SUGAR-FREE tribe. January thread - Page 3

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by purplegirl

I am doing really well except I cannot find a suitable alternative to sweetening my tea/coffee. I have been using splenda but want to get off the crap. Any suggestions?

Stevia!

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by ju-cee

Anyone have a recipe for soy yogurt that I can make myself
ALL of the grocery brands have cane juice even the plain variety(

Have you tried the Wildwood brand soy yogurt? It's unsweetened.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

I use honey in my tea - I only recently started noticing most people use sugar! I think honey's much better. I use raw honey, so it's slightly less processed and doesn't seem to bother nearly as much as white sugar. I've never tried brown rice syrup in it, but it might work! I never got into stevia... too bitter for me, but maybe I should give it another try.

ju-cee, I'll have to look around but there's a recipe floating around MDC for making your own yogurt and you can use soy yogurt as a starter! We used that recipe long ago, and it was soooo yummy. Much better than the store stuff.

Anyone have any good sugar-free recipes? Last time I went sugar-free we had banana "ice cream" every night! I need to freeze some bananas and have some tomorrow night! Frozen grapes are also a good snack, and I do alot of dried fruit. We also got an air popcorn popper for Christmas so I've been making that in the evenings when I'd be sitting down with candy, just a teeny bit of salt and maybe a teeny bit of "butter".

Hope everyone's doing great!!!

[ShannonCC]

Ooooooooo, frozen grapes, I forgot about that! Those are so good I like the red seedless.

Juice pops are good too. Just a plain old OJ pop is a nice treat Yogurt (goat for me) blended with frozen strawberries or blueberries and frozen in an ice pop maker is yummy too.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

Originally Posted by HRC121799

After the kids are asleep, I get to watch my dh eat ice cream cone drumsticks, brownies, M&M's, etc. He still likes his sugar! I just ask that he doesn't do it in front of the kids, as I struggle enough to get them to eat healthy food, doesn't help if they see Daddy eating candy and not flossing like he should (tonight my 7 y.o. asked me why Daddy doesn't do mouthwash and floss as much as we do,lol).

I LOVE baking (not bread though, I can't cook bread, I like to do muffins and cakes and other desserts). I have a great cookbook called Sweet & Natural Baking

I meant to reply to this on my first reply, but now you get your own.

Can you ask your husband to take his sweets into another room? Like you'd make someone go outside to smoke? Seriously, my DH still eats sugar at work or when he's out, but not around me, because I can't handle it. Today we were at the grocery and he said "Those muffins look good..." then after glancing at me he murmured "maybe I'll swing by on the way to work".

And I was browsing Amazon for hours last night after the search that cookbook started! It looks so good! I wish it was available!

Good luck on school too!!

[EyesOfTheWorld]

Originally Posted by ShannonCC

Ooooooooo, frozen grapes, I forgot about that! Those are so good I like the red seedless.

Juice pops are good too. Just a plain old OJ pop is a nice treat Yogurt (goat for me) blended with frozen strawberries or blueberries and frozen in an ice pop maker is yummy too.

Can I ask if you're using goat's milk because you avoid dairy? We are (issues with my nursling) and I haven't really tried much besides rice milk. I'd love some more options!

[ju-cee]

I've been reading the new posts, some GREAT ideas mamas!!

??-banana "ice cream" frozen grapes or OJ 'pops' ...do they lead
to cravings....I'm VERY carb sensitive so if I were to eat them,
regardless of the fact that they have no refined sugar in them,
they would bottom out my bld sugar...and probably cause me
to crave sugary foods b/c of that. I guess I just answered my
own ? but would be interested in others thoughts on this.....

Thank you for the yogurt idea, I will look for that next time, we
are getting a Whole Foods closer to us, can't wait!!

I just wanted to share that this am when I got home from work
[nite shift this week] dh was making cinnamon biscuits....OOOOH,
how HARD it was not to eat any.......2nd ingred, was sugar not to
mention the white flour! I thought of you mama's and you gave me
STRENGTH!! I was able to eat my oatmeal w/h20 and some dried
cherries [i guess that was my sweet fix] and went to bed....VERY HARD
but I made it!!!!!!!!!!![for me, hope you don't mind

had some chinese food tonite and have such a HEADACHE...not sure if
it's sugar withdrawls starting or MSG or both...OUCH!!

Thanks for the support mama's keep up the good work everyone!!

I would appreciate that yogurt recipe if your able to find it, I'm not that
good at searching the forums yet!
The cookbook looks good too!

On to another sugar free day!!

[Anna06]

:

[ShannonCC]

Originally Posted by EyesOfTheWorld

Can I ask if you're using goat's milk because you avoid dairy? We are (issues with my nursling) and I haven't really tried much besides rice milk. I'd love some more options!

My daughter and I are both mildly allergic to cow dairy. If we eat it too often I break out in excema on my hands and she gets dry, red rashes (which I think are also excema, just not as bad) and sometimes pimples on her cheeks. Our allergies are mild enough that we can have cow dairy every now and then without a problem, but definitely not every day.

I tried goat products and found that if I eat it every day for *weeks* I eventually break out but it takes a much longer time than cow dairy. I've heard a lot of people who are allergic to cow and can eat goat with no problem ever so it depends on you. Allergies are such a mystery, yk? I've made yogurt from goat milk but I've never used straight goat milk. We're not milk drinkers here. Goat cheese is yummy but I didn't care for the goat ice cream I tried once (but that's not on my menu now anyway).

Ju-cee, the problem is, we're all different so it's a bit of trial and error. I have no problem with natural fruit sugars, even slightly refined ones like fruit juice and fruit spread. Some people do have a problem with them. If you know they will give you problems then don't eat them, even if others can. It's a very individual thing and depends on what's going on in your body.

Good going on not eating the cinamon buns! Have you considered asking your dh to help you you out though? Mine is being careful to not bring any sweets into the house because he knows I'd be tempted (not that he should be eating any either since he's diabetic).

[purplegirl]

Two days and sugar free. I have also traded splenda for honey and beet sugar! I am so mindful of reading packages and refuse to go anywhere near hfcs!!! I am glad you all are here for the support.

[saratc]

Originally Posted by EyesOfTheWorld

Anyone have any good sugar-free recipes?

Okay, not much of a recipe, but I love a very sweet juicy apple like a big fuji with natural peanut butter slathered on every bite. Since I've been not eating sugar so long, it tastes almost like a type of candied apple to me.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

ju-cee - Like Shannon said, it really depends on the person! I don't have much of an issue with fruit sugars unless I over do it. Banana "ice cream" is just frozen bananas, another frozen fruit of your choice, a bit of milk (cows, soy, rice, etc, we use rice) and a drop or two of vanilla extract if desired, blended together. (sorry for the "recipe", I'm going off memory!) So if fruit by itself doesn't give you problems, I wouldn't think freshly blended fruit would. But I don't want to be responsible if you try banana ice cream and raid the cinnamon rolls! Congrats on not giving in!!!

I couldn't find the recipe on MDC but I found this goggling - I think it's the same one we used! http://www.fullerfamilyfarms.com/200...o-make-yogurt/

ShannonCC - Thanks for the info! My baby has pretty bad reactions (vomiting and rashes) if I have much cow's milk, but I may try some goat's cheese soon. I miss dairy, especially when I'm giving up something else (sugar)! I'm not a big milk drinker either.

saratc - That sounds soooooo good! I love apples & peanut butter! Bananas and peanut butter are super yummy too.

Hope everyone is doing great!! What awesome women!

[HRC121799]

Pilsbury makes sugar free cinnamon rolls, those ones that pop out of the tube/can. They do have splenda. And I'm sure nothing else good for you.

But at the desperate beginning, it helped me.

I think I've posted it before, but here's the fruit smoothie recipe I do almost every AM (well, now mainly on the weekends!)

1 C. strawberries
1 banana
1/2 C orange juice & 1 ice cube, or 1-2 tbsp. OJ concentrate
1 C. milk

blend and drink. My boys LOVE this. I've added mango & pineapple too and it's soo good. I like simple and easy. Yum.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

We do smoothies every morning too. I make mine a bit bigger because dd1 and I both drink them like crazy! It's a good way to start off with something "sweet".

2 bananas
frozen strawberries/ blueberries/ rasperries/ whatever
rice milk
pomegranate juice
flax seeds
kelp
brewer's yeast
any other good for you stuff I can stick in

Blend - YUM!

[Anna06]

Hi everyone:

Sugar free is such a good ideal. This is a great thread, I've learned a lot.

How is everyone doing? I'm still not totally sugar free. Because, I eat Miracle Whip and my bread has 2 sugars, but I've really cut down. I use to get a headache when I went without sugar, now I get one if I have to much.

Sorry, but I've missed you guys.
How is school HRC???? Still hanging in there? Anyone heard from Animus?
Shannon, I'm telling my kids to "pick-up" 7 things a day. Maybe someday we can actually get rid of some of this clutter!! Thanks babygrant for starting a Jan thread.

Going grocery shopping tomorrow, what kind of bread do you all eat? Going to look for some of those sugar free DOVE candies!!!: :

Oh, subbing.

[ju-cee]

I survived my husband making chocolate peppermint bark last nite
I went to bed He just couldnt leave those candies alone!
I almost had some but have been doing very well so decided NOT
to blow it

Do you think it's possible to be 100% sugar free, Is that the goal?
Case in point, I was going to buy these rice crackers Monday at the grocery and read ingred. sugar was 2nd to last, I put them back.......would you have gotten them w/it being so far down on the list??

Purple girl traded Splenda for honey and beet sugar.....do you all still
consider that as sugar or are we only looking at HFCS and cane sugar?

: Not picking on you Purple Girl.......just gaining knowledge, I hope

[ShannonCC]

ju-cee, it's very personal, we don't have a set of rules here For me, I'm trying to avoid sugars in general so honey and beet sugar are out too, but if you can eat them without bad effects then that's fine. I know from experience that honey triggers binges in me just like white sugar does but it doesn't for everyone. Heck, plain old white sugar doesn't trigger binges for those who aren't addicted! You just have to decide what works for *you*.

On the crackers though, I might have bought them. I am reading labels but I'm not concerning myself too much with things that have sugar way down on the list. Again, from experience, I know that it's only noticably sweet things that trigger problems for me. For example, the whole wheat bread I buy has honey in it but it doesn't taste sweet and I can have it without binging so no problem. But if there's an option I take it. The crackers I like are just whole wheat, oil and salt and are pretty dang tasty I don't think I have a sugar free option with bread though since you need some sort of sugar to help the yeast raise (and I've tried making my own bread and it never works out).

I *have* however noticed that if I'm avoiding sugar I eventually get to a point where white, refined grains bother me so I'll have to watch for that.

[MangoMamma]

Hello, all. I'm trying to go sugar-free. I keep starting and everyday I do ok until that one thing... Next thing I know I've eaten something with sugar. I'm not doing well and not sure if I can do this at all.

[HRC121799]

Still doing okay, eating more salads & protein, trying to stave off thoughts of sugar,lol. How's everyone doing?

[ShannonCC]

MangoMama, try eating a lot of protein. Most people seem to find that helps when you are starting out. When I cut sugar, I ate a lot of protein and fat and didn't watch what I was eating at all. I ate all my non-sugar favorites including some things that aren't really good for me (like dairy - I'm mildly allergic). The really bad cravings only last a few days so don't worry about your unbalanced diet during that time. Just get past the first few days and then it starts getting easier all the time.