Monday, April 11, 2011

In honor of Easter Candy!


All things in moderation, right? But seriously, when it comes to sugar... there is really no benefit whatsoever. Sugar is SO bad for us. I know we've been hearing that for so long that we are desensitized to the fact that it's true... so I wanted to write a quick post to help remind myself why I do not need sugar in my life, and why my children certainly don't either! So why did I put a picture of ice cream sandwiches? Keep reading to find out.. but first the inspiring part!

Mineral and Vitamin Depletion

When you eat refined sugar, your body takes nutrients from other cells to metabolize it because the sugar lacks the ability to do so on it’s own. Minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium are taken from vital body parts to make use of the sugar you ingested. Over Time, the vital body processes requiring those minerals run down and become less efficient. So we’re actually stealing necessary nutrients from other parts of our body that need them the most just to deal with the excess amount of sugar in our body. This is why our cholesterol goes up, and why our immune system doesn’t work as well. We’re actually opening up the door and letting infection, inflammation and disease come into our bodies and make us sick again and again because we don’t have the proper nutrients to fend them off. The sugar is stealing them.

Sugar has an extremely harmful effect in unbalancing the endocrine system and injuring it’s component glands such as the adrenal glands, pancreas and liver. It may not seem to happen instantly, it actually takes years before it ruins your pancreas, your adrenal glands, throws your whole endocrine system out of kilter and produces a huge list of damage. But it does eventually happen. Then, blood sugar level fluctuate widely. This cause all sorts of chaos in our bodies.

Furthermore, it depletes B vitamins - and we know how important those are for normal function.

Bone Loss

As stated above calcium is one of the minerals that is depleted when sugar enters the body. Calcium serves a major roll in bone structure, and calcium also plays a key roll in keeping your teeth healthy and strong. Without it you become a higher risk to tooth decay and without calcium and a higher intake of sugar your teeth will rot that much faster.

Fatigue

The ever popular sugar high feels great for the brief moment that you have it but then after that you feel even worse. More tired, more fatigue, can barley keep your eyes open, more irritable, short tempered, and all your brain is telling you is to get more sugar. It’s like a sugar hang over. You get that surge of energy and everything in your body starts working harder and faster then that source runs out and your body just wants to shut down, and all that will take place with 30 min. Then the hangover starts. Now your body is trying to recover from that massive surge but remember only 10% of the sugar was used so your body still has a job to do by trying to regulate your blood sugar, and store those empty calories as fat as well as keeping every other organ in your body working at an optimal level. So while your body is working overtime to recover from your sugar rush all your brain wants to do is shut down, or take a nap. This is why after a big meal of refined sugars we want to go lie on the couch and crash for about an hour. Now most of us don’t have the capability to live like this, getting a sugar high then crashing. We've got things to do! So for the rest of the day we’re trying to fight the fatigue that we have created for ourselves. We’re not thinking clearly, we can’t focus, the day becomes stressful and it’s not as much fun anymore. And that’s the vicious cycle that we’ve been going through because this society has become addicted to sugar.

So - there are but a few of the many reasons not to eat sugar. I can attest from a life FULL of sugar, that eventually it does take a toll on your body and it's hard to heal. I'm dealing with that right now. And it's also hard to break those habits of eating a diet loaded in sugar. So while I do not want to deprive my children of the taste of sweet things, I need to remind myself the truth that the less they eat sweet things, the less they will truly crave them.

So here's my idea for next year: I'm going to make some homemade treats for my children that I approve of, and do a "trade in" when they are given gobs of sugary candy. Obviously I want to make mine more appealing... but wouldn't YOU trade in your bag of sweet tarts for an ice cream sandwich? Especially if your mama was REALLY talking the ice cream sandwich up?

Here's the recipe: Make ahead and freeze

Sandwiches: makes 24

2 -1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup organic butter or ghee, grated or cut into small pieces
1/3 cup honey
4 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions: In the bowl of a stand mixer, food processor, or using a handheld mixer, mix all cookie ingredients until smooth. Separate dough into two equal pieces, and chill in the freezer until firm. Working quickly, place one piece of dough (keep the other in the freezer) between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/8 of an inch thick. Use a circular cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass (which is what we used) to make circles, or if you’re pressed for time use a pizza cutter to cut out squares. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Repeat with the remaining dough, and if you’re cutting circles, also re-roll out the scraps. Return dough to the freezer for a few minutes any time that it becomes too soft to work with.

To make sandwiches, use a teaspoon and scoop an approximate teaspoon of ice cream onto the bottom of a cooled cookie. Top with another cookie and squish until the ice cream meets the edge all the way around. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in the freezer.

Ice Cream:

  • 3 egg yolks (be sure you use good quality eggs from a local farmer who raises healthy pasture-fed chickens…I wouldn’t recommend eating raw eggs from the grocery store.)
  • 1/2 cup real maple syrup
  • 2-3 T. vanilla extract
  • 1 T. arrowroot (looks like cornstarch only it’s better for us)
  • 3 1/2 c. heavy cream/whipping cream, preferably raw, but for sure NOT ULTRAPASTEURIZED
  • dash sea salt

Beat egg yolks and blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into ice cream maker and process according to instructions.


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