Sugar. (and a recipe)
/The stunning Alaskan fall has arrived, with its abundant harvest of highbush cranberries. I'm a compulsive berry picker with too many cranberries and not enough low/no sugar recipes. While on the hunt for primal uses for the tart gems, I came across an initially intriguing recipe, Spiced Highbush Cranberry Ketchup. Then I read the ingredient list, which included two cups of sugar!
In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised. One of my clients recently remarked that now that she was a "label reader" she'd been shocked to realize that the "healthy" food she had been previously buying (yogurt, ketchup, soup, almond butter, pasta sauce, salad dressing) all contained added sugar. Unfortunately, the reality is that sugar is contaminating almost all processed foods.
I learned quite a bit about the nasty effects of sugar in my research-backed Primal Health Coach Certification program. Too much sugar causes excess fat storage, feeds cancer cells, disrupts hunger hormones, contributes to inflammation in the body, and can lead to heart disease, fatty liver and insulin resistance. And it's addictive! (Read more about sugar here , here, and here.
I was a sugar addict for most of my life. I finally kicked the addiction with the adoption of a primal/ketogenic lifestyle. I now avoid sugars in all forms, which means minimal processed foods. No more store bought condiments! Ketchup is one of the worst offenders, but how can you eat a beautiful moose or bison burger without it? I've previously created a Sweetener-Free ketchup recipe- a staple in our house- but now I was fascinated by an unsweetened highbush cranberry version.
I decided to experiment with our wild cranberries and rosehips. I'm excited to report that you DO NOT NEED SUGAR to create a delicious, flavorful ketchup. If you don't have access to berry picking in the wild, perhaps you can try it with store-bought cranberries. I'd love to know if you do!
A few questions to consider:
What is your relationship with sugar?
Is sugar an obstacle preventing you from living optimally?
Are you ready to kick sugar cravings for good?
Contact me for more information about how you can finally find freedom from sugar!
