the "Beyond Sugar" Challenge

Lately I've read a few things that are causing me to re-think how I view and consume sweeteners, even natural ones. I do believe that natural sweeteners (honey, Rapadura/Sucanat, and molasses, to name a few) are infinitely healthier than the refined white stuff. While refined sugar is actually detrimental to one's health, unrefined sweeteners offer nutritional benefits - such as minerals.

Yet our culture today relies heavily on sweets. I've already talked about how sugar and high fructose corn syrup are in so many products on the grocery store shelves: peanut butter, pasta sauce, ketchup, and even cereals like corn flakes, and yes, Cheerios. I recently read this post at Food Renegade, which talked about the increased consumption of sugar over the past century or so. It said that our great-grandparents typically consumed around 5 lbs of sugar a year, whereas today the normal American eats the same amount in about two weeks. Wow! We're out of control, here!

Shortly following that, Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS posted the "Beyond Sugar" Challenge. She and her family are eliminating all sweeteners (natural or otherwise) from their diet for 30 days. Any readers who are interested in participating, at whatever level, are invited to do so. I had already been thinking along those lines, and I welcome the compananionship and ideas that will come from shared goals.

I, however, am not (yet?) aiming to eliminate all sweeteners from our family's diet. I fear that I would have utter mutiny on my hands if I attempted that! My goal is to cut way back personally, to encourage my family to focus on enjoying the wonderful variety of flavors and foods which God has given mankind. We tend to be fixated on incorporating "something sweet" into our day, several times over. While I do believe that sweet things have their place, I think they're a bit too much of a priority around our house.


My goals:

• For me, only one sweet treat per day. I know this sounds a bit wimpy, but it's a significant change! I never have completely tamed my sweet tooth, not yet anyway.
• Come up with popular, healthier alternatives for my family at snack time.
• Convince my children that they don't need dessert (even a healthy one) every night.
• Become content with fruit as my last bite of a meal, as opposed to, say, chocolate.
  

If anyone has any ideas for wonderful, healthy snacks, I welcome them! Some our family's favorites are: crispy nuts, homemade crackers with peanut or almond butter, cheese, popcorn (popped on the stove in coconut oil, then buttered & salted!), bean dip or Cream and Chive Dip with fresh veggies, and apple slices. I'm also hoping to try making hummus soon.

I encourage you to check out the GNOWFGLINS (which stands for "God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season") website. It has many wonderful recipes, techniques, and tutorials. Or, better yet: join us on this quest. I'm confident that we'll all be better for it.

There are so many wonderful foods in God's creation, a wild variety of flavors, textures, and combinations. I'm ready to stop fixating on the sweet stuff, and embrace the bigger picture of the tools the Lord gave us for our nourishment!