Jenn McKinlay: Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I have a sugar problem. I'm a straight up candy freak and I always have been.
In fact there's a post from way back, when I was just visiting the Jungle Reds, where I confess that I would reward myself for every paragraph written with a coconut M&M. They haven't made those in years (darn it), but you can see that sugar has long been my reward to myself and it's quite the motivator. It does not help that I come from a very long line of sugar addicts and even my Irish cousins, Joan and Catherine, admit it's a family weakness and they're retired Sisters of the Holy Rosary in Dublin.
But I'm now a woman of a certain age (double nickels) and I've noticed that my #badbreakfastchoices aren't as fun as they used to be. Sugar doesn't process as well in my system and I get jittery and then crash (i.e. get cranky) so I decided it was time for a reboot. Also, I learned from my trainer that too much sugar dependence can lead to depression (the reason I started going to a trainer to begin with) because it's addictive and when you ingest it, your brain releases endorphins and dopamine putting you on a cycle to consume more and more and more. A nasty cycle, indeed.
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| Needless to say I got straight A's :( |
Thankfully, when I decided I would give up refined sugar and dessert (basically, anything sugary and carb loaded - candy, muffins, donuts, pastries, cake, pie, ice cream -- you know, all my reasons to live) for the month of March, the Hub went along with it. So far, we've had one cheat and that was the key lime tart at Left Coast Crime (delicious!) but otherwise we've stayed the course.
When I get weak, I remind myself of a few pertinent facts that make me mad and tap into my stubborn side. Frankly, this story from NPR -- 400 Years of Sweetness -- planted the seed that germinated into me giving up sugar. For those who want to listen: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1140995918/400-years-of-sweetness
But I am not here to preach to you about about giving up anything - not when I'm only 25 days into it and there are moments where I'm certain I'd give away my car for a Cadbury creme egg. LOL.
Since I got through the ugly I'm-going-to-stab-someone phase at day 14 and am now about to reach the finish line -- 6 more days! -- I don't think I will run out and devour an entire sheet cake like I thought I would (tempting as it is) and instead will see if I can find sugar alternatives. This recipe from Way To Health Kitchen on Instagram is one I'm hoping to try soon and if it works, it may be one of my new bad breakfast choices: Sweet potato, avocado, and cacao truffles
The recipe: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqLgfd9pYTy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
So, how about it, Reds and Readers, what have you ever given up? How did it go? And do you have any sugarless dessert recipes you'd care to share?
We try to eat healthy and, although I try to watch how much sugar we eat, I haven't given it up completely.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to hunt for a sugar-free dessert recipe; usually we just have berries or a fruit cup if we're looking to go sugar-free for dessert . . . .
Here's a recipe for apple mini-muffins, good for dessert or for breakfast:
DeleteSugar-free Apple Mini-Muffins
This recipe makes approximately 20 mini muffins.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour, whole wheat or all-purpose
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup blueberries, smashed
1/2 cup almond milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small apple, peeled and finely chopped, to make 1/2 cup
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add blueberries, milk, egg, and vanilla.
Mix with a fork until all ingredients are combined.
Gently fold in the apples, stirring to fully combine.
Spoon mixture evenly into muffin pan.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the sides of muffins are slightly golden brown.
Remove from oven; cool for 10 minutes before removing nuffins from pan.
Thanks so much, Joan. I love all things apple so this is perfect for me!
Delete:)
DeleteGood for you! Giving up anything isn't east. Long ago I realized I didn't really need salad dressing. I like salad fine without it and it's a few calories I don't need. I'll eat my salad dressed at a fine restaurant, of course. Otherwise I ask for it on the side and rarely eat it at home. Giving up wine would be good for me. On the other hand, life is short...
ReplyDeleteI've found vanilla and/or cinnamon go a long way toward making something seem sweet. Some plain yogurt, a handful of blueberries, and a bit of vanilla are a yummy sugar-free dessert, or sprinkle cinnamon on sliced apples.
Fruit is an excellent sweet substitute! And you can't beat yogurt of probiotics!
DeleteWell, I've given up hope, does that count? HA!
ReplyDeleteNo sugar free recipes to offer.
I'm trying to think of something food related that I've given up but I can't think of anything. I like my candy but it isn't like I'm mainlining it all the time or anything. I've cut way back on soda (again) but it is still part of the "I'm thirsty now quench said thirst" options.
Now of course this doesn't mean that my doctor doesn't have other ideas about what I should give up. But since that is pretty much EVERYTHING that ever crosses my lips, it is hard to imagine listening to him overly much.
Meanwhile, it will be a turkey sub with a chocolate chip cookie chaser for lunch today at the comic shop.
LOL!!! There are days that hope is the first thing to go...sigh. Enjoy the comic store!
DeleteFiling my Income Tax today. I need all the sugar I can get! I think everyone btl knows that I stopped drinking alcohol on January 31, 1984. It has been a very interesting ride along the recovery path.
ReplyDeleteFresh fruit is a super dessert; enjoy.
Good luck on the taxes! Hubs gave up alcohol on July 19, 2009. It is quite a journey even from the passenger's seat.
DeleteGood for you, Jenn, but I'm afraid I am no help. We've taken to watching the nightly news with a side of icecream and chocolate; it helps bear the awfulness of the state of the world. And, as Edith says, life is short.
ReplyDeleteI feel like ice cream should be the exception to the rule :)
DeleteI was very interested in knowing how your sugar-less month was going when you mentioned it on Facebook. Like Joan, if I need a sugarless dessert, I usually serve berries or make a really decadent fruit salad.
ReplyDeleteI bake all the time so there are always cookies and cakes in the freezer, but we only have dessert after dinner. I cannot eat muffins or coffee cake early in the morning because I don't feel well afterwards. I have an "off" switch that works well for me. I can only eat a small amount of sweets before my body tells me to stop. I can't drink anything sweet at all except for tea, with a half a teaspoon of sugar, so no soda, gah! Even so, I look forward to my after dinner cookie and know it would be really difficult to give that up.
Thankfully, I'm not a soda drinker and put minimal sugar in my coffee. But I am a cookie monster. LOL.
DeleteRock on, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up a Catholic child and attending parochial schools we were trained to give up something for Lent. Candy being the most obvious and parent supported give up. I did fine until it was Mom's Sunday to host the family. I had one aunt who always brought a Whitman's Sampler - that solo chocolate coconut cup in the middle was my downfall, every time! Since then, I've learned it's best not to say you are giving anything up. Merely you are on hiatus. For example, I'm between cigarettes, since December 1989. The minute I say I've quit, I know I'll want one, so I've just put the habit on hiatus.
Oh, Kait, you have just brought my mother’s voice alive. When asked if she smoked, she’d say, “I last had a cigarette in 1980” for the last 33 years of her life. (She is much on my mind this week as she would have been 99 on March 22.) May your last cigarette always be in 1989. Elisabeth
DeleteThat was the best candy in the Whitman's box - hands down!
DeleteWhen I was a senior in high school My boyfriend's mom suggested he give me up! I don't know if she was joking or just hoping, but we always got slong well. He did not follow her suggestion!
Deletethat reminds me, I need to bake some cookies Judy! I love having just one after dinner. I didn't grow up eating a lot of dessert as our mother did not crave it, but John's family--oof! Ice cream and chocolate all the way...
ReplyDeleteMy mom had the worst sweet tooth. She sometimes made what she called Brown Sugar Candy after dinner, just to have a sweet. I think she boiled brown sugar, water, and butter, added walnuts, and let it cool on wax paper. She and I were the only two of six who liked it!
DeleteMy mom is worse than me. Total sweet teeth.
DeleteI love sweet stuff and carbs, but am largely winning my battle to cut back and not cut out. I find one sweet indulgence leads to cravings for another the next day, but if I can go for 24 hrs. without giving in, I am OK. I once did a 2 week no carb no refined sugar diet. No starchy veg or legumes either. It was too demanding to keep up, but by coincidence I had a routine blood panel at the end of the 2 weeks, and whoa! my triglycerides have NEVER been so low, and I have never felt so magnificent. Wish I could convince myself to do that 2 week diet on a regular schedule, but nah. I can't.
ReplyDeleteIf I know there is chocolate in the house, I will sniff it out. Absolute bloodhound.
DeleteGood for you Jenn! When I did the "dry January" this year, unfortunately, I increased my sugar consumption, to give myself a treat that wasn't a glass of wine. Now I'm trying to reduce the sugar again. I stopped taking sugar in my tea a couple of decades ago, so sugary drinks aren't part of my problem. I just need to stop buying gummy bears!
ReplyDeleteEllie Krieger has a dark chocolate mousse recipe using tofu that I have made a couple of times (it's available on line). High protein and amazingly good.
Oh, I'm going to look for that!
DeleteJENN: Good luck with the sugarless March! I gave up starchy carbs (bread, potatoes, pasta) for 3 years when I went on the paleo diet. Really hard but I lost 35 lbs in 6 weeks. But I am back to eating regular carbs now in moderation. And I have stopped drinking alcohol for several months a few times.
ReplyDeleteStarchy carbs are my weakness!!! :( It's been the longest month of March ever.
DeleteDo you like ice cream? Freeze some berries. Put 3-6 frozen ones in a small mason jar (the kind that accepts the blender blade part. Add some whipping cream – less than ¼ cup is usually enough. Maybe add a pinch of Splenda or sugar if you are not diabetic and want it a bit sweeter. Blitz – not too much to melt it, but you should get ice cream. Top with a few flax seeds if you want for fiber or a few nuts if that is your choice – or just eat as is. 1 square of dark chocolate will make this dessert restaurant worthy.
ReplyDeleteIt would kill me if I had to give up eggs!
I love ice cream. I will absolutely try this - thank you!
DeleteYou can do it, Jenn. Even just cutting back will help. When I was pregnant with my middle child I had wildly swinging blood sugar that caused me to black out in the drugstore once, very dramatic. I've tried ever since to be mindful about sweets.
ReplyDeleteI used to be super skinny as a kid, and ate two bowls of cereal every morning--covered rim to rim with sugar. Now the very idea makes me gag; I haven't taken sugar in my coffee or tea in forty years. Hubby likes his sweets, and used to insist on having cookies around, but unless they are homemade they don't interest me, thank goodness. I do have dark chocolate every morning as "breakfast" with my (black) coffee, but this morning's was 88% cacao, not sweet at all.
The house we just stayed in while my daughter was recuperating from surgery is owned by her friend, the woman who wrote "Paleo for Dummies". (They have a second home in another state.) Their cupboards were full of unsweet things, but they did have coconut, which along with Edith's suggestions of vanilla and cinnamon, adds sweetness to many foods, like plain yogurt. There are lots of recipes online for "ice cream" made with berries or bananas and just a couple other ingredients that are so delicious, even without sugar.
In the summer I love to make iced coffee with cream, and a 1/8 tsp of vanilla extract for sweetness. It's just right.
Sorry, Neely Quinn co-wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Paleo.
DeleteBlack outs - that's terrifying! I started eating medjool dates for dessert (just two) and while they're good, I'd much prefer them in a sticky toffee pudding. LOL>
DeleteJenn, my husband stuffs a walnut half into the middle of each date. They're so good that way.
DeleteFrom Celia: WOW, well done Jenn, not an easy task but you’ve got this. Now it’s all about navigation. I hope your trainer can help or maybe even a nutritionist. I won’t bore everyone with my tales of diets started, dropped, lost on the way to wherever. I wish by now in all my years alive that I had a magic bullet but the best I got is day by day (oh dear, ear worm). I don’t bake very much as Victor’s idea of a good dessert is ice cream and chocolate but as his weight until recently has stayed within 5 pounds of young adulthood he’s blessed with a good metabolism. Cold Turkey works to get going and I think you’ll find the path you can live with. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteIt is all about balance, I suppose. *Jenn sighs dramatically*
DeleteFlora here. Guilty as charged. Making an effort to cut WAAYY back on sweets--it's a struggle every day. No good recipes to share--but if my body allowed, I'd sub in nuts to snack on. 7-year-old grand-nephew loves to snack on frozen blueberries. I've done the same with frozen pineapple and frozen strawberries.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for fruit or I'd go mad.
DeleteCongratulations Jenn and everyone who has managed to give up something they needed to. I remember the last time I gave up cigarettes. I had many discussions about it with myself, but I finally wanted to do it for my young granddaughter. That was more than 16 years ago and the fact that I don't associate with any smokers helps. Also the fact that there is no way I would ever pay the price they are now!
ReplyDeleteI feel you. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing ever!
DeleteIrwin and I quit smoking together the summer after we married, when we knew we wanted to start a family. We decided that we would raise our children in a smoke-free house and we did. Doing that together made it really easy.
DeleteCongratulations, Judy and to your husband, too!
DeleteMy hat off to anyone who can quit smoking or sweets or or or... Anyone who can lose weight by cutting back calories. Anyone who can NOT drink that glass of wine before dinner.
ReplyDeleteI gave up coffee and chocolate years ago when I had a cancer scare... then it turned out the relationship between coffee/chocolate and the illness was speculative at best. So I indulge... in moderation. It does seem like, every other day they're telling you it's ok (after all) to eat something that was suspect a year earlier, and NOT okay to eat something they were pushing in the same timeframe. The one thing they never tell you to stop doing: hold onto the railing.
So true! It's all about whoever is paying the most to promote their product. Argh.
DeleteFrom Rhys: I am not big on desserts but I do like to finish a meal with a sweet taste so either a mint or a Werthers. My go to dessert is plain yoghurt with berries and a tiny sprinkling of sugar depending on how sweet the berries are. I gave up watching the news! Too upsetting
ReplyDeleteVery wise. No news here for me either unless it's NPR
DeletePlease let us know if the Sweet potato, avocado, and cacao truffles turn out delish! And coconut M&Ms? I never knew!
ReplyDeleteI will! And, yes, the coconut M&Ms were my favorite. :(
DeleteI don't eat a lot of sugar. Haven't for quite a few years. I rarely eat bread or pasta, either. They are one metabolic step away from sugar, so just about as bad.
ReplyDeleteBut my downfall is that I LOVE a baked good of some kind with my tea. And I drink tea all day long.
So I found a cookie recipe (Maida Heatter's) that was all whole wheat flour and I mixed it up with whole wheat, corn meal, ground seven grain cereal, ground flax seed, chia seeds, teff flour, coconut flour, almond flour. All sorts of good stuff. I substituted olive oil and mashed sweet potato for butter and used a minimal amount of brown sugar. As a cookie, they are not overly sweet, but they satisfy my need for a baked good.
Also I buy the ginormous bags of frozen berries and eat a bowl a day. I also eat dark chocolate.
It's a crap shoot though. Blueberries are on the dirty dozen list of food with most pesticides, and dark chocolate has been found to have high levels of heavy metals...
JC, for future reference, you can also usually substitute either the same amount of unsweetened applesauce OR ground flaxseed for butter or any oils in baked goods.
DeleteAnd blueberries are considered a super food. It makes me want to get my garden back in order.
DeleteI have four completely organic blueberry bushes that are really starting to bear - love them!
DeleteEdith, I just checked my blueberry bushes yesterday. Six of the seven have broken dormancy. Getting excited!
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn ! What a fascinating journey, and what a wise decision— because if it didn’t make any difference in your life, you could always go back to sugar, after having a new experience. Sugar is not tempting to me, not in candy or cake or pies, or ice cream… I could take it or leave it. From time to time, a delicious bite of a chocolate chip cookie or some jellybeans or Twizzlers is really delicious, but it’s not something I think about. I guess that’s a good thing! (It’s much harder for me to avoid things like pizza or pretzels, or Doritos. Or bread. But that’s another blog :-))
ReplyDeleteI do know the feeling of that post sugar crash—I had a terrible experience with it maybe 40 years ago. So maybe that’s why my body just says: I was warning you, sister, stay away.
Eager to hear what happens at the end of your month, Jenn . What would be the first sugar thing you’d have?
Well, there is a Paris Baguette near me that has the most amazing walnut creme filled flaky pastry. That. That is what I'll probably get - or maybe I'll just think about it...a lot. Now that I've broken the sugar addiction, I'm nervous to go back. Hmmm.
DeleteGood for you, Jenn! It is tough to change life-long patterns, but I imagine you will feel so much better if you stick with it. When I was a teenager I had horrible blood sugar crashes, fainting, etc., and tested as hypoglycemic, so I've been a sugar-avoider pretty most of my adult life. We don't eat desserts, I don't eat candy, drink soft drinks, or put sugar in coffee or tea. I'm not averse to treats, a occasional pastry from our wonderful local bakery, or a bite of dessert when having dinner out. But I'm an obsessive label reader and try to stay away from all the added sweeteners, but it's hard, they are everywhere. Sugar has always been a dirty business, now corn sweeteners have taken up the mantle.
ReplyDeleteIt is SUCH a dirty business. That was a large part of it. I have no interest in helping BIG SUGAR - as far as I'm concerned they're as bad as the Sackler family.
DeleteMy takeaway...there are coconut M&M's? I did save the chart.
ReplyDeleteThey were discontinued, which is hindsight is probably a good thing.
DeleteI stopped putting milk or sugar in my tea many decades ago. I stopped putting sugar in my coffee almost as long ago, and I stopped putting milk in my coffee about two years ago, When I was growing up we rarely had desserts. And for the most part we were allowed to have soda only on our birthdays or on holidays. As an adult, I don’t soda, so I don’t drink it. BUT— I’m addicted to cookies so I will only have them on special occasions now! I used to bake cookies all the time but I had to give that up. I can eat a giant chocolate bar by myself in one day, so I need to exercise a lot of self-control around chocolate candy! I do have my times when I binge on sweets but fortunately those times are rare now!
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I meant to say “I don’t like soda”.
DeleteDebRo
Chocolate is my downfall. When I was in Hawaii, I was shown an open cacao pod with the beans inside and OMG the smell was so good. Sun warmed cacao - I can still smell it.
DeleteEdith's mother's Brown Sugar Candy makes my mouth water, although normally, as in Deb Romano's case, my downfall is cookies, not candy of any kind, even chocolate. As for my choice of a "substitute" dessert, it's a Medjool date. A big one has about 70 calories, so you could probably eat a cookie or two instead, but I find a date makes a very satisfying, stomach-filling sweet to round off a meal. I find it very hard to eat just one cookie but pretty easy to eat just one date.
ReplyDeleteThat's been my go to, Kim. Two Medjool dates in the evening with unsweetened chai tea. Very satisfying!
DeleteHa! Great minds etc. They're really good!
DeleteJenn, since I am starting perimenopause, my ob-gyn recommended yams. I notice that as I get older, I do not like the taste of sugar as much as I used to.
ReplyDeleteAll my life I had quite the sweet tooth and was not a fan of spicy or savory food. Fruit often have natural sugar. I get cashew milk ice cream from my local cashew milk ice cream shop. It is a small mom and pop operation with two shops. I would have one little spoon of that when I want something sweet. It is up and down.
Sometimes I've wanted sweets and other times no desire for sweets.
And I have noticed that I have more headaches due to dehydration. On my last trip to the ER, they told me that I was dehydrated (despite my drinking lots of water) and they gave me an IV of Saline Solution.
Also, I find myself eating more salads from Spinach Salad to green salad. And soup like coconut lentil soup.
Have you tried baked sweet potatoes or baked yams?
Diana
I've never been a sweet potato person but now that I have a recipe turning it into truffles, I'm going to given them a go :)
DeleteI'm trying to give up sweets, too. I did great for a week, but then some people made some treats for me for a belated birthday celebration.
ReplyDeleteMy birthday is coming and I'm trying to figure out how to make it work. A lone cheat day might be impossible - LOL.
DeleteI'm not saying that the Girl Scouts are evil, but I do think it's interesting that they sell their cookies during Lent. I say this as I finish eating a Thin Mint washed down with a slug of coffee. And, I know you can freeze the cookies for later. Why else would I buy thirteen boxes of Thin Mints? Honestly, I am going to freeze some and some of the lemon ones that arrived today. I do realize that too much sugar can lead to health problems, and I have given up ice cream. That was due to a suggestion that the ice cream could be a factor in my shortness of breath problem I was having. Well, since I quit the ice cream, I have to admit that the shortness of breath problem has gone away. It's something due to a dairy allergy.
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm not Catholic, I have given up some things during Lent before. There was the year I gave up candy, any candy, for the entire Lent period, and I was successful. Another year, I gave up coffee. Coffee is even more of a challenge than candy. Coffee is my lifeline, so I struggled more with this. I'm not sure I want to ever try that one again.
I do know that I need to get my sugar intake under control. My daughter is excellent about controlling the amount of sugar items she and her family ingest. Maybe her good habits will rub off on me.
I bought 5 boxes of GS cookies in February - it may or may not have contributed to my decision. LOL.
DeleteSusan Shea here. Hat's off to you, from where I sit with a small - really small! - dish of chocolate raisins. Dark chocolate, so okay, right? Fruit, so even more okay? I cannot stand eggs for breakfast, like oatmeal as long as there's honey on it, and I try to hold the pain chocolat to once a week. But that's as far as I can imagine going. I do understand none of this is good for me, sigh.
ReplyDeletePain chocolat - MERCY! LOL.
Delete