Here are our favorites.

• Raw Honey * Extracted from flower nectar by bees. Look for different “flavors” based on different flowers – for example, clover, buckwheat, lavender. These aren’t added flavors; just what the bee ate. Honey is 20-60% sweeter than sugar, so you can use less.
• Maple Syrup * Drawn from the sap of a maple tree. Look for Grade B (less processed, contains more minerals). Use organic to avoid formaldehyde and additives.
• Maple Sugar * The dried (crystallized) form of maple syrup. It’s expensive, but can often be found in bulk bins, so you only need to buy what you’ll use. Try it for half the sweetener in oatmeal cookies or pumpkin pie.
• Barley Malt * Made from sprouted barley. This has a strong, distinctive flavor. Best in savory dishes that need a little sweetener. Store in the fridge (keeps for a long time).
• Brown Rice Syrup * Made from brown rice and various enzymes. Mild flavor that works well in desserts. Store in fridge (keeps for a long time).
• Fruit Juice Concentrate * Grape, peach, pear, apple, and pineapple juice concentrates can be used as sweeteners. These are especially good in fruit-based desserts.
• Molasses * A byproduct of sugar cane in the processing of refined sugar. Light and Barbados molasses have a lighter taste than sorghum or blackstrap molasses. The latter two have more minerals. Mostly used in conjunction with milder sweeteners.
• Date Sugar * Ground, dehydrated dates. Available in different size crystals/particles. Use the finest date sugar for baking.
• Sucanat * Crystallized cane sugar that has been minimally processed, never having the molasses removed. The flavor is a bit like refined brown sugar. Crystals are not shiny or consistent in size. Sucanat stands for SUgar CAne NATural.
• Rapadura * Similar to Sucanat. More commonly available in Europe.
• Stevia * From a perennial shrub of the aster family. Available as a powder in small packets, or as a liquid. Extremely sweet. Often used to sweeten beverages. Find specific recipe substitutes for baking, as the volume required is so different.
• Agave Nectar * From a cactus. Look for organic agave for the best quality.

Here’s what sugar does for you *

• Depletes the body of B vitamins
• Leaches calcium from hair, blood, bones and teeth
• Interferes with the absorption of calcium, protein and other minerals
• Retards growth of valuable intestinal bacteria (the bacteria that aids in digestion by breaking food down)
• Overstimulates and causes dramatic mood swings in children, making them unruly (Marilu calls sugar “kiddie cocaine”)
• Increases opportunities for diabetes, obesity, rheumatism, gout, hypoglycemia, acne, indigestion, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and even mental illness
• Ferments in the stomach, stopping the secretion of gastric juices and inhibiting the stomach’s ability to digest

In summary? Keep the sugar in your love life, not in your kitchen.

And for those of you who may not know the song this post title is from…

 
]]> http://www.marilu.com/2010/06/14/sugar-you-got-me-wantin-you/feed/ 0 http://www.marilu.com/2010/05/08/countdown/ http://www.marilu.com/2010/05/08/countdown/#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 13:48:53 +0000 blogger@marilu.com http://www.marilu.com/?p=7562 We’re starting Day 3 of Countdown in BOOTY Camp – there’s still time to join the fun and get results in the month of May.

What is Countdown? It’s a preparation period. A way to clean out your body from the worst dietary offenders. A way to transition to eating healthier. Join us now and don’t miss another day.

The 4-day Countdown to our Booty Camp consists of eliminating the Four NO’s from your diet. The Four NO’s are: NO dairy, NO red meat, NO alcohol and NO sugar. Adhering to the four NO’s for these four days will start you on your way to preparing your palate and body for upcoming days at Booty Camp. Please feel free to jump in, ask questions, and follow along here (members) or here (everybody’s welcome).

Dairy is found in foods like milk, cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, butter, and yogurt. Dairy can also be hidden in foods like bread, English muffins and other bread products, and pre-packaged foods. Soy/rice/almond milk, non-dairy ice creams, soy yogurts and rice/soy cheeses are good alternatives. But, it is best to avoid it all during these four days.

Sugar comes in many forms. A few of the sugars to avoid are refined white sugar, brown sugar, glucose, corn syrup, and maltose. Chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet and Splenda are out as well. Some good substitutes are honey, Sucanat, agave, blackstrap molasses, maple sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and Stevia. But, again, it is best to avoid these substitutes during the four-day countdown. (A note about fruit: Fruit has naturally-occurring sugars. It is recommended to eat fruit during these four days).

Avoid red meat such as beef, pork, venison, lamb, buffalo meat, etc. Instead, try organic, cage-free poultry, fish, tofu, tempeh, quinoa or other grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

Alcohol should be avoided during these four days as we work to clean our systems and palates. Jill’s favorite alternative to alcohol is sparkling water over ice with fresh squeezed lemon and lime. Other options to consider are flavored seltzers, club soda, fruit juice and herbal tea.

We are glad you are joining us for these four days and look forward to seeing YOU in Booty Camp!

• Sugar (dry sweetener) * Most of the time, the Total Health Makeover® recommends the least processed sweeteners.

  The dry versions are Sucanat® and Rapadura. However, they will make your baked goods darker in color, and while that’s not a problem with chocolate, gingerbread, molasses, or other dark cookies, with some recipes, a light color is more desirable. Instead, use turbinado sugar, Florida crystals or evaporated cane juice (different manufacturers may call them by different names). In some cases, these sweeteners are labeled “organic sugar.”

  Other dry sweeteners that you may find in these recipes include date sugar and maple sugar, which are also good substitutes, especially in combination with Sucanat® or Rapadura.

  When recipes call for white and brown sugar, you can often use two different sweeteners for great flavor (for example, Sucanat® and maple sugar in oatmeal cookies; Sucanat® and date sugar in chocolate chip cookies).

• Syrup (liquid sweeteners) * Liquid sweeteners include maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, raw honey, agave nectar (or agave syrup), and brown rice syrup. Brown rice syrup is a good substitute for corn syrup. Use it in combination with other syrups for more complex flavors.

  Unless you want to do a lot of experimenting, substitute a dry sweetener for sugar, and a liquid sweetener for syrup. That is – dry for dry, wet for wet.

Marilu’s book Healthy Life Kitchen contains a table with more details.

…of water, that is.

Trade in carbonated beverages for water, and see your weight change and your health improve. It’s not instant, but it’s a small change that will add up fast.

Sodas made with sugar or corn syrup add calories without nutrition, and lead to tooth decay (just ask your dentist).

Even diet sodas cause problems. The chemical sweeteners can lead to cravings for more sweet foods, or for salty foods (to balance the sweetness of the soda). Either way, you don’t need those extra foods. And we really don’t know what all those chemicals are doing in our bodies over time.

Drinking a carbonated beverage means drinking in gas… and then you have to get rid of the gas. No matter which end it comes out, it’s not the image you want to project. At least we don’t think so.

Stick with water. Do your body good.

Photo: Zsuzsanna Kilián

• deplete B vitamins
• leach calcium from your hair, blood, bones, and teeth
• interfere with calcium absorption
• cause mood swings
• cause digestive problems
• has been linked in research with diabetes, obesity, rheumatism, gout, hypoglycemia, acne, indigestion, arteriosclerosis, and even mental illness

You don’t need any refined white sugar. Or anything it’s in, either. Read labels, shop smart.

A rodent’s brain makes the connection between taste and calories to keep track of how much it has eaten. That is, the “enough calories to make it though the maze again” signal depends on flavor.

Sugar subs like saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, neotame, and acesulfame-K remove that link between calories (as energy) and taste. The taste buds know there’s food coming in, but the body doesn’t get the energy it’s expecting. And so (to get through the maze again), the rodent must keep eating. Over time, that leads to fat rats.

So let’s tie this to what we know about people. We don’t know yet whether the human brain works the same way as the rat brain. What has been proven is that the taste of sweetness is mildly addicting for humans – the more you eat, the more you need to feel satisfied. And since sugar subs are 200 to 13,000 times as sweet as sugar, they’re likely to increase your cravings.

Get out of the rat maze of diet soda. Refresh yourself and quench your thirst with a glass of water.

Help your kids kick the pop habit by not keeping soda in the house. Instead, keep healthy thirst-quenching alternatives such as cold water, cool herbal tea, and 100 percent fruit juice on hand.

Keep a few slices of citrus fruit, cucumber, or berries ready to drop in a glass of water or tea.

Talk with your children about why soda is bad for their health and their teeth, and get involved to make sure school vending machines offer your kids healthy options.

Diet sodas are not the answer – while they lack the sugar and calories, they are filled with chemicals that neither you nor your kids need. Choose water, herbal tea, or 100 percent fruit juice. The whole family will be healthier!

Photo by Martin Walls

Marilu will be talking with host Connie Bennett, author of Sugar Shock!, about Wear Your Life Well.

Check it out!

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