Candy Apple Macaroons + Sugar Reduced Journey

March 28, 2011 By Leanne Vogel April 3, 2017

We had some very mixed feelings about carob yesterday. I had no idea that people could hate carob, but now I know! As many of you mentioned, the best way to welcome change is to believe in yourself. Believe that you can do it, that you will do it, and that whatever comes as a result will be fantastic! One of the most common reader questions is: “How did you change your diet? What steps did you take?” Seeing how tackling my sugar obsession was one of the hardest changes, I thought it’d be a good place to start. When I set off on my sugar reduced journey I had no idea how fun it would be. I’m not going to lie though, I thought it was going to be torture. But I’ve learned a lot about how to sweeten naturally and have come to love the flavors that whole foods bring to the mix. My favorite sugar free alternatives are medjool dates, bananas and apples. My favorite alternative sweeteners have now become coconut sugar, ground stevia leaf, and raw honey. I try to limit my alternative sweeteners to a couple of servings a week minus the 1 tablespoon of raw honey I use on a daily basis because of it’s health benefits. Going sugar reduced [I don’t like to say I’m sugar free because I do treat myself once in awhile] didn’t happen overnight, in fact it was progression that’s lasted just about 3 1/2 years. I remember the first time I replaced the white sugar in a recipe with whole cane sugar. The taste was good, I felt better knowing I’d made a healthier choice and I was proud of myself for beginning to healthful-ize my baking. Being the curious nutrition educator that I am, I decided to play around with replacing alternative sweeteners with whole foods like raisins, dates, apples, banana, and natural fruit juices. This was by far the biggest leap for me. My recipes weren’t as sweet as I’d been accustomed to. Although things weren’t as sweet, the snacks I was making seemed fuller and more alive than before, and it wasn’t long until I began to find the foods just perfectly sweet [taste bud change? I have no idea] I’ve since started playing around with ground stevia leaf, not the white stuff, but the green stuff. I find it’s a lot less metallic tasting than it’s white counterpart. I’ve had my moments, but all in all I’ve enjoyed this shift from sugar full to sugar reduced. My complexion has improved, my blood sugar stays balanced, and I have level energy throughout my day. View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down) Nutrition stats [1 macaroon]: calories 129; fat 11g; carbohydrates 7.7g; dietary fiber 2.6g; sugars 3.4g; protein 2.2g Nutrient profile: no cholesterol, very low in sodium, high in manganese.   If you’re interested in learning more about sweetening your recipe with whole foods, check out a couple of my favorite natural sweetener gals: Kris @ iheartwellness & Alex @ A Spoonful of Sugar Free & Kelly @ The Spunky Coconut. Each of them bring a different approach to health, all refreshing and inspiring. Do you follow any blogs that use alternative or whole foods sweeteners? Please share! Have you tried to use whole foods sweeteners in a recipe? How did you like it?

This entry was tagged: Coconut, coconut macaroons, healthy digestion, macaroon