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One of the best things you can do before starting a sugar detox is to throw out any and all food that includes added sugar. Grab a trash bag or box and go through everything in your pantry and your fridge. Toss or give away the food and start fresh. Which brings up an interesting question. What do you stock up and eat while you’re detoxing from sugar?
Things That Don’t Need A Label
The majority of the food you will eat and the beverages you will drink during your sugar detox shouldn’t need an ingredient label. Think apples, potatoes, rice, chicken, steak. Whole food. Real food. Eat them raw. Cook them and eat them plain, or combine them into delicious dishes. There is a lot you can do with whole food ingredients. Think chicken, rice, and broccoli and a piece of fruit for dessert. Or a big batch of vegetable soup. Chili made with spices and minimally processed tomato paste to thicken it. Eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. Use fresh or dried fruit to sweeten things up. Snack on raw veggies or nuts and seeds. Get creative with whole foods. There are lots of ideas and recipes out there. Make a list of your favorites and always have them on hand.
A Few Convenience Foods
It’s okay to have a few convenience foods on hand. Maybe it’s a large tub of cleaned lettuce. Maybe it’s some no-sugar added canned soups. Pre-cooked chicken you can heat up in a flash and serve over quick cooking rice.
While these processed convenience foods shouldn’t make up the bulk of your diet, they are great to have on hand when you’re running late, are tired, or just don’t feel like cooking something from scratch. Look for those that have little to no added sugar and accumulate a little stash of things you know you’ll eat.
You can also make your own convenience foods. It doesn’t even have to take any extra time or effort. The next time you make soup, make it a double batch and freeze half. When you’re baking chicken, make extra to turn into a different quick meal another day this week. Get into a rhythm and figure out what works for you and your family.
Replacements For The Foods You Can’t Live Without
Think about some things you love and the thought of giving them up for thirty days makes you want to quit before you start. Maybe it’s ice cream. Maybe it’s a crunchy cookie that you have with your coffee in the afternoon. Then come up with a replacement.
Sometimes it’s the sugar free version of the same treat. Let’s use ice cream for example. There are low and no sugar ice cream options available. That’s one option.
The other is to come up with something healthier and naturally sugar free that you can have instead. For example, instead of having a bowl of ice cream, have a bowl of plain yogurt with fresh fruit. Add some nuts or oats for crunch and you come away with your own low sugar version of a Sundae.
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