Early spring I like to challenge myself and cut out processed sugar from my diet for a couple of weeks or even for a month. Then continue with a 10-day spring detox program. It is a nice way to ease into spring, get motivated and get in shape for the summer.
So how do you cut out processed sugar?
Almost everyone craves sweets. Rather than depending on processed sugar, adding more naturally sweet flavor to your daily diet dramatically reduces cravings for sweets.
Certain vegetables have a deep, sweet flavor when cooked-like corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squash (butternut, buttercup, delicata, hubbard and kabocha), sweet potatoes and yams. There are other, less popular vegetables that are semi-sweet-like turnips, parsnips and rutabagas.
Then there are vegetables that don’t taste sweet, but their effect on the body is similar to sweet vegetables. These include red radishes, daikon radish, green cabbage, red cabbage and burdock. They sooth the internal organs of the body and energize the mind. And because many of these vegetables are root vegetables, they are energetically grounding, helping to balance out the spaciness people often feel after eating other kinds of sweet food.
Healthy Sugar Substitutes
I like to use local sugar substitutes as much as possible. My favorites are honey and maple syrup. They are also very sweet and you don’t need to use too much. For baking I like to use Rapadura, it is whole cane sugar, unrefined, and dehydrated from sugar cane juice. I find it to be the most natural and nutrient dense sugar. If you want have no calories at all use stevia or monk fruit as your sugar substitute.
Raw Honey
Maple syrup
Rapadura
Blackstrap molasses
Brown rice syrup
Coconut sugar
Stevia
Monk fruit
Can you challenge yourself and cut out processed sugar from your diet for a few weeks? Then continue with a 10 day spring detox program and see how you feel after that! I bet you will have all the motivation and energy to start exercising and get in shape for the summer.
