Living a Healthy Lifestyle

When I gave up eating sugar over 30 years ago, it was difficult to make the adjustment to honey. There were few recipes, replacements, or advice available. Today, there are so many available sweeteners as well as information – most unheard of 30 years ago – which makes the transition as simple as pie! Plus, you are not alone. Many others are taking measures to make positive changes in healthier eating.

What we often do not realize is that the one of the main reasons why 65% of Americans are obese and so many others experience disorders, is because our diets are flooded with sweets at any given moment of the day! So it’s not just enough to replace sugar with other sweeteners, we need CUT DOWN, and CUT OUT sweetened foods period. As we learned in last week’s newsletter, table sugar has no nutritive value at all and can only supply the body with chemical reactions and calories, while the following sweeteners – though some are processed to some degree – still provide valuable nutrients (vitamins and minerals).

• Fruit: The real king of sweeteners, fruits can sweeten up any cereal, smoothie, or dessert. Whole dates, bananas, and fresh fruits of all kinds provide nourishments, natural sweetness and hearty flavor. We would all benefit from filling up on fresh fruits instead of sweetened goodies and drinks.
• Honey: Still one of the best sweeteners nutritionally and cost-wise. Always purchase “raw” if possible, as most honey is heated to the degree of killing vital nutrients in order to keep it liquefied.
• Pure Maple Syrup: This boiled down sap from the maple trees does have many nutrients, though grade B is higher in nutrients (and is less expensive). Great on cereals (hot or cold), in smoothies, frozen desserts, and baking.
• Brown Rice Syrup: This syrup is about half the sweetness of honey and is great in recipes where volume is needed but not the sweetening (see recipe below).
• Stevia: Comes from a p lant leaf which you can grow and is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia is great for balancing the adrenals, so is beneficial for blood sugar issues. With minimal processing it can be used in a liquid or powdered form. It is a healthy, no-calorie sweetener and used most often in warm herbal drinks, frozen desserts & smoothies.
• Molasses: Liquid made in the sugar making process. Blackstrap Molasses is what is left after all possible sweetening is removed, and is an excellent source of minerals: iron, magnesium & calcium – great as a supplement!
• Sucanat: These dehydrated cane juice crystals still have all the nutrients along with the sweetening. This is what brown sugar was originally, and can be used as brown or white sugar would be used (it is brown).

Sweeteners no longer recommended as healthful are:
• Fructose: Originally made from fruit now comes primarily from corn. It is much sweeter than sugar but does contain some nutrients, and is sometimes better for those with low blood sugar.
• Agave syrup: Though originally thought to be a healthier sweetener (termed as low-glycemic and good for diabetes), the process is almost identical to that of high-fructose corn syrup. The agave root is turned into a crystalline powder then into a syrup. It’s far removed from its original form with extensive processing along the way.

We can be a healthier people by choosing better foods and better sweeteners. It just takes the desire, and one step at a time in trying better and healthier ways of preparing foods – and removing those foods that are being prepared for us that are not healthy!

Here’s another great recipe to try – an awesome treat that is full of protein and fiber! This comes from Enjoy Nature’s Harvest e-book that you can download simply here: http://livingahealthylifestyle.com/store.htm

MY GURU CHEWS
(this crunchy treat is mostly live foods with the raw nuts and seeds)

1 C. brown rice syrup
¼ C. maple syrup
¼ C. oil
1 tsp. liquid lecithin (or lecithin granules – not powder)
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. almond butter
1 C. chopped raw almonds
1 C. raw cashew pieces
½ C. raw sesame seeds
½ C. raw sunflower seeds

• In large saucepan, heat syrups, oil, and lecithin and cook on medium heat to 275°.
• Remove from heat; add vanilla, salt, and almond butter. Cool 5 minutes and stir in nut and seed mixture (you can substitute other raw nuts too).
• Spread into lecithin/oiled baking dish. Cut into 2″ x 2″ squares or roll into 1″ balls when cool enough to handle.
• If desired, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.