You guys must be thinking I am really cruel right about now. I’ve declared it “NO Processed Sugar” week and it is Valentine’s week. I could be like the Pope who sometimes allows corned beef on St Patrick’s day if it falls during Lent. But let’s face it………we are going to run into these food dilemmas all year. We all love those heart boxes full of chocolate. How many of you actually get those as a gift? How many of you buy them for yourself? Ask for flowers or lingerie this year! Wow! I just went PG with this blog. LOL!
I’ve talked about how my husband used to show his love for me with food. I’d have a bad day at work and here would come a milkshake. I would have a great day at work and here would come an ice cream sundae. It didn’t really matter what was going on, there was always an excuse for a sweet treat. I turned around and did the same thing to my children. Pretty soon, there was no such thing as a treat in my house. There was an expectation that treats were part of everyday life. I had given up the opportunity to give my kids treats because they just thought of it as food.
How did I turn it around? I decided I was going to eat my way through the sugar cravings. I filled my fruit bowl to overflowing. I ate fruit with every meal and in between meals. I certainly didn’t want to walk around hungry while I was kicking my processed sugar habit. Being hungry leads to bad decisions. Don’t do it. I’ve heard a lot of people worry about throwing away fresh produce because it goes bad too fast. If you eat it, you will throw away less. Sounds silly, I know, but I mean it.
Think about buying your fruit for the week. Eat it whole. Cut it up into fruit salads. Make smoothies with your fruit. When your bananas start browning, chop them up and freeze them.
Why should you freeze bananas? I’ll tell you why. It makes the most simple and delicious “soft-serve” ice cream. Here is the secret. Shhh………….don’t tell anyone. Oh heck! Tell everyone……………..Freeze your peeled bananas in chunks. Toss them into your food processor or mini chopper. Turn it on and chop the bananas. Pretty soon it will be a smooth texture like soft serve ice cream. You may want to add a splash of soy or your favorite milk to smooth it a little more. We eat it just as is or sometimes we dress it up. Our favorites are natural peanut butter (no sugar), coconut and fresh berries. Our absolute favorite though is straight up banana. That’s how the picky one likes his. It is sweet and tasty without adding any additional sugar. It’s also a great way to use up bananas instead of throwing them away. Score!
So……..what are you going to do with this challenge week? I think it is really OK to indulge in sweets once in a while. Remember, it’s not what you do sometimes that matters. It’s what you do most of the time that matters. You could also choose to find your sweets in an unprocessed way with fruits, honey and maple syrup. Most of your favorite sweet treats can be adapted to unprocessed sweeteners. Whatever you decide………remember I still love you. Have a great Valentine’s Day.
Don’t forget you can join us on Facebook for more fun and support along the way. You can also follow us on Twitter @Jugglngrealfood if you are interested in learning more about the Real Food Movement. You can also follow our boards on Pinterest. If at any time, you want to join in on these challenges, you can do so by leaving me a comment below indicating your interest.
Great post! We do the same with bananas here! I actually blend some spinach with a smidgen of water first, then do the frozen bananas with pineapple. Can't even taste the spinach but it's still a delicious treat that you can eat with a spoon! (and usually bright green too, which the kids think is hilarious)
I'll have to give the spinach a try. Sounds just perfect for St Patrick's day. Thanks for sharing that great idea.
This all sounds familiar. Although I am the one feeding my husbands sugar addiction. I show my love through food. I lost a bunch of weight and then I met my husband. I cooked the food I knew tasted good. I wanted to please him, and in the process I gained back all the weight that I had lost before I met him. I am not pleasing him now. His tummy is happy but he is not happy with his weight nor mine. We both have gained at a steady pace. He gained baby weight with me through three babies. And then we keep on gaining. I have recently gone back to a whole food diet. It is alot slower go this time than it was ten years ago. I have a husband and three kids in tow now. They are coming along with me. It is not always easy, but it is worth the efforts. I write about our whole food adventures at http://www.lifelesshurried.com
Hi there. Thanks for checking us out. You and I both know about "food love". We can still love with food, we just need to make sure it is really healthy food we are sharing with our families. I know we both want long lives for our families and that is what motivates me every time I think I am too tired to prepare a healthy meal. I will check out your blog and I encourage all of the Juggling Real Food and Real Life followers to do the same. We all need lots of encouragement to keep going on this real food journey.
Great post! We have bags of frozen bananas over here. We use them in our smoothies all the time, along with a handful of spinach or kale for extra vitamins. I am a huge sugar addict and can eat candy (think Skittles, Valentines hearts, candy corn) like nobodies business. I know it's so bad for me. Our family strives for healthy real foods a majority of the time, but I just can't break my sugar habit…or maybe I haven't tried hard enough! 🙂 Heck, I even blog about healthy living!
New follower via Harvest of Friends Blog Hop! Looking forward to reading more posts about health and wellness!
Sugar has been the toughest for me as well. I just keep filling up with the good stuff when temptation hits. Sugar is everywhere and it is so hard to avoid, especially for my kids. Thanks for stopping by Jessica. We can be each other's sugar support. If you are interested, you can share your blog information here and we can all check you out.
Sorry I'm late getting here…thank you for adding your wonderful blog to the Thursday Favorite Things hop. xo
Thanks for stopping by. I'm a big fan of your blog as well.
I love banana ice cream! It's my fave for the summer! I do add some crush graham cracker and cool whip, though, for a little banana cream pie action.
My bestie has a blog a lot like yours! I think you guys should be bloggy friends. Her blog is Busy Wife, Healthy Life.
I'm trying to get back on the wagon with eating right and whole foods but I have a major sweet tooth! I'll be following for motivation!
http://www.MommaCandy.com