Sugar isn’t as evil as you might think. Used in the right way, it might actually make you want less of it.
Have you ever tried with every fiber of your being to avoid the Halloween candy bowl only to lose your resolve in the last few minutes of the battle? How many pieces did you eat? 2? 3? 8? 10? (I’m not judging, trust me.)
You think you’re weak, right? You just have zero willpower when it comes to sugar.
You’re absolutely right. Willpower is a useless tool when it comes to food, especially addictive food like sugar. (Recent research shows that sugar – like other “hyper palatable foods” – hijacks the brain’s reward system in the same way as certain addictive drugs.)
I have a better way…and you still have time to use it before the candy bowl comes out in full force tonight.
- Honor your sweet tooth. You’re human. You were programmed to crave sugar. Before we humans started messing around with and creating “food” in laboratories, sweetness was a clue to help us locate high energy foods. Your first step is to accept that you crave sweetness; then work with that natural tendency instead of against it using the next two tips.
- Eat naturally sweet foods. The more you eat, the less you’ll want refined sugar (I swear!). And isn’t it cool that we have so many naturally sweet foods available to us in the fall, just as we enter the height of the holiday goodies season? It’s like nature wants to help us manage our sugar cravings at this time of year! (Could also have something to do with the fact that we crave higher energy foods when the weather gets chillier, but still…nature’s pretty helpful when you let it be.) Winter squash. Sweet potatoes. Beets. Carrots. You couldn’t ask for an easier time of year to eat in season while simultaneously retraining your palette to be satisfied by naturally sweet foods instead of by refined sugar.
- Use “gentler” sugars. Sure, you could go cold turkey on sugar, but there’s no reason to cut out sugar altogether when there are so many yummy alternatives to the scary white stuff. Maple syrup and coconut sugar are two of my personal favorites. You could also try brown rice syrup or agave. Look for products sweetened with these sweeteners instead of with “evaporated cane juice” (i.e., refined sugar). The more you can replace refined sugar with these “whole sugar” options, the less refined sugar you’ll want or even be able to tolerate.
To get you started, here are a couple of sweet fall treats from my kitchen:
Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
We made a version of these the other night, after we carved “Bobby.” (That sounds a little macabre…but I digress.) Crunchy, sweet, and portable, these make a great snack or topping for oatmeal.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds (Right outta the pumpkin is fun!)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon brown or turbinado sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Saute pumpkin seeds in butter, sugar, and spices over medium heat. Spread coated seeds on a cookie sheet and roast in oven for about 10 minutes. Let seeds cool before serving.
Maple Almond Butter
This is one of my fail-safe sweet craving tamers, since I pretty much always have maple syrup and almond butter in my fridge. Raw almond butter tastes sweeter than roasted, but either one makes for a smooth, sweet, and satisfying snack.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons almond butter (I’m addicted to Trader Joe’s Crunchy Raw Almond Butter.)
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 brown rice cake
Directions:
Stir the almond butter and maple syrup until combined. Spread on rice cake.
How do you keep your sweet tooth under control? What’s your favorite “gentle” sweet? Tell me in the comments!
xo,
