I’ve been on a kick-sugar kick lately. But you’ll know that, of course, from my two previous blog posts:
- Sliding Down a Sugary, Slippery Slope and
- Join me for my I’m Sweet Enough 7-Day No Sugar Added Challenge.
In fact, the recipes in this menu are from my I’m Sweet Enough 7-Day No Sugar Added Challenge (if you wish to join in, please sign up here before Friday April 30th).
By “no sugar”, I actually mean “no added sugar”. Sugar that naturally occurs within whole foods is perfectly healthy. And it often comes along with other healthy nutrients as well as fibre. Berries are an excellent example. They are brimming with health promoting phytonutrients, as well as fibre which slows their digestion and release of sugar into the blood. But when we start mucking about by processing these foods and stripping out the fibre (in the case of fruit juice, in this example), we get into trouble.
And processors often add sugar to make their products more ‘palatable’ and/or make up for poor quality ingredients. Grocery store shelves are groaning with processed foods that have added sugars. A 2015 study analyzed over 40,000 packaged foods and beverages available in Canada for the presence of added sugar and found it in about two thirds of them. These weren’t all cakes and cookies either. Yogurt and bread were some of the leading sources. And you have to be a bit of a sleuth to find these sugars on ingredient labels, as they go by about sixty different names.
Find your healthy sweet spot
So I designed this month’s menu to show you how easy and tasty it is to sweeten your diet with naturally sweet, whole foods. It highlights a few stars of the spring garden – green peas and rhubarb – coming soon. As I mentioned, these recipes are from my I’m Sweet Enough 7-Day No Sugar Added Challenge which begins May 3. Registration closes April 29 and spots are filling fast. So be sure to sign up for the Challenge soon if you wish to join us as we climb back up the sugary, slippery slope and find our healthy sweet spot.
To receive the recipes in my I’m Sweet Enough Menu, sign up here.
I’m Sweet Enough Menu
Main Course: Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus (salmon roasted with orange, lemon and fennel is a classic combo and a cinch to prepare)
Side Dish: Buttery Peas (these bright green gems are naturally sweet and gorgeous alongside the salmon; scroll down to read more on peas)
Dessert: Strawberry Rhubarb with Banana Cashew Cream (rhubarb is pretty tart but not when stewed with sweet strawberries and topped with banana cashew cream; use frozen, thawed strawberries for this until local berries are in season)
Join The Nutritional Reset community here to receive this month’s recipe collection today (as well as each month to come)!
Like this menu?
Then I hope you’ll join me for my I’m Sweet Enough 7-Day No Sugar Added Challenge.
It’s FREE and runs May 3 – 9 (registration closes April 29).
Click here for more information.
A few featured foods …
Green Peas
Not only do I love eating green peas, I love shelling them – it’s meditative! But I always have shelled baby peas on hand in the freezer. They cook in a snap and you can add them to anything – salads, stews, curries, stirfries, rice and pasta dishes, you name it. They add a burst of freshness and colour and a touch of sweetness. And they’re rich in fibre and protein, which help control blood sugar.
Rhubarb
Did you know rhubarb is actually a vegetable? It is a member of the buckwheat family (as is sorrel). It’s super tart (with just a hint of sweetness) so the stalks are traditionally cooked with sugar. In my recipe, however, we cook it with naturally sweet strawberries and then add a sweet banana cashew cream to make a mouthwatering (rather than mouthpuckering) treat with no sugar added. Like berries, rhubarb is a good source of antioxidants and fibre.
Cooking your own food is the single most impactful step you can take to improve your health and energy!
I hope you enjoy my I’m Sweet Enough Menu. Sign up here to receive the download link for this latest Menu of the Month. And if you want to cook more of your own food but don’t know what to make or have the time to organize your own menus and shopping lists, The Nutritional Reset offers a meal planning service. It makes preparing tasty, nutritious meals a snap. Click here to find out more.