Sugar
It’s baking time! Based on survey results I’m entirely making up, half of you are in the kitchen today covered in flour. Yay! What a fun time of year.
Baking Christmas cookies is not just about the cookies for me. I only bake my grandma’s cookies, and I only do it because Christmas doesn’t feel the same without her around. Ok, ok, I also do it because I LOVE cookies. But the best part is carrying on the traditions I remember from childhood.
Of course, I make some teensy changes to the recipes. If I’m going to eat a boatload of cookies, they need to be closer to real food – meaning whole grains and natural sweeteners. But honestly, I’ve found that using whole ingredients lends a more full bodied flavor to baked goods. White sugar is a hit of sweet on your tongue like cocaine to the brain! But pure maple syrup has true flavor. Think about it.
By the request of one of my friends, here are some tips for upgrading your holiday baking. Depending on how tied you are to the outcome, you might tentatively adjust the flours and that’s it. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous you can completely recreate your holiday favorites. It’s fun!
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December 21st, 2010 | baking, Sugar, try new things, whole grains, winter | 13 Comments »
What’s in your fridge? I mean – really. Not the nice new package of chicken or the fresh head of romaine. What’s there when you go deep into the corners?
Today I cleaned out our fridge in preparation for our move and found a lot of random surprises. Like lemon halves my husband tucked away in tupperwares. Like open jars of tomato paste and chipotle peppers encased in plastic baggies and covered in mold. I found 3 jars of mustard from when I made these beauties. And mountains of different flours, seasonings, oils.
But from the wreckage I saved a good number of usable items that quickly transformed themselves into a cookie recipe before my very eyes. I couldn’t help it!
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November 30th, 2010 | baking, recipe, Sugar | 16 Comments »
Weekends are getting interesting around here. We started with Newborn Essentials – a class to teach us how to swaddle and take rectal temperatures. Oy. Next up is Breastfeeding Basics. And Hypnobirthing. And Stroller School. I suppose it might be overkill, but it really does make me feel calmer to learn from an expert. Anyway, to keep the weekend fun and relish our quiet time while we have it, I whipped up some delicious and filling pancakes that are way, way better than anything out of a box.
The win for me? Whole grains and no added sugar! Otherwise, pancakes put me directly into a sugar coma and I’d be starving an hour later.
The win for my husband? They’re so good he doesn’t even bother adding maple syrup. I couldn’t believe it, but it happened. (This is a man who adds maple syrup to a glass of milk to drink with dinner. What the…?)
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October 19th, 2010 | fat, pregnancy, recipe, Sugar, whole grains, winter | 11 Comments »
I will not eat blueberry pie for breakfast. I will not eat blueberry pie for breakfast.
See, this is what happens if I buy something like blueberry pie. It’s sitting there on the counter, calling my name at all sorts of inappropriate hours of the day! How rude.
Breakfast is probably the most problematic meal of the day for most of us. You’ve got nutrient-poor Dunkin Donuts egg white sandwiches. Or some kind of danish. A refined flour bagel. Maybe you’ve gone the “healthy” route and bought some cereal with claims of Omega-3′s and whatnot.
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October 5th, 2010 | quick and easy, recipe, Sugar, whole grains | 13 Comments »
It’s happened again. Another set of 21 Day Detoxers have turned down the volume on their taste buds and are beginning to appreciate the subtle sweet flavors of food. To say “ick” to soda. To actually crave dark, leafy greens! I am so proud of these guys – only a handful of days left and we’ve seen some awesome results.
See, what I mean is, when you’re used to high-intensity sweets like white sugar and high fructose corn syrup you can’t quite appreciate the lovely sweetness of, say…a carrot.
But it doesn’t mean that you won’t want to eat yummy baked goods! It just means that a muffin from Dunkin Donuts starts to taste fake. I really like the challenge of baking delicious treats without sugar – something that I can eat for breakfast without a blood sugar spike. And at 22 weeks pregnant, I am craving baked goods more than ever! So it’s important that I can satisfy the craving without going overboard.
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September 27th, 2010 | baking, detoxify, pregnancy, recipe, Sugar, vegetarian | 11 Comments »
Remember last month when I offered a stevia giveaway? Well not only did I promise 4 winners their very own taste of the sweet stuff, I also asked everyone what their most pressing question was regarding sugar.
Then I realized, ha, I better answer these questions! So here we go:
Corrie said: I’m wondering how xylitol fits into all the sugar issues.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, similar to erythritol and sorbitol. It was discovered in the late 19th century and can have a laxative effect when taken in excess. It’s relatively new on the scene as a sweetener in commercial products – typically you’ll see it in gum or toothpaste. I wouldn’t run screaming away from it, but I also wouldn’t seek it out for daily consumption.
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September 8th, 2010 | Sugar | 6 Comments »
Lately I’ve been talking a lot about sugar and sugar addiction, so it’s fitting that I’ll be officially workshopping this topic this fall in the Boston area. If you are local, please mark your calendar and come introduce yourself. Nothing makes me more giggly happy than meeting a blog reader!
At these sugar workshops, we will talk about the reality of sugar addiction, ways to curb cravings, how to identify hidden sugars and healthy alternatives to the white stuff. When I’ve run this workshop in the past, participants have left motivated and empowered to experience life without the burden of sugar weighing them down.
You have two opportunities to wrangle sugar cravings to the ground:
Sunday, September 26, 2010
7:00-8:00pm
Yoga Moves
Reading, MA
Friday, November 12, 2010 Sorry, this is cancelled
Green Tea Yoga
Salem, MA
Advance registration is recommended, though walk ins are also welcome. Contact the studios directly to sign up.
August 12th, 2010 | Boston, Sugar | 8 Comments »
Sugar is a topic I could go on and on about (and sometimes I do). Taking sugar out of my diet has been the best thing I’ve ever done for my health. Period. And I see the same effect in anyone who undertakes the same challenge.
Take my detox participants, for instance. Last spring, they hated my guts for the first sugar-free week. But after that, they were true believers – full of energy and amazed at the lack of brain fog. I’m anticipating a similar response from those of you who sign up for September!
But it’s more than just white sugar. It’s brown sugar. It’s Sugar in the Raw. It’s corn syrup. It’s Sweet-n-Low. It’s Splenda.
This inevitably raises a torrent of questions:
- What about agave nectar?
- Which is a better choice, sugar or Splenda?
- I heard maple syrup is ok, is it?
Sure, I prefer natural sweeteners over processed. I eat tons of fruit and will use a bit of pure maple syrup any day over the white stuff. I abhor artificial sweeteners.
But that’s not the point. The point is, the more sweet stuff you taste, the more sweet stuff you’ll want. It’s an endless cycle. Breaking free means you’ll turn down the volume on your tastebuds. You’ll actually appreciate the sweet flavor of carrots and butternut squash instead having your tastebuds blown out by the top-volume sweet flavor of orange soda.
So why, oh why, would I agree to try and review NuNaturals stevia products?
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August 4th, 2010 | baking, recipe, Sugar, try new things | 44 Comments »
I asked my husband, “Hey, do you think this sounds good together: beets, goat cheese, avocado and grapefruit?”
He said with mild confusion, “You sound like you’re pregnant.”
(And well, he’s referring to the fact that I am. Cool, huh?)
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August 2nd, 2010 | pregnancy, recipe, Sugar, try new things, vegetarian | 20 Comments »
Want to know one of my biggest secrets for eating well?
I don’t keep desserts in the house. No cookies, no cakes, no candy.
That’s not to say I don’t EAT cookies, cakes or candy. I do. But I don’t buy them or keep them readily available in my kitchen. Out with friends, sure. At a birthday party, ok. But on a random Thursday night while watching The Office? No way! If I had cookies in the house I’d demolish the whole bag and I’d get sucked into a pattern of eating that I have finally broken free of!
One of the questions I get most often is, “How do I satisfy my sweet tooth?” It’s a question that has come up a lot during the past couple of weeks as my detox group sought ways to keep processed sugar out of their diet.
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May 14th, 2010 | detoxify, happiness, quick and easy, recipe, Sugar, tea | 24 Comments »
