For those on the sugar cleanse, it’s been five days. One of the things that I’ve wanted to emphasis during this time of giving up refined sugar, is that our food doesn’t have to be plain or boring. As your taste-buds adjust, hopefully you will find new enjoyment in the naturally sweet foods found in abundance.
Fruit, after all, fruit is a fiber and anti-oxidant rich package. We should love fruit. It should be like a dessert to us, but after eating a large slice of overly sweet chocolate cake, it may not shine like it should.
But sometimes we don’t give fruit a fighting chance. You know those bargain bags of apples in the stores? Who hasn’t gotten a “red delicious” bargain bag and brought them home to find the apples without any crunch, mushy, and, without a doubt, un-“delicious”. I remember a few of those bags from my childhood. Those apples don’t give fruit justice. Thankfully, now I can find “bargain bags” of truly delicious, organic Pink Lady apples for $3 (for a 3 pound bag). I have been savoring them recently.
But how do we give fruit a fighting chance? One is to buy in-season fruit. In contrast to those mushy Red Delicious apples, are the bright red, super sweet strawberries that come just once a year around here. I buy a flat at the farmer’s market or at a stand (so much cheaper, I find, then buying them at the store), and we pop the juicy sweet berries in our mouths with bliss. If we do want them in a dessert, it takes just a light dusting of unrefined sugar, and a dollop of whipped cream to make them divine. (Summer, I am really looking forward to you now!). Apples are amazing in the Fall around here. And from a state over, melons are incredible and make a great dessert.
Right now, it’s winter, so there aren’t as many options. I love frozen fruits, picked at their pick and preserved in my freezer. Berries made into a smoothie are just as good as any milkshake now to me. I also love a mango orange smoothie-a great wintertime idea, though certainly not local.
Here are a few snack or dessert ideas using fruit with no added sweeteners.
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