This is the week we focus on getting all of that extra sugar out of your diet.  You now have been reading labels for a little while and have probably noticed that everything and I mean everything has sugar in it.  It is called all different things on food labels.  If it says, “syrup, “sweetener” or end in “-ose” then that is a good indication that it is sugar.  I read one article that listed 28 different words for sugar that could be used on an ingredient label.  That’s crazy!  No wonder there is a childhood obesity epidemic in this country.  I just read a stat that 1 out of 3 children will develop diabetes.  That’s insane!

So…….what can we do to fight back for ourselves and our children?  I decided that this was going to be one of my Family’s Rules.  We decided that we were only going to eat foods that were sweetened with honey or 100% real maple syrup.  These sweeteners are both readily available in the area that I live so obtaining them is an easy thing for us.  You can read more on the health benefits of honey here.  This rule also means that artificial sweeteners are not permitted either.  Remember……….that diet soda habit I had to kick?  Artificial sweeteners have all kinds of nasty side-effects (more on that in a future post).  One of the biggest problems is that they increase your need for sweet.  They actually cause you to crave sweeter and sweeter things.  So, you cut back the calories in your drink, but then head to the bakery to satisfy your cravings.  Just doesn’t help you.  I was getting fat drinking diet soda.  Crazy, huh?

I’ve expanded upon this rule a little bit because I’ve found that really ripe bananas and applesauce make great sweeteners.  I sweeten pancakes with bananas and use both bananas and applesauce quite a bit in baking.  These fruits are naturally sweet and allow me to cut back on my honey and maple syrup usage.

Now……..what does this mean to you this week?  The challenge is to only eat foods that are sweetened with honey or maple syrup.  Read those labels.  If it says there is any other sugar in it, you need to put it back on the shelf.  What you will probably find is that there is a whole heck of a lot of things that have sugar in it.  There is sugar in places you wouldn’t expect to see.

Why is sugar in everything?  The answer is easy.  We like it.  The bigger answer is we like it and we will buy more because we are so addicted to sugar.  Those big food companies are tricky and they know how to get us to buy more of their products.  This week is about purging your addiction for sweet.  This week is about adjusting your taste buds so that a piece of fruit tastes really sweet to you.  I never thought it would be possible because I have such a sweet tooth, but even I have adjusted the level of sweet I can tolerate.  I am now one of those people who say, ” Wow! that is too sweet.  I can only have a few bites.”   Never in a million years did I think that would be me.

OK……….so now it’s your turn.  Give it a go and let me know what challenges you run into.  I’ll bet you will probably want to do some more cooking with whole ingredients at home.  I would also love to hear if you find a really great product.  I truly believe that we all benefit from this shared knowledge as we travel together on our real food journey.

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.