If you don't eat a lot of (or any!) sugar . . .

[blumooned]

do you just eat mostly savory/non-sweet foods or do you use sugar substitutes and/or less refined sugars?

I'm realizing that I eat a lot of sugar (mostly as snacks). I've always eaten a lot of sugar & really have no problem with it, but I don't like that DS is starting to eat a lot of sugar. If I cut back, then he won't be exposed to it as much.

So, should I just switch to non-sweet snacks? Or can I have my sweets with OK sugars? Are sugars like turbinado/sucanant/evaporated cane juice OK? Honey? What about brown sugar?

I love to bake & I've just never really thought about this. I've used that all-natural sweeteners, but don't really know what's better/best.

Thanks for any input.

[ursusarctos]

I eat very little sugar. I used to eat tons (mostly as snacks! that's where it sneaks in) but weaned myself off of it a few years ago. The key for me was replacing my sweet snacks with savory. I didn't skimp on the fat or salt (though I tried to steer clear of i.e. potato chips ) and that helped the non-sugary snacks to be satisfying. Also, dried or fresh fruit often answers the sweet craving quite well.

I would suggest cutting back on the sweet snacks somewhat (because otherwise you will keep craving the same amount of sweet flavor as you do now) and also favoring natural sweeteners as those at least contain some minerals as well as sugar. Nowadays I usually use dark brown raw cane sugar (they call it "indian sugar" here, it's the least refined sugar you can get), honey, and some maple syrup. The indian sugar works great in baking. I think the main thing is to steer clear of refined white sugar, which it sounds like you already knew

[AllyRae]

We avoid refined white sugar, but we have no problems with honey, maple syrup, or unrefined pure sugar (sucanant, primarily). Of course, we try to keep those in moderation so that the primary "sweet" they have is fresh fruit, with an occassional treat thrown in (because lets face it...I love to bake. : ). But the treat is always at the end of the day after they've filled up on their healthy foods...no sweets for snacks.

[Sol_y_Paz]

Less sugar treats/foods is what we do. When sugars are used they are in the form of honey, 100% real maple syrup, agave, stuff like that and in smaller measurements than the recipes call for.
There are snacks available that are healthier as far as go to's on a weekly and daily basis such as boiled eggs, fresh fruit, dried fruit, yogurt, small chunks of cheese, cottage cheese, nuts, organic nut butters, apple sauce, pita chips and salsa or homemade black bean dips, sliced vegetables, easy veg sushi and/or rice balls, hummus, air popped pop corn, homemade mini pizzas (english muffin or whole grain tortilla as the crust, lots of veggies added on top), homemade mini quesadillas (whole grain tortillas, black beans, veggies, a tiny amount of cheese) with guacamole for dipping. Those are some of the main things off the top of my head we use for snack times.

[lizabird]

I used to eat a fair amount of sugar, mostly in homemade baked goods like cookies, pies, etc. Then earlier this year I developed ulcerative colitis and read about cutting out all sugar and grains, which I have been doing for several months now. I used to read labels for other things, and when I started noticing sugar on labels, I was shocked just how prevalent it is in just about any prepared food (like in salsa, tomato sauce, and other places I wouldn't expect to find sugar). I don't really miss the sugar, as I have substituted honey for when I bake and it works great. Actually one thing I noticed when I cut out refined sugar was that I have almost no plaque on my teeth now, and I used to really notice it every day when I brushed my teeth.