Easy Ways to Cut Refined Sugar 

There's no way around it, refined sugar is just not good for us. In fact, it's really bad for us. Don't worry, if you've a got a sweet tooth, we've got some better for you tips. First, here's the scoop on natural vs refined sugars so you have the what-why:

Natural Sugar
Commonly found in nutrient-rich foods that have not been processed (eg. fruits & veggies) which contain essential vitamins, minerals, water, antioxidants, and disease-fighting phytonutrients. Natural sugar often comes within foods that contain the compounds necessary for the proper digestion of sugar eg. higher-fibre foods that are digest slower and support stabilizing your metabolism and blood sugar levels.

Refined Sugar
Refine sugars are produced from natural sugars through an extraction process. Two examples are table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Refined sugar is unhealthy because it's been processed and stripped of all nutrients (which your body needs to metabolize it). The lack of fibre causes a hit to the blood stream quickly, which gives you sugar highs and lows ("crashes") as well as sugar cravings (sugar is highly addictive). Ingesting refined sugar causes the body to release an overload of insulin to aid in its digestion, which can result in stored glycogen and weight-gain. They’re considered empty calories because they contain virtually no vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, fiber, or other beneficial compounds.

Refined sugar has been proven to increase the risk of health issues like heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and stroke.

Sugar Swap

Pure Maple Syrup

Besides being delicious and all-natural, pure maple syrup contains antioxidants and nutrients like potassium, manganese, and iron. It’s also a lot easier on the liver than refined sugars.

How to swap in:

(the ratio is 1:1 with other sweeteners)

Baking: sub in muffins, cookies, loaves
Creamy items: lattes, ice creams, add to natural yogurt vs buying flavoured ones that contain refined sugar.
At-home nut mylks

Raw Honey

Raw honey contains propolis, also known as bee glue, because the bees use it to fill crevices and seal honeycombs. Propolis is known to have anti-cancer properties as well as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and infection-fighting properties. Essential amino acids and enzymes are also found in raw honey.

How to swap in:

(the ratio is 1:1 with other sweeteners)

use raw honey if you have a recipe that calls for a liquid sweetener that does not need to be heated too high
hot & cold beverages (stir 1 tsp into hot green tea, let chill, and you’ve got a refreshing antioxidant-packed drink).
dressings (use a little to cut the tartness of lemon, lime and vinegar)

Pro tip: buy raw honey, not pasteurized or filtered, to get the maximum health benefits.

Bee-Mindful Hunnie

We're obsessed with this made-from-apples honey alternative. Kind to bees, delicious, and created by Canadian local company Mindful Fud.

Ripe Bananas

Bananas are one of our favourite ways to naturally sweeten foods while also adding tons of essential nutrients. They’re great source of potassium that helps lower blood pressure levels, Vitamin B6 needed daily to prevent anemia and coronary artery disease, and are also a good source of Vitamin C for immunity and overall health.

How to swap in:

• Baking: instead of sugar, add a puree of ripe banana into cookies, loaves & muffins.
• Yogurt: blend 1 cup of plain yogurt with ¼ cup banana puree & blueberries
• Home-made 'nice' cream: check out the Nutty Chocolate Nice Cream recipe below. 

Pro-Tip: bananas need to be really ripe & soft (but not brown inside).

Coconut Sugar: while it still has a low nutrition-density & we don’t recommend regular consumption, it is a better option over refined table sugars. It’s also lower on the glycemic index, so it won’t spike your blood sugar levels as much.

When you need a sweet-treat fix our The Nutty Chocolate Lover is the perfect in-the-freezer standby.  Let soften in a bowl, mix well, & spoon.

​Instant Chocolate 'Nice' Cream

* Fill your blender jug part way with warm water. Let your Nutty Chocolate Lover pack soften partially for 90 seconds (so you can just break the smoothie pack in half).  

* Empty the water from your blender jug. 

* Add the smoothie to blender with 1/5 cup canned light coconut milk & 1/4 cup banana.

* Blend, serve into bowl & dig in!

Shop our smoothies, soups or chia bowls 

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