Want to cut back on sugar but afraid you lack the discipline to cut back on sweet tastes? For the typical westerner who’s been hooked on the stuff since he had teeth to chew it, a no sugar diet sounds about as appealing as a Turkish prison.
But, as the old cliché goes, “desperate times call for desperate measures”. In other words, if you have diabetes, hypoglycemia, or Syndrome X, you may have been prescribed a low or non-sugar diet by your physician and don’t have much of a choice. And the fact of the matter is, just about anyone could do without the extra sweets from time to time, not to mention cutting back on refined sugars.
Fortunately, getting yourself a sugar-free diet doesn’t necessarily mean living like a monk or giving up sweet-tasting culinary pleasures for the rest of your life. Let’s look at examples of low-sugar and sugar-free alternatives to incorporate in your diet plan.
Dark Chocolate
While store-bought chocolate candy bars are typically sugar-laden, dark chocolate with 70 percent or more cocoa is lower in sugar percentage and delicious. Darker chocolates even have health boosting antioxidant properties.
For a simple dessert, try a few small chunks on their own – dark chocolate is strong-tasting and even a little bit can do the trick. Get creative and melt it down to make a fondue, served with some of your favorite fruits and whole grain crackers on the side.
Yogurt
Yogurt can be an excellent sugar-free dessert option, as long as it is the sugar free type, not with sugary flavorings. Be sure to check the label for high fructose type ingredients. Many dieters depend on yogurt to satisfying their cravings; it works, and it works well. When frozen, yogurt’s creamy texture mimics the consistency of ice cream (a common craving for sweet-tooths). I like to put a small container of plain or vanilla yogurt in my freezer for about an hour and have it as a mid-afternoon snack.
If you want to jazz up your plain yogurt, add other low-glycemic foods. Try almond butter, blackstrap molasses, or chopped fruit. You might even experiment with two or three ingredients at once and find a combo that gets your kicks.
Low-Glycemic Cookies, Brownies, and Other Treats
Cookies aren’t necessarily off limits to the sugar-free citizen either. Swap out that refined white flour with less-processed whole grain flour – stone-ground is an excellent choice. Toss in some 85 percent dark chocolate chunks or carob chips instead of sweet, sugar-loaded chips and use your favorite sugar alternatives as sweetener.
Stevia, sucralose, or aspartame are all choices you might want to have a look at. If you’re just trying to cut back on sugar rather than completely knock it out of your diet, you can try cutting the recommended amount in half (never forget that recipes are nothing more than recommendations).
Fresh, Dried, or Baked Fruits
Fresh fruit is always a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth without going too big on the processed sugars. Try sweet fruits like kiwis, grapes, or berries and it’s almost like eating a natural candy. Strawberries and raspberries have a surprisingly high fiber content that slows absorption of the natural sugars in them for a healthy sweet treat.
Banana is another high fiber sweet fruit that makes a perfect dessert eaten fresh. You can even try freezing it, blending it, mashing it up, or baking it. Baked apples can be a nice warm dessert – core it and stuff dried fruits and nuts inside.
Avoid all dried fruits as their glycemic index is actually quite high.
Sugar-Free Store-bought Desserts
We’re fortunate to live at a time where you can readily find great-tasting alternatives to suit just about any dietary need, no matter what allergies, intolerances, preferences, or beliefs you have. Sugar-free cookies and cakes. Scratch. Sugar-free popsicles. No problem. Sugar-free hot cocoa. Yep – out there. Sugar-free candy? You got it, Mam. Hit up your local health food store or supermarket and you’ll have no problem finding something that suits you.
If you’re not diabetic, just seeking some moderation, start out by cutting down a little at a time. Share your desserts when you’re “treating” yourself in a restaurant – or look at the children’s menu for smaller portions.
Swap out a dessert here and there for some dark chocolate or fruit rather than quitting sugar cold turkey, and pay attention to how it makes you feel and how hard it is. Weigh the benefits against the sacrifices, and you might find it’s not all that excruciating at all; as you gain momentum, cut it out more.
If you’re diabetic or obese, it doesn’t need saying you need to check with your doctor or nutritionist before trying out a new sugar-free dessert, but I’m saying it anyways. If you’re at risk, please do check with your doctor and get the okay.
photo by John Loo