Sweetness

Lately I’ve been working on eating a healthy, balanced diet.

But, I have a confession: I totally have a sweet tooth! ;)

Here are the things I’ve been doing to cut down on sugar and incorporate more mindfulness around my cravings ;)

• Limit processed foods. If I’m craving something sweet, I try to go for fruit first.

• Don’t buy the treats I know I’ll eat. Seriously… this works ;) If it’s not in the house, I can’t eat it.

• Learn. There’s a lot of information out there about sugar and what’s healthy/healthier on the spectrum of sweet foods. Recently I learned about honey and how not all honeys are good for you. I discovered Comvita, a Manuka honey from New Zealand. It’s UMF™ grade honey, which is the gold standard for purity and quality. I love that Comvita Manuka honey comes from a company that is passionate about beekeeping and has been for generations, and that it tastes amazing and has an awesome texture with a little bit of graininess. I encourage you to check it out; learn more about honey and what makes Manuka special. And please, don’t buy the little honey bear brands at the store! :) Those are basically diluted with high fructose corn syrup and unhealthy fillers.

• Read labels. There are quite a few foods that are high in sugar, or higher than I’d expect. One example of this is almond milk. I looooove almond milk. A lot of brands actually have added sugar and now I know to look for the unsweetened variety ;) Another example of a food I like to watch out for: granola bars. I go for 7g of sugar or less…otherwise you’re basically eating a candy bar :)

• Let myself enjoy a sweet treat once in a while. Honey on a banana, some dark chocolate, dates with almond butter, and the occasional non-dairy icecream… because, really, you gotta live. ;)

• Find sweetness in my yoga practice, hugs with friends and family, and finding determination to be healthy and balanced.

So, do you have a sweet tooth? What helps you avoid eating too much sugar?

xoxo

Last photo by Jeremy Baker.