A Six Pack is Born in the Kitchen: How to Eliminate Sugar without Cutting the Sweet

Truth: a six pack is born in the kitchen. In fact, you will notice more results in muscle tone from eliminating sugar than you will from doing one hundred push ups a day (the real ones!). Not to mention, cutting out processed sweetness gives you sincere energy and allows your body to blast fat efficiently. For you sugar-over-salty people out there (I included), here are some handy dandy sweet-tooth tips that make cutting sugar quite easy. Check out Sarah Wilson's tips from her extraordinary e-book, I Quit Sugar.

• Crushed berries…instead of jam. Crush some fresh or frozen berries (perhaps with a little stevia; I find frozen ones work) and spread on toast.
• Vanilla powder… with yoghurt instead of icecream. In my ebook I share other tips, including where to buy the stuff.
• Cinnamon…instead of sugar in your coffee. Try adding a dash of it to coffee as it brews. Toss it into the french press or coffee maker and let it infuse into the grinds.
• Coconut flesh and flakes...to sweeten porridge.
• Licorice root tea…in chocolate treats and baked things. A small teaspoon of the root (ie not after it’s made up into tea) adds instant sweetness.
• Almond milk. The bought stuff is usually full of added sugar. Which is dumb because it really doesn’t need it. “Because of their sweet tasting oil (almonds) can trick our taste buds into thinking sugar’s present. Add it to tea as well as smoothies and you’ll likely use far less sweetener.”
• Coconut oil.…as a snack after lunch. As Huffington Post writes, the mind makes such a strong “sweet” association with the scent of coconut, that even when there is no sugar present (like in the coconut oil) the mouth senses “sweet”. Look for the pure, virgin kind sold at most health oriented stores. I literally scoop it straight from the jar for an after lunch treat. I’ll post on this in the future. (see below for Huff Post’s spinach and sweet potato recipe cooked with coconut oil)
• Cook onion…to sweeten pasta sauces. I love this tip: Many savory foods have loads of sugar added. This is especially true for foods with a tomato base due to tomato’s acidity. Sweeten with LOTS of cooked onion instead. Let them caramelize on the stove top until they’re deeply golden, their sugar oozing out…
• Apple sauce...to sweeten muffins. Apples still contain fructose, but in moderation they’re fine and can substitute for sugar in muffins etc. Huff Post advises cutting back a little on the liquid, and/or add a few minutes to the baking time, and go 1:1 with the sugar to apple sauce substitution.
• Roast vegetables...instead of dessert. Eat the roasted vegs at the end of the meal and you will be far less in need of a sweet. The most dessert-like ones: sweet potato, squash, beets and carrots.

Delicious but Not-So-Ordinary Substitutes

Little tweeks to recipes can make a major difference in your health. My challenge to you: try these before you look at this article like it’s crazy. The kitchen is only fun when you mix things up. So, I dare you to incorporate these substitutes in your next batch of whatever is cookin’! The real test: don’t tell the partakers of the change, and see if they notice the taste.

• BUTTER (when baking): Avocado
• SOUR CREAM: Greek yogurt
• SUGAR: Maple syrup or agave nectar
• WHITE FLOUR: Stone ground whole wheat, coconut, or buckwheat flour