Most of my regular readers will know that I quit most sugar a couple of years ago and make the majority of my desserts and treats using either Xylitol, Stevia, Rice Syrup and the very occasional splash of honey. It can be done and if you are considering that sugar might be a problem in your life here’s a few facts about sugar and your health.
The types of sugars include glucose, maltose, lactose and fructose. Research shows that fructose is the biggest culprit for causing the most damage in your body as it’s metabolised through your liver. This places an enormous workload on your liver and potentially can cause liver disease. The other sugars mentioned are surprisingly not as harmful and according to Sarah’s book can be eaten very moderately.
Remember: When I’m talking about quitting sugar, I’m referring to fructose.
The other sugars – maltose, lactose and glucose – are safe to eat in moderation.
Fructose is not. Ordinary table sugar is 50% glucose, 50% fructose. Some
sugars contain a higher fructose ratio, like agave. Yep! This so-called healthy
sweetener often found in a number of so-called healthy chocolates can contain
up to 90% fructose.
Just a few reasons why fructose is bad for us:From Sarah Wilsons The Chocolate Cookbook.
Note from me: My only hesitation here is that if you are suffering with Candida then no sugar is permitted as it feeds candida and other gastro bugs. You are allowed Xylitol and Stevia however.
As with Sarah’s series of I Quit Sugar books she has again delivered an easy to read and practical guide to cooking with raw chocolate and healthy ingredients.
Can I Eat Chocolate if I Quit Sugar ?
Here’s what Sarah says:
Well, yes. But it depends. I’d like to be upfront. Eating chocolate when you quit sugar means knowing these things:
Cocoa contains less than 1% sugar, and is a richly nutritious food.
* Store-bought chocolate is rarely real chocolate. Even the sugar-free
stuff. It’s mostly full of bad oils and additives, and retains little
nutritional value. Which means…
* It’s best to make your own chocolateRaw cacao is a superfood.
a Mars bar is anti-food.
If you would like to see a sample of Sarah’s I Quit Sugar The Chocolate Cookbook you can download this pdf
Sarah is a girl who likes clean food and is honest and open about how she goes about it. If you loved her other books then you will find this a great edition to add to the collection.
Who said you can’t have the chocolate and eat it too! Well here’s the way.
I recently made Sarah’s coconut chocolate butter, from the IQS book and found it inedible. This is what Sarah refers to as her chocolate in the book. I am only in week 4 of the quitting sugar. Is it likely I will find it more palatable when I get further through, or should I just go with the sweetened recipes (once I am past the detox phase). What was your experience?
I wish I had a straight forward answer to this but I don’t think I do. Cutting something out of your diet, especially like sugar, can be harder for some than it is for others. It has to do with how much sugar was in your diet beforehand and also how addicted you are to it. For me my personal experience started many years ago as I went to and fro between food plans. 6 years when I had a severe candida infection I had to give up all sweet things including fruit. So for me it wasn’t a big deal as I seem to be able to come and go from eating sugar without any major reactions. Are you still having sugar cravings? If you are than yes this butter would probably taste quite atrocious. The other thing is are you okay with eating coconut oil and raw cacao powder. The combination of these two ingredients can be somewhat off putting if you’ve never really used these ingredients before. When I first made this recipe I played around with adding rice syrup, stevia and Xylitol. And then if you add the hazelnut meal or almond meal the butter becomes very thick and a bit like mud in your mouth. My suggestion is maybe play around with ingredient amounts. Think about using carob powder instead of cacao. Carob has a slightly natural sweeter flavour than cacao. Try this – mix 3 tablespoons of melted coconut oil with 3 tablespoons of carob or cacao and leave out the nut meal. Add a small amount of stevia at first and then adjust to the sweetness you like. Pour into ice cubes or small container and freeze for about 5 minutes. I know this has a more fudge like consistency as I make it all the time for my daughter. Let me know how you get on. Hang in there – it can be a bit of a see saw ride for awhile but it is so worth it when you get to the other side. 🙂 Kerry
And if that works you can increase the amount to make bigger portions simply by doing equal portions of carob/cacao to coconut oil. So 1/2 cup carob/cacao to 1/2 cup coconut oil. If you want you can then add some chopped almonds or coconut flakes or shreds. Use stevia to sweeten according to your taste. Hope that helps. 🙂
Thanks for your detailed answer. I have actually not had too much trouble with cravings, although I have been doing a good job of substitution (ie: eating fat and other ‘treats’), but I was fairly well addicted to sugar to begin with and particularly sugar in chocolate. I’ll have a try of your suggestions sometime in the future once I have started eating sweet flavours again.
Thanks 🙂
Stick with it and it will be worth it in the end. You’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel once those sugar cravings are squashed. Just a thought – because you mentioned that you were addicted to sugar in chocolate, could it be that it was something else in the chocolate, maybe caffeine, magnesium or serotonin is also another possibility. Sometimes we think we crave one thing when it could be something else entirely. Food for thought. Go well 🙂