5 practical ways to cut sugar from your diet
Nowadays, everyone more or less knows how unhealthy sugar is. So I am not going to explain why you should give up on sugar at all. Instead, I want to show you how easy it is to do that.
1. Start to train your brain.
What does it mean? For example, if you drink coffee every day with sweeteners, every day reduce the amount that you need. The amazing thing is after a while you will get used to the taste, and you will be surprised how sweet you were drinking your coffee.
2. Cut sugar in everyday products.
When I first decided to reduce my sugar intake, the first thing I did was to check the ingredient list on every product that I buy regularly. Those include:
Jam
Mustard
Tomato sauce/purée
Yogurt
Every kind of prepared food
Milk alternatives
Bread
Breakfast cereals
Canned food
Broth
Deep-frozen fruits
Dried fruits
It is unbelievable, almost anything on the market has some sugar in it. Even something like mustard! So better make it a habit to check the labels on every product!
Those are the products that I usually have in my kitchen. But if you have other types of foods that you typically eat, you may want to check the list on the packages too.
3. Baking
That is one of the easiest ways to reduce/cut sugar. There are so many healthy alternatives:
- Xylitol
- Erythritol
- Ripe bananas
- Date sugar
- Date syrup
Xylitol is also good for your teeth. But use it only in small amounts, because large amounts can cause diarrhea. But I never had that problem.
They say Xylitol and Erythritol are less sweet than normal sugar. I have not noticed that, probably because I have desensitized my brain against sugar.
Ripe bananas are pretty sweet, and you can mash them and add them to your baking process. They can also replace the eggs.
Date sugar is the best because it is a whole food, and date has a lot of nutritional value.
4. What about breakfast?
Cook your oatmeal with oat milk. Oat milk has natural sweetness, although that changes from brand to brand. Test a couple of them and find the one that you like the most. As always, don’t forget to check the ingredients. Always buy the one without added sugar.
Date syrup is again a healthy alternative.
Breakfast cereals most of the time have added sugar. I prefer to make my cereal. Amaranth and oat are the base. Then I add some dried fruits, sometimes frozen cherries or mangoes, bananas, and apples. The natural sweetness of the fruits compensates for the sugar more than enough.
5. Deserts
Fruits, fruits, fruits! Every evening I prepare a bowl of fruits. Berries, oranges, grapes, or whatever I have and whatever the seasonings. And as the fruits are naturally sweet, there is no need to add any sugar. If you like, you can mash them with the blender and add some Pomegranates or shredded coconuts as the topping. There you have an easy and healthy dessert!
Conclusion:
As you see, it is relatively easy to reduce and/or cut sugar from your diet. It can be a bit difficult at the beginning, as you have probably trained your brain unconsciously to the overbearing sweetness of the sugar. With time, it gets easier and easier, especially when there are so many alternatives.
You can be sure after a while you won’t even like the taste of refined sugar. Be patient, and you will thank yourself after a couple of weeks!
