Resources, ideas, strategies for cutting sugar

[staceychev]

Hi all...

I'm starting to realize that DD1's wicked temper may be partially related to the amount of sugar she gets in her diet. She's also been diagnosed with several cavities. DH is starting a yeast cleanse at the behest of his chiro, probably later this week. So, I've got a lot of reasons to clean up our diet of sugar!

The way I describe our diet is this: we eat really well, and we eat junk. DD loves wild salmon and kale and other healthy foods, but she also has a wicked sweet tooth. I've come to realize that I'm the same way.

So, what I'm looking for are things I can use to help my family move towards a lower-sugar life, specifically:

* tips and tricks
* cookbooks
* websites/blogs
* and mostly, brilliant ideas and wisdom from BTDTs

I'd love to come up with ways to keep some sweet in our life... maybe recipes that use applesauce or sweet potatoes. Or, can I use brown rice syrup or date sugar or honey?

ETA: another question: does cutting sugar need to be done along with cutting beer/wine in order to be successful? DH is obviously going to be alcohol-free during his yeast cleanse, but we do like to have beer or wine in the evenings a couple of nights a week.

[staceychev]

D'oh. Just saw the other sugar thread. Sorry for reposting.

But, seriously, would love some advice specifically about getting almost five year old away from sugar. I could do the 2-3 week cold turkey thing, but I don't know if she could.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by staceychev

But, seriously, would love some advice specifically about getting almost five year old away from sugar. I could do the 2-3 week cold turkey thing, but I don't know if she could.

Yes, she can. It may not be particularly pleasant for you at first, but she can do it same as anyone else. Make sure you have high protein/fat snacks on hand, let her eat as much of them as she wants, and expect that she's going to be asking for sweets a lot the first few days as she detoxes.

ANd just be careful that you don't let her replace sugar with refined grains, because those act much the same way on our bodies.

[madskye]

Hey, I am interested to see that you think the sugar might be the culprit. Hopefully it is the answer and you'll see a big difference. It's probably one of the easiest fixes.

The culprits in my kitchen:

Get tough on your juice & milk boxes. I started really pushing water, DD has a plastic wine glass that she likes to drink out of at home and (horrors) a Hannah Montana lenticular glass that is always a treat when I break it out.

I didn't go down to no juice boxes, as they are very convenient for school and she loves them, but I started with one juice box and her pink water bottle for daycare. Also, there are a bunch of flavored waters on the market now that have less than 10 grams of sugar vs 24 or 30 in a regular juice box. (Yes, they are basically throwing $$ away, as far as I can tell they are just water in a capri sun-like bag with a straw.)

She also likes seltzer. Especially in her "wine" glass.

Stay away from the Stonyfield Farm organic milk boxes--vanilla or chocolate are both over 24 grams of sugar. If she loves choco milk, then 2 tbspns of hershey's syrup is 20 grams of sugar. Make a small glass of milk with 1 tbspn and you've cut that by half and it's still chocolaty.

Yogurts: Ugh. Packaged yogurt is the pits. I am very lucky because DD actually likes plain yogurt with fruit on top. I still buy gogurts every once in a while, but now they are a TREAT, just like ice cream.

Breakfast: I have actually been cooking sausages in the morning. DD really doesn't like eggs, so she usually has cold cereal, waffles, or oatmeal. I try for whole grains and to add sausage or some nuts if possible. Starting the day with protein is very hard to do in our house. She does like these little egg cups that you make in a muffin tin (basically a little bread baked with scrambled egg).

Snack--since I can only justify sausage 1x per week without then worrying about her tiny arteries, I focus on the 10 am snack being high protein. PB, string cheese, cut up chicken and cubes of cheese with some crackers.

Lunch--turkey sandwich, fruit, low sugar drink

afternoon snack--this might be a small sweet or the yogurt.

Pre-dinner snack (my husband works in NYC so we eat late)--more crackers and cheese, cut up carrots with dressing, she is really into shelling peanuts lately.

Dinner--again, making sure that protein is represented, even if we're eating pasta. My DH is veg, so focusing on protein is tough here.

Dessert--sometimes we have it, sometimes we don't. When we do, it is small. A ramekin of ice cream, a mini-ice cream bar or cone, or 2 girl scout cookies.

I definitely didn't cut out all the sugars, but I have gotten much more mindful and I do think her behavior has improved at the same time. Once you get a label savvy you can pretty much keep a running tally in your head of what they've consumed and that helps too--some nights, I will let her have a lemonade with dinner. Some days, I know it's been way over the top and it's time to push the water.


Good luck! I look forward to seeing how everyone else cuts the sugar, too!

[Magelet]

Originally Posted by staceychev

ETA: another question: does cutting sugar need to be done along with cutting beer/wine in order to be successful? DH is obviously going to be alcohol-free during his yeast cleanse, but we do like to have beer or wine in the evenings a couple of nights a week.

I would say cut it out at first, because your body does process alcohol much like sugar (IIRC), however you can definitely bring some back into your diet. I have wine occasionally, and DP drinks beer sometimes. It doesn't bring out sugar cravings.

Originally Posted by staceychev

D'oh. Just saw the other sugar thread. Sorry for reposting.

But, seriously, would love some advice specifically about getting almost five year old away from sugar. I could do the 2-3 week cold turkey thing, but I don't know if she could.

Yes. she can. It may be hard on you. Just think about how much better her behavior will be when she's off it. If there is no sugar in the house, she won't get a chance to eat it (except maybe a little at school if trading is allowed). She may complain, protest, yell and scream that she needs sugar, just remember how much better for her it is and how much lovelier her behavior will be without it, and shortly, you'll be past it. Make sure you have plenty of fat and protein snacks to munch on (things that are easy to grab. that's one of the hardest things of being newly sugar free is that sometimes, less sugary snacks take prep. so have some eggs boiled up, some carrots cut for dipping in PB, some non-sweet crackers, whatever)
I love this short blog post from food renegage called how to cure a sugar fiend. http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-cure-a-sugar-fiend/

In terms of keeping sweet in our life, we eat as much fresh ripe fruit as we want. We eat small amounts of honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, and molasses. They all taste much sweeter after getting rid of refined sweets. A mug of almonds, butter, honey and raisins tastes too sweet for me. It will be wonderful to be able to add just the tiniest smidge of a healthier natural sugar and have it taste delightfully and sweet in a very real (and not overly sweet) way. Even carrots and other veggies will start to taste sweet, though I wouldn't give up small bits of honey. I just don't need a lot of sweetner.

[lil_earthmomma]

You can do it and so can she!!!

Fruit is your friend. I avoid eating to much as I have a lifetime of food issues and sugar addiction to deal with, but my boys seem to have no trouble.

My boys have been guzzling the milk... so I may have to cut them down on that. They've never had juice other than at Grandma's house, so that wasn't an issue.

For treats I make coconut flour and almond flour muffins that are sweetened with fruit, banana bread, cheese cake sweetened with banana, carrot cake sweetened with pineapple... etc. These are still once in a while for a treat though, or I find we (I) get craving the sugar hardcore.


Snacks in our house:

My boys LOVE greek yogurt with some fruit or freezer jam (NO SUGAR!!!) mixed in.
Almond butter, freezer jam, and a banana. We dip the banana in the butter and the jam.
Veggies with "cowboy" dip. (Homemade ranch)
nuts
devilled eggs
cold sliced up chicken breast(or shrimp for mom!), sliced cheese, salsa and sourcream, rolled up in lettuce!

[staceychev]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement, everyone! The snack ideas are great... and luckily, we don't have a lot of the common sugars in her diet. She drinks very little juice and doesn't drink flavored milk.

I'm realizing just how much of an addict she is. I got her an Easter basket with mostly non-food treats (princess pens and stickers, a painting kit, etc.), but there are some small chocolate eggs in there. She absolutely obsesses over them. She ate a half a grapefruit before bed last night, then commenced begging for a chocolate egg because she had just eaten something healthy...

[staceychev]

@Earthmama:

Do you make your own sugar-free freezer jam? Do you have a recipe?