The key to a healthy lifestyle is creating a plan that is sustainable. Otherwise, it’s just a crash diet. Extreme changes can get you quick results, but usually they aren’t something you can stick with and the results don’t stick around either. That’s why so many people see the scale go down and back up again. They stop doing what they were doing to get there because they never made a lifestyle change in the first place. Discovering treats without added sugar can help you create a balanced life you love, one that you can maintain for years to come.
What Kind of Lifestyle Changes Can You Make?
There are so many steps you can take towards a healthier lifestyle. Everywhere you look, there are people telling you what workouts, smoothie recipes, and supplements to try to help you get closer to your best life. That’s why I’m letting you in on the secret, big changes can make a big difference in the short term, but everything should be filtered by this: can I do this forever, is it something I can realistically do in the long-term? If the answer is yes, and it’s taking a step towards better health and a greater quality of life, then we’re getting somewhere.
Some of these changes can be simple things, like taking a daily walk or drinking a minimum amount of water. Many people have headaches and other symptoms in their body simply because they are going about their days in a mostly dehydrated state. The food you eat is another huge factor in your body’s health. Food is the fuel that gives us energy, determines our body fat-percentage, and helps muscles get the protein and other building blocks they need to recover after a workout. If we’re eating junk, our bodies will never be at their best. If we’re eating completely on-point, but it’s not sustainable, it’s only a matter of time before we go completely off-track.
How Did I Discover a Sustainable Healthy Meal Plan?
My husband has talked me into several diets and workout programs over the years. I like to be healthy, and it’s fun to try something new. One of these times, he signed up for the Fit Father Project and asked me if I would do it with him. Since I had to learn what food to buy and prep for him anyway, I agreed that we would do it together. Less than 30 days in, we realized this was a lifestyle we could carry on forever. It wasn’t a crash diet; it was a sustainable meal plan.
I do believe that 2 huge factors that made this a success for us was: 1) We got to create our own meal plan with food we actually enjoy eating, and 2) This food was whole, healthy food that fueled our bodies and made us feel great! That’s one of the reasons we’ve stuck with it for more than three years: we feel that much better when we’re eating healthy foods than processed, refined foods.
How Do Treats Without Sugar Fit Into This Healthy Meal Plan?
Anyone who knows me knows I have a sweet tooth! I don’t like just any sweets, I like chocolate, ice cream, and the really good stuff. Don’t just pass me a bunch of colored candy, give me ALL the chocolate! When I first started the Fit Mother Project, I did have a month or more of not eating anything sweet. From time to time, Rusty and I still have resets where we cut out sweet treats, even ones with more natural sugars. It can be helpful to detox from sugar when starting a program or working to achieve short-term weight loss goals.
Once we had cut all refined sugars and flours from our diet, we started looking at other options. Over the years, when I heard friends say they were “cutting out all sugar”, I thought they were completely crazy. Just pick up a few packages in the grocery store and try to find something without any sugar in it. However, when most people say this, they are referring to processed, white sugar. There are other ways you can enjoy sweet treats and still be completely sugar-free.
Using Whole Foods in Treats Without Added Sugar
I’m a firm believer that God put foods on this earth for us to eat. Things like Doritos and Oreos (although this one is hard to say) were not on this list. However, honey, maple syrup, and fruits are foods he put on this earth for us to use. He also gave us all the spices to add limitless flavors to our meals. Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be bland and boring. It can be spicy, sweet, and flavorful.
My Favorite Ingredients for Creating Treats Without Added Sugar
There are so many things you can do to “sweeten” up your diet. Chocolate, in itself, is actually good for you. The problem with modern-day chocolate is that many “chocolate bars” are actually sugar bars flavored with chocolate. If you look at the label and sugar is listed before chocolate, it means there is more sugar in there than actual chocolate. However, you can enjoy chocolate smoothies or homemade goodies with sugar-free chocolate. When I realized this, it was a gamechanger for me!
It took me awhile to realize that I can eat on-plan and still enjoy an occasional treat. I don’t have to have a splurge meal to satisfy a sweet tooth. Some of our favorite chocolates are: 80% dark chocolate (or higher) because it doesn’t have much added sugar (especially if it doesn’t have other processed ingredients), Lily’s Chocolate, and Bake Believe Chocoate Chips.
What About Fruit?
Fruit is one of those ingredients that are a whole food and are full of anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It is also naturally sweet, so you can grab some fruit when you have a sweet-tooth, freeze it for a different texture and throw it in recipes like smoothie-bowls, or use a little bit in a recipe for a sweet flavor.
It’s still important to be aware of the amount of natural sugar in a fruit. For example, if you’re juicing 30 oranges, and drinking all of it in one sitting, then you just drank most of the fruit that was intended to be spread out over 30 oranges. That’s why juices, which a lot of times have added sugars, are deceptively full of sugar even though they appear to be just fruit.
Most berries are extremely beneficial for your health. They’re lower in sugar, and they are great in a recipe. Bananas are one of the heavier-concentrated sugary fruits, so a little bit goes a long way. Grapes are another fruit with high-concentrations of sugar. If you decide to eat something like grapes or bananas, just beware of the amount of “natural sugars” you’re getting. Dates are another fruit many recipes use as a healthy sweetener. You can definitely play around with different fruits and see what you like. I always love it whenever I can leave out processed, refined sugar and use a whole food like fruit instead!
Peanut Butter is Another Naturally Sweet Option for Treats Without Added Sugar
I love adding a little peanut butter to most of my favorite healthy treats! I’m one of those people who love chocolate and peanut butter! If you’re like me, you totally get it! If not, that’s totally fine, you just have to find what treats work best for you. You may not like sweet stuff at all; salty, savory snacks may be more your style. Either way, find those recipes and snacks that you can enjoy and still be totally on plan. It can definitely help you stay on track over the long-haul.
Most recipes that call for peanut butter already have a sweet taste just from the peanut butte itself. A lot of recipes call for peanut butter with other ingredients, like honey, chocolate, or bananas. When you mix it with other sweets, it’s a simple way to get sweet treats without any processed sugar.
What Other Sweeteners Are Healthy?
Some of the whole foods our family likes in a recipe include things like honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar. Some things are better in specific recipes than others. You can totally play around and experiment to discover your personal preferences. We also use Stevia, which I personally love in baked goods or sauces but absolutely do not enjoy in a drink or coffee. Just be willing to use trial and error to figure out what you like.
As I alluded to earlier, you don’t have to love every healthy food, you just have to find a few you enjoy and stick to those over time. The more you choose healthier foods over processed foods, the more healthy your lifestyle will be! If you want to learn more about what sweeteners are healthy and which ones to avoid, check out Some Great Alternatives to Processed Sugar.
Things to Keep in Mind As You Discover Treats Without Added Sugar That You Actually Love
Even if it’s a natural sugar, such as fruit, it can still impact your blood sugar level and insulin. This is why it’s important to keep in mind which fruits are more sugar-heavy. Just because it’s a “whole food” doesn’t mean it doesn’t have natural sugars that can be unhealthy.
For example, drinking 5 ounces of honey just because it’s a whole food will impact your sugar levels in a similar way to other sugar. Just because it’s “healthy” and in an herbal hot tea doesn’t nullify that it can still impact your body in this way. Insulin levels are important to keep in mind, because so many health issues have been linked back to insulin resistance and eating processed foods.
The Modern American Diet is Saturated With Sugar
Almost everything has added sugars and flours and unhealthy preservatives. If you pick up anything with a label in the store, you may find it challenging to find something without added sugars. I realized this when I’ve shopped for things such as peanut butter or trail mix, things that are supposed to be healthy foods.
The health problems arise when someone is eating these types of foods all day long. When everything has sugar, from cereal to bread to granola bars to juice, our bodies really struggle with balancing out our sugar levels and this impacts the way our bodies feel. That’s why a sugar detox, once you’ve stuck with it for awhile, can make you feel better. I believe we should aim to live 80 percent or more of our lives in this zone! Why settle for feeling crappy when whole, healthier choices are out there?
If You’re Eating Sugar-free, Whole Foods Throughout the Day, It’s Okay to Enjoy Some Sweet Whole Foods
When you’re really paying attention to everything you eat, you can pretty much cut processed sugary foods from your diet completely. When you’re doing that, enjoying a little fruit, peanut butter, or maple syrup can be a treat and your body can be at a state where it can handle a little natural sugar. The key here is moderation. I’m not saying that eating 25 “healthy” brownies will have no consequences. Come on, it’s brownies! However, knowing the balance and finding healthier options to things you love can make THE difference between veering off-track on a daily basis and sticking to whole, healthy foods for decades to come.
When everything you eat is on-plan, finding good, whole foods you enjoy can make it sustainable. This can include salty, savory, chocolatey, and sweet treats. You can find new treats you can enjoy in moderation that can help satisfy a sweet tooth and still help you achieve your goals.
A Healthy Life is All About Balance
I would cry for days if someone told me I could never have chocolate again… or coffee… or ice cream. There are times when I cut back or cut out each of these to achieve short-term health goals. If I’m trying to reach a certain number on the scale, or I’m doing a reset after the holidays, I can cut out extra treats (even healthy ones) to help me achieve those goals.
This knowledge is a tool that I can use to my advantage moving forward. However, cutting everything I enjoy eating and drinking is not sustainable over time. So, adding in a few things I enjoy in a healthy way is an important key to sticking to a healthy meal plan.
What Does Eating Healthy Treats Without Added Sugar Look Like in Real Life?
For me personally, eating healthy means dialing in my meals during the weekday. It means eating things like pistachios, fruit, and eggs. If I eat breads, I’m sticking to low-carb wraps or homemade yeast bread with fresh-milled flour (full of all the nutrients in the original wheat berries). If I eat a protein bar or smoothie, it is likely to have chocolate or another yummy flavor. I try to stick with ones with only healthy sweeteners and avoid things like aspartame and sucralose. Most of my dinners consist of a Perfect Plate and include a healthy ratio of veggies, carbs, and protein.
In the afternoon, or at night, is the time of day when I might enjoy one of those treats. If it’s something that tastes good and makes me feel great, I might eat it during the afternoon to tie me over from lunch until dinner. If I eat a snack then, it’s usually something with protein to help balance out my sugar level until dinnertime.
Ever since we’ve had kids, Rusty and I have our biggest sweet tooth at night. Once the kids are in bed, we can actually sit down and enjoy a treat. If you’re a night-snacker, this can be either good or bad. Those extra calories at this time of day may be the difference between you losing those pounds on the scale or reaching your next health goals. At the same time, Rusty actually lost weight and put on muscle when he started ending each day with a high-protein treat made from cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. To be honest, all of us probably have seasons where a late-night snack would throw us off completely and times when it’s perfectly okay.
Anytime You Can Make a Healthy Swap in a Recipe, It’s a Step in the Right Direction
I love it anytime I can swap stevia for sugar. If a recipe calls for honey or maple syrup, that’s better than highly processed sugars. If it has added protein or protein powder, that can add even more nutrients to a special treat. Fruits are another healthy swap. I have even swapped out processed milk for almond milk or raw milk. Using cacao or sugar-free chocolate chips (with healthier sweeteners) is another simple swap you can make.
The possibilities are endless and you can literally find hundreds of recipes to try out online. There is definitely trial and error involved. We’ve totally had treats that we made once and never again, and they are not getting shared with you guys. At the same time, we’ve discovered so many different ways of creating old favorites and discovered new ones that our entire family loves!
What Are Some of Our Favorite Store-bought Treats Without Added Sugar
There are several snacks that we pick up in the store. I believe the cleanest snacks you can have are ones you make yourself; that way, you really know every single ingredient that is in there and it’s less likely for an unhealthy ingredient to slip by you. At the same time, life can get busy, so just being able to grab something at the store can make a huge difference. A lot of these treats are sweetened with cane sugar, stevia, honey, or erythritol. Just make sure you read the labels so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Some of our favorite “low-sugar” treats include:
You can also check out 11 of My Favorite Yummy Easy Snack Ideas.
Recipes: Sweet Treats Without Added Sugar
To see all of our updated snacks and treat recipes in one spot, click here. If savory is more your idea of a treat, here’s our Dips and Condiment Recipes.
