My Kitchen which is almost sugar free
Recently I was watching a popular YouTuber’s video about giving up sugar and processed foods for four weeks. While I was watching the video, it suddenly dawned on me that I have been sugar free for nearly four years. When I say I have been sugar free it doesn’t mean that I have given up all sugar. I still eat fruit and I try to stick with more natural sugars like, maple syrup, coconut sugar or palm sugar, local honey and lots more.
Fruit contains fibre which helps it pass through the liver and although I have natural sugars like the ones above I try not to eat too many of them as they are still sugars. I am human and I do love a sweet treat occasionally. The sugar I have given up is the packet sugar. It’s the stuff that keeps the food on the shelf for longer. So four years ago I was advised by my homeopath that it might be a good idea to give up the sugar.
Research
Before I started on this journey I decided to research giving up sugar on the internet. That would be my first piece of advice to anyone giving up the processed foods is to research the topic first. There are now lots of different websites that I have linked below that will help you to find out more about this topic. There is even a film called ‘That Sugar Film‘, that may help you make up your mind about packet foods. When I first started to look at what I was eating I didn’t realise just how much processed food I was putting into my body. I was amazed at how much sugar I was consuming and that was it for me. The processed foods and sugars were gone from the cupboards within weeks.
Buy Cookery Books
As I did my research I quickly started to discover that I would probably need to start cooking a lot more. I love to cook so this was exciting news for me. However, there are times when even the best cooks in the world don’t want to cook. Those were the times when the takeaway menu will be pulled from the draw and a takeaway would be ordered.
To try and stop myself from doing this I bought myself a couple of cookery books that showed me how to cook from scratch. Plus they also had handy hints in them about freezing the leftovers, just in case you have one of those days where you don’t want to cook. After reading the recipes in this book I started to really love cooking and I found myself creating my own sugar free dinners, breakfasts, lunches and sweet treats. You name it and I will try to cook it. There are lots of recipes on this blog and yes this is an advert for my blog!
Invest in Good Quality Kitchen Equipment
My Nutribullet for making smoothies
It’s not essential but it does help. If you’re going to start cooking from scratch, depending on the foods you like to eat, you may need to invest in good quality kitchen equipment. Believe me, there is nothing worse than planning a meal that needs a certain piece of equipment and it breaks half way through the preparation. It has happened to me and after this incident I did invest. Plus investing in items like a slow cooker will really help you to cook delicious meals without all the effort. I use my slow cooker lots and during the week it can make a huge difference to our family meals.
Clear the cupboards and try not to let it back in
To start my sugar free journey, I began by eating all the processed foods that we had bought from the supermarket and then I didn’t buy them anymore. However, it’s easier said than done when you have children. Just going to the supermarket can be a tricky place to navigate away from the brightly coloured packets. It’s not easy to stop my son from eating sweets.
Now don’t get me wrong I don’t deny my son the occasional bag of sweets, especially if he’s been given the sweets by another person or from a birthday party. However I try not to let them in the house. So I wouldn’t go to the supermarket and buy a packet of biscuits for us to eat as a family. I now have brilliant recipes so I can make even tastier biscuits at home. (And yes this is another advert for my blog!) Just knowing that I have a fallback plan helps me to avoid these aisles in the shops.
Take snacks with you
My yummy Salted Caramel Flapjacks are so easy to carry in a small tupperware box in your bag.
If you are going out for the day and you know that there will be a lot of temptation on the road ahead then take a few snacks with you. Did I mention I like to make biscuits/cookies and sweet treats I can take with me to places we are visiting?. Yes again this is an advert for my blog! I always find that if I’m prepared for a situation I don’t end up eating anything I don’t want to be eating. If you don’t have time to cook then fresh fruit is always good to carry with you and so are nuts and seeds too.
My final tip is don’t beat yourself up if you eat a bit of sugar one day. Every now and then it’s OK to eat refined sugars. I have a gluten allergy so there normally isn’t a lot I can eat anyway. Gluten and sugar seem to go hand in hand. However, I have found that there are times when eating out of a packet is unavoidable. If it’s the only thing I have to eat, then I eat it. Believe me you don’t want to see me when I’m really hungry.
If I fall off the wagon I tend to pick myself back up and try to remember that tomorrow is a new day. For me, it’s not been an easy journey giving up on the processed world and there have been times I’ve thought about turning back. When I have feelings like this I try to remember how far I’ve come and how much I’ve achieved without the sugar. My life is better without it than with, and this pulls me through those wobbly moments.
Have you given up sugar or are you thinking about it? Can you add to these tips? Let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like, comment or subscribe to my channel. Thank you and see you all again soon. xxx
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