I began to wean myself off sugar several years ago.  I had no idea how addicting sugar is and how difficult it is to try to live without.  One reason is that sugar and sweeteners have changed our taste-buds understanding of sweetness.  I began the transition using a product called Sucanat.  It is a brand of unprocessed sugar.  The first year we used it I bought a 50 lb sack because I found it to be extremely expensive to buy in smaller quantities.  It took us nine months to use that sack and I passed one quart on to a friend.  The last time I bought a 50 lb sack was in February of 2015 and we still have a few half gallon jars left.  During this time I completely stopped using sugar and my husband stopped using it in his coffee.  He used to use over two teaspoons of sugar in his coffee. Sucanat is not as addicting as white sugar is.  Sucanat is a take it or leave it thing.  It has the fiber of the plant in it and is unrefined and it is interesting that it is easier to be weaned from sugar when using sucanat.

You can buy this product on Amazon if you are interested.  I’m not affiliated or making any money or anything by sharing this.  I’m just giving you a FYI.

Natural possibilities for sweetening food are maple syrup, honey, dates, raisins and other dehydrated fruits and juices.  If you do use these they should be used extremely sparingly.  I have recently restricted myself to only a rare occasional bit of honey.

What I have discovered is that I don’t require the amount of sweet as before.  I eat a piece of fruit sometime before my meals and that is all the sweet I need.  I also eat a banana for breakfast.  I personally don’t feel the need for added sweetness.  I am now finding squash plenty sweet and other veggies we used to sweeten are now not sweetened at all.

I really feel that if you take processed foods and drinks out of your diet you will be well on your way to a much healthier life.

What is left on the table?

Fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats, eggs, fish, nuts and seeds.

I like to think all the way back to the original human diet after they were driven from the Garden of Eden.  All the good stuff that grows on the ground, on trees, in the sea, birds,  animals in the forests and fields.  I know that is hard for some folks to read but most folks have been meat eaters since the garden days because they couldn’t live in the garden forever and had to eat meat once they left.  I don’t believe in the cave men theory.  I’m sure some folks lived in caves like King David, but I’m not buying the whole Flintstones caveman theory.  I believe we’ve always looked the way we do and have always needed what we need now and that humans have always been intelligent.

I like to make my own food pyramid based on my own ideas about food.

This is where I put sugar on my pyramid.  In the last post I shared the food pyramid from the USDA’s website.  Sugar is at the top with oils and fats.  This is added sugar. Below is my idea about where sugar goes and it isn’t there.  Only a little honey very rarely and fruit in moderation, daily.

This is the beginning of my food pyramid.  You have to design your own pyramid according to your needs.

Thank you for reading this post.  I hope that your journey toward better health is successful and that you find your way through the maze of advice out there.  I would like nothing more than to have been some help to you in making your journey a little more simple and easy.

Let me know in the comments if anything has been helpful for you or if you have something helpful to share.  Together we are better.