say you made a fish and veggies dish with some sauce--why "crap"? Not healthy anymore?

    Smoked salmon usually uses a little sugar in the process -- not healthy as a result?

    It's common to add a little bread to gazpacho--does that make what is typically a low cal vegetable-based (and delicious) soup "unhealthy," because there's a bit of sugar in the bread sometimes?

    And, of course, a homemade apple or cherry pie will involve sugar. I can see why this should be eaten in moderation and after getting in good nutritious meals and within calories, but is it really "crap"? I am not offended if you want to call my pie such, but I wouldn't have said that to my grandma.

    Finally, I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe on MFP (I don't make them often since I eat baked goods pretty sparingly). There are fewer grams of sugar in the cookie than in an apple. (The highest number of calories in the cookie come from butter, sugar is a relatively small contributor.) To say the "problem" with the cookie (if one thinks there is a problem) is sugar and ignore the overall make-up of the cookie seems to me misleading, and that's one reason I think this focus on sugar is really not a helpful one.

    That said, like I said I did go without added sugar for a period of time and if you find it difficult you might as well experiment with it and maybe expand your horizon and see if it makes a difference to you. I would be open to the possibility that if you perceive a difference it's due to more whole-foods-based cooking and less highly processed stuff overall, and not simply sugar.
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    I just want to say I love your posts, @lemurcat12. They just make sense.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Thank you!
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    AJ_G wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Lol yea follow a food challenge based on a terrible documentary that's based on bad science. That'll end well haha

    I am simply cutting out added sugar, I titled this "fed up challenge" because I thought that it's similar to what I'm doing. Sugars are not benefiting my health so why keep them? I am not actually doing it as a challenge type thing, I am just wanting to get rid of sugars because I think I can benefit from not eating crap. There is no reason to comment on here with your negativity.
    You don't have to cut out sugars, I'm not telling you what I think you should and shouldn't do with your diet so why are you commenting on here telling me it's a bad idea?
    I would be okay with you telling me why sugar is good for me but if you don't give me legitimate feed back that can help me than I have no interest. So please tell me why is cutting sugar bad? How does my body gain anything from it? I eat fruit so I have natural sugars, but I don't understand why I shouldn't cut them out.

    First off, calling anything with added sugars "crap" is extremely ignorant of nutrition as a whole.

    To answer your question, cutting should only be done if it must be done. The reason for this is that restrictive diets are inherently troublesome. Unless you legitimately plan to completely avoid "added sugars" for the rest of your life, then don't restrict them now. What happens when you do that is that when you inevitably eat something sweet like a cookie or a brownie or chocolate, you will binge and you will binge hard. It happens to everyone that tries to eliminate sugar from their diet and it will happen to you. The amount of time it takes varies based on willpower but it will happen. You develop unhealthy eating habits and what started as a challenge becomes unhealthy. If you stop treating sugar like something that's unhealthy and start treating it like what it actually is (an extremely efficient fuel source) then maybe you might have a better relationship with it. Sugar is not bad, insulin is not bad. If you're eating at maintenance or in a deficit, sugar does not cause fat gain, it restores glycogen in the muscles and liver. As far as your natural sugars, do you really think they are different on a molecular level than "added sugars". Your body recognizes and responds to them in the same way.

    I understand what you are saying and yes me using the word "crap" was just from the lack of vocabulary, I overuse that word and I apologize for that. That does make sense I guess I just have always been told (before watching fed up and whatnot) that sugar is horrible and I grew up with a fear of becoming overweight because of how some people in my life talked to me about it. I thought sugar was the issue, that's why I wanted to cut it out. I may end up just eating little of it and not cut it out. :) I really do appreciate your reply, this is the type of response that I enjoy instead of the one you posted earlier. Thank you, and I can see how cutting it out can back fire pretty bad.

    (Sorry if I rambled I'm tired and just was hopping on here before going to bed)
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Lol yea follow a food challenge based on a terrible documentary that's based on bad science. That'll end well haha

    I am simply cutting out added sugar, I titled this "fed up challenge" because I thought that it's similar to what I'm doing. Sugars are not benefiting my health so why keep them? I am not actually doing it as a challenge type thing, I am just wanting to get rid of sugars because I think I can benefit from not eating crap. There is no reason to comment on here with your negativity.
    You don't have to cut out sugars, I'm not telling you what I think you should and shouldn't do with your diet so why are you commenting on here telling me it's a bad idea?
    I would be okay with you telling me why sugar is good for me but if you don't give me legitimate feed back that can help me than I have no interest. So please tell me why is cutting sugar bad? How does my body gain anything from it? I eat fruit so I have natural sugars, but I don't understand why I shouldn't cut them out.

    First off, calling anything with added sugars "crap" is extremely ignorant of nutrition as a whole.

    I'll second this.

    As I mentioned, I don't add sugar very often, but there are genuine reasons that someone might add a bit of sugar to a recipe and most often it adds very few calories and just a bit of taste. It doesn't transform the food from healthy to "crap." This is why the distorted focus on "sugar=evil" and not simply nutrition bothers me.

    For example, I have a good Italian cookbook that does recommend a tsp of sugar in a red sauce. This is traditional, to cut acid. I don't think it's necessary if you add lots of veggies and I tend to be sensitive to sweet in my savory dishes and usually don't like it, so I've never done that, but if I did it wouldn't make a good sauce "crap." (Nor would it make much of a difference to the grams of sugar in a serving of the sauce.)

    Similarly, I've played around with rhubarb sauces and really like tart, so I usually temper them only by cooking or with cherries or strawberries, but I've done rhubarb sauces in the past that used sugar and I don't see why adding a bit of sugar (after which there's still less sugar than in most fruit) would make any dish with them "crap."

    I don't like oatmeal sweetened, but if that's how you like your oats, you shouldn't think adding a touch of sugar removes the nutrition.

    There are various homemade BBQ and hot sauces (as well as commercial sauces) that use sugar in small quantities. Again, say you made a fish and veggies dish with some sauce--why "crap"? Not healthy anymore?

    Smoked salmon usually uses a little sugar in the process -- not healthy as a result?

    It's common to add a little bread to gazpacho--does that make what is typically a low cal vegetable-based (and delicious) soup "unhealthy," because there's a bit of sugar in the bread sometimes?

    And, of course, a homemade apple or cherry pie will involve sugar. I can see why this should be eaten in moderation and after getting in good nutritious meals and within calories, but is it really "crap"? I am not offended if you want to call my pie such, but I wouldn't have said that to my grandma.

    Finally, I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe on MFP (I don't make them often since I eat baked goods pretty sparingly). There are fewer grams of sugar in the cookie than in an apple. (The highest number of calories in the cookie come from butter, sugar is a relatively small contributor.) To say the "problem" with the cookie (if one thinks there is a problem) is sugar and ignore the overall make-up of the cookie seems to me misleading, and that's one reason I think this focus on sugar is really not a helpful one.

    That said, like I said I did go without added sugar for a period of time and if you find it difficult you might as well experiment with it and maybe expand your horizon and see if it makes a difference to you. I would be open to the possibility that if you perceive a difference it's due to more whole-foods-based cooking and less highly processed stuff overall, and not simply sugar.

    I apologize for using the word crap for my addictive for sugary foods, i just use that word often as don't think much of it. I understand what you mean, and I know I shouldn't think of sugar as an evil thing, but I still want to cut back on it but maybe not cut it completely out. :) I'll take your advice along with @AJ_G and I am glad you both took the time to reply. Thank you.
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    The problem with added sugar is the calories . It's excess calories that leads to excess weight and associated health conditions

    It's not the sugar per se unless you are diabetic / have a medical condition and even then it's tracking not elimination

    So if you want to avoid adding sugar in order to cut your calories then cooking from fresh and reading package nutrition is one way ...although if you're doing that may as well just focus on the calories IMHO
    Thanks, I do watch my calories along with sugar intake. :)
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    nvsmomketo wrote: »
    Paleo sites might be good for you to use. There's not much sugar added and the flours used are generally almond and coconut, which are lower in carbs and higher in protein. I've seen some really tastey paleo vegetable recipes like peppers stuffed with sausage and diced veggies (like onions and celery).

    I find cooking extra so I can eat leftovers for another meal is helpful. Steak for dinner and then cut up steak on a spinach salad the next day. KWIM?

    Sweetening with Stevia drops can be a good way to sweeten up a recipe without sugar. The drps are very sweet though. For example, I just need 1 drop in acup of coffee. I made coconut flour blueberry muffins from my kids the other day with about 25 drops of stevia. They said it was very sweet, and they are picky about me reducing tehir sugars. LOL

    Good luck. I'm sure you'll have great success. :)
    Thanks lol I may have to try the Stevia drops, I don't think I've ever heard of that but I am a bit tired so that makes me forgetful lol. Thank you very much for the advice
  • Katzedernacht
    Katzedernacht Posts: 266 Member
    Hmm people may tell you it's silly, i think it's awesome,I don't see how a ton of added sugar does anyone any good.

    I think I don't eat added sugar at all, well there was this vegan iced cacao thing..but y aknow, I don't drink soda or juices or stuff,also I don't eat candies or cake and at home we haven't had sugar in aaaages cos mom is a diabetic and I don't think it's really necessary,and my aunt eats only junkish food,what a combo eh?

    I'd go for steveia leaves,or agave syrup thingie if you do need to sweet something up.
    When I want a sweet thing I eat some fruit
  • PatriciaMcCamley
    PatriciaMcCamley Posts: 20 Member
    Hmm people may tell you it's silly, i think it's awesome,I don't see how a ton of added sugar does anyone any good.

    I think I don't eat added sugar at all, well there was this vegan iced cacao thing..but y aknow, I don't drink soda or juices or stuff,also I don't eat candies or cake and at home we haven't had sugar in aaaages cos mom is a diabetic and I don't think it's really necessary,and my aunt eats only junkish food,what a combo eh?

    I'd go for steveia leaves,or agave syrup thingie if you do need to sweet something up.
    When I want a sweet thing I eat some fruit

    Thank you for the advice :)

  • Owlfan88
    Owlfan88 Posts: 187 Member

    [/quote]


    And, of course, a homemade apple or cherry pie will involve sugar. I can see why this should be eaten in moderation and after getting in good nutritious meals and within calories, but is it really "crap"? I am not offended if you want to call my pie such, but I wouldn't have said that to my grandma.

    [/quote]

    A homemade apple pie need not involve sugar. Maybe there is a small amount in the refrigerator pie crusts I buy, but I often make apple pie with no added sweeteners, just cinnamon. And they are delicious!

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