A healthy, naturally sugar-free snack for those school lunches.
I did something amazing the other week . . . at least amazing for me.
I went off of sugar. For three days.
Why don’t we all let that soak in a minute. This sugar-lady actually went off of sugar. Although let me put a disclaimer in there – there might have been miniscule amounts of sugar in various items that I didn’t realize. Like – did you know mayonnaise can contain sugar?!! That’s ridiculous.
Anyhow . . . I managed to do my sugar-free binge for a total of three days – or perhaps it was really only 69 hours. But who is really going to count hours. In school they taught us to round up, right?
This little experiment was a good eye-opener for me. It also helped cut my addiction to those Christmas chocolates everybody gives their mailman. We won’t even go into how many of those I ate over the holidays. However, they were absolutely delicious . . . so you can still give them to your nice mailman next year, k?!
Now in case you are all hyperventilating that here is a traitor to the whole sugar club . . . remember it lasted for three days. And I can tell you all that it was a good thing for me to do! Besides, sugar was my arch nemesis. I always wondered if I would be able to make it without chocolate. Let’s all be thankful I am still alive. And still eating chocolate.
Seriously, these few days gave me a high respect for those of you who willingly choose to eat no sugar and those who must for health reasons. On the first day, I stuffed my face with cashews. Want to know why? Because they are one of my favorite nuts – but also because they are slightly sweet. My brain was going into sugar-deprivation mode. Other than that, it wasn’t all that bad for a first day.
I don’t remember much about the second day . . . but I believe it was somewhere around the third day that I found an apple and peanut butter and made it through that way. This little snack evolved from there. Apple peanut butter sandwiches. Or peanut butter apple sandwiches. Whichever way your mouth wants to say it.
I will share these sandwiches in a minute. As though the picture isn’t worth a thousand words.
But first – if you are ever debating whether or not sugar has a lifelong hold on you . . . remember that if I did it, then you can, too. I have a major sweet tooth, but going off of sugar for a while actually can change your taste buds in a way. You begin to notice how sweet some natural foods really are – like CARROTS! And those little cutie oranges are heavenly, so juicy and sweet.
So it helped me take another step back to evaluate how much sugar I put into recipes and steps I can take to keep on reducing our sugar. I will say that making foods from scratch right out of your kitchen is the best way to control sugar intake. Food manufacturers sneak sugar into all the food they can – at least once you start to read labels, that’s what it seems like.
Becoming a label reader and learning to love your kitchen are two small ways to start reducing sugar.
Apple Peanut Butter Sandwiches
These are a snack that my kids love to find in their school lunch. I’m not even sure how it came to me, but one morning I wanted to make an apple and peanut butter snack for them. I used to halve the apple and dig out the core, leaving a crater. The crater I would then fill with peanut butter. But if you have loose and falling out teeth, this can be a slight problem on the actual eating end of things. So since I am making a school lunch that must feed five hungry bellies ages 8-16 . . and all their varying degrees of wiggly teeth, this seemed like the simple way to fix the problem.
I still halved the apple and took out the core. But then I decided to slice the apple up in thin slices like you see in the picture. My mother had bought me a French chef Rada knife a couple years ago, and it is my absolute favorite for chopping things in the kitchen.
Don’t ask me how it does out of the kitchen because it’s not allowed to leave that sacred place.
Then you simply slather natural peanut butter on the slices and make a sandwich out of them. To make this sugar-free, you will need to be sure and get the peanut butter that doesn’t have added sugar. I like the Adams No-Stir brand. It’s awesome stuff!
You honestly can’t get much more simple than apples and peanut butter for a healthy, real food snack. And it helps a ton when your kiddos actually LOVE it!
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Regina S says
I admire you for going off sugar for three days. I say this asI munch malted eggs. It is very hard for me to go off sugar. I love sweet stuff and our mailman would probably notice someone has bitten a bite out of his chocolate candy. Does honey count?
Kendra says
😉 I am imagining the mailman’s face! LOL Honey is actually a good alternative, so is maple syrup.
Cindy Anderson says
Oh my, I’m very impressed you went off sugar for a few days! I’m definitely addicted to the stuff and can’t imagine not eating chocolate. But if you were able to do it, maybe there’s a chance I can too. But is it a chance I’m willing to take? 🙂
Kendra says
😉 I know the feeling! It was strange, but I felt more relaxed once the sugar cravings were past. I even slept calmer at night.
Diana says
I’ve been mainly sugar-free for a while, and yes, it definitely brings back your taste buds!! After a while I started to find a lot of American desserts too sweet!! Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe – I’m going to try it today for our kidlets’ lunch! 🙂
Kendra says
Hey that’s awesome! I’d love some tips from you. My biggest frustration is how completely sugar-free a person can go . . . there is small amounts of sugar in so many items. 🙁 I would like to do it more, but would like to hear how a veteran does it! Do you worry about things like mayo and ketchup that contain sugar?