Snacking Without Sugar

As many of you know, my husband and I did Sarah Wilson’s 8-Week I Quit Sugar detox a year ago, and felt amazing for it.

Over the course of the year, we kept it up fairly well until the late summer, when we used the “we’re on holiday” excuse to indulge, rather than simply treat ourselves a little more than usual. Addiction threatened to get its claws into us once more, and sadly, with me in the last trimester of pregnancy, a toddler who was going through a particularly difficult phase, and then Christmas with two children under 2, by the end of 2015 my husband and I were feeling back in the slump that is sugar addiction as we turned to it repeatedly to keep us going. Perhaps it was a little pared back from what it used to be, but it was still affecting our health, teeth, energy and mood, and we decided together that giving up sugar again for Lent would be more than a good idea – it would be a lifeline.

So here we are, a week in. And having just gone through norovirus as a family with a 3-month-old and a 19-month-old, both of whom are still recovering and haven’t got back to normal yet with sleep and general moods, we are in desperate need of energy throughout the day in the form of snacks, as well as good solid meals.

As I struggle to remind myself what snacking without sugar looks like, I thought I would share some of our ideas with you as we journey through the next few weeks, so that if you are trying to give up or pare back on sugar yourself, or are at least thinking about it, you can be encouraged and maybe inspired by some of the things we suggest.

This week’s idea was one that came to me while trying to give us something “special” for after dinner on our date night. We settled down to watch an old NCIS and munched our way through the whole bowl, which was really delicious. And not a drop of sugar in it! 🙂

Coconut and Cinnamon Popcorn

1/2 cup popcorn kernels (if you don’t have cup measurements, just use a standard mug and fill to just below halfway)

2 tbsp butter or coconut oil, melted

2 tsp ground cinnamon (or more/less to taste)

handful of coconut flakes or dessicated coconut

pinch of sea salt

 

1. Make popcorn as you usually do. I personally like to use the paper bag method (pour the kernels into a paper bag, fold the opening over a few times to seal shut, then pop in the microwave for about 4 mins). Place in a bowl.
2. Pour the melted butter or coconut oil over the popcorn, along with the cinnamon, coconut and salt, then toss gently with clean hands to coat as much as possible. Serve immediately so it’s still warm.

Feel free to play around with the flavours – perhaps you prefer a savoury idea like adding paprika and an extra pinch of salt? Or maybe oregano and some tomato puree to make it taste like pizza? I’ve even seen suggestions of curry powder and dessicated coconut before! Or stick with sweeter flavours like cacao powder and flaked almonds. Pick some of your favourite flavours and pour them in with some butter, then do come and tell us what your favourite combinations have been (you can comment below)!