Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Snacks

Day 3: Mini Smacks

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Welcome to day three of the Sugar Free Challenge! Today is a special day because it is my momma’s birthday! She is so supportive of me, and she even joined the sugar-free challenge knowing it was during her birthday. Don’t worry, though, I have plenty of yummy, sugar-free treats planned for her today! I’ll give you a recap tomorrow.

Here is today’s sample menu:

 

Breakfast: Katie’s Raw Chocolate Mint Smoothie-pudding style.

 

Lunch: Lightly sauteed spinach, green peppers, black olives, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onions, and black beans served on a grilled brown rice tortilla. Side of sliced cucumbers.

 

Snack: Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough Bites.

 

Dinner: Hobos. Take a piece of ground beef and roll into a patty. Top with peppers, potatoes, onions, and carrots and wrap in foil. Bake at 375* for one hour. Tastes fabulous drizzled with dijon mustard or Homemade BBQ Sauce. Vegan option: Two Cans and a Potato

Dessert: Mini Smacks! These made heir first appearance yesterday, but here is another look at how I made them:

Put dough in Melon Scooper

Follow directions from original Smacaroon Recipe. Put dough in melon scooper…

 

Bake…

 

And Enjoy!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you like mini versions of food or Jumbo-sized?

I’m with the minis. Mini muffins, mini cupcakes, and now mini smacks!

Day 2: Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough Bites

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Welcome to day two for the Sugar Free Challenge! Here is today’s sample menu:

 

Breakfast: Mini Smacks! Aren’t they adorable? Follow the same directions as my Smacaroon recipe, but use a melon scooper instead of an ice cream scooper. It makes so many more smacks, and they are fun to pop in your mouth! I also drank a cup of iced coffee with unsweetened almond milk.

 

Lunch: Socca with a spinach salad topped with fresh bruschetta. Served with a hard-boiled egg.

 

Snack: Apple with Homemade Pistachio Butter.

 

 

Dinner: Mac-n-Cheez. This is my version of the original comfort food. Inspired by I<3Vegetables. Mix of brown rice, quinoa, green peas, and shredded chicken breast. Mix a couple Tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast in with a splash of water. Sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper!

Dessert: Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough Bites!

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Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough Bites

Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough Bites

~These cookie dough bites have a option of being raw. Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, grain-free, vegan, and, of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups raw almonds
  • 4 large dates
  • 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped or raw cacao nibs
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In a strong blender or food processor, blend the dates until smooth.
  2. Then add almonds, salt, and vanilla bean and blend.
  3. Stir in chocolate chunks.
  4. Add a small dash of water if the dough isn't sticky. Roll into balls. I made mine about the size of my thumbnail because I love teeny tiny bites that I can pop in my mouth!
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/06/02/day-2-chocolate-almond-cookie-dough-bites/

They would also taste fabulous dipped in melted unsweetened chocolate. Just sayin’

Health Benefits
  • Almonds: Almonds are a major superfood, and they are full of monounsaturated, good-for-you fats. It contains many nutrients that benefit the brain, and regulate cholesterol. The monounsaturated fats and vitamin E reduce the risk of heart disease.
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Dates: A laxative food with a high-fiber content, so it can help those suffering from constipation. They are digested quite easily and are great for when you need quick energy. Also, regular consumption of dates has been found to help the growth of friendly bacteria in the intestines.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

How was your second day of sugar-free?

Also, what is your favorite cookie flavor? I love “healthifying” foods, so I am curious to see what your favorites are. One of my favorites is Thin Mint Girl Scouts….but I already healthified those! However, these chocolate-almond bites come in close second. My whole family enjoyed them!

 

 

 

Day 1: Sugar Free Challenge

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WAHOOOOO! Today is officially the first day of the Sugar Free Challenge.

I am so glad that many wonderful people signed up! Just check out this list:

Thank you all for signing up! Actually, your body will thank you for taking the challenge!

Here is a sample menu for today (a.k.a, what I ate yesterday):

Breakfast: Green Omelet (Spinach, green peppers, capers, oregano) with a side of watermelon and Iced Coffee (Hazelnut Decaf with Unsweetened Almond Milk). Vegan Option: Breakfast Oat Cakes.

Lunch: A BIG spinach salad with apples, almonds, avocado, strawberries, black olives, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, green onions. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Topped with dill.

Snack: Banana Monster! Banana, peanut butter, unsweetened carob chips, sunflower seeds.

Dinner: It looked just like this Heart-Stopping Chicken Salad, but I substituted potatoes and hard-boiled eggs for the chicken. Vegan Option: Substitute Chickpeas for the meat.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

How was your first day of sugar-free? Do you have a menu planned? What did you eat?

Sugar-Free Recipe Ideas

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First off, thank you to all the brave soldiers who gave their lives fighting for our country. I hope you are all have a great Memorial Day, too. If you are barbecuing for Memorial Day, are you using this sugar-free BBQ sauce?

Secondly-Recipes!

The Sugar-Free Challenge is only two days away! Click HERE to sign up if you have not already done so. Are you stuck on ideas for what to eat during the challenge? All of my recipes in the Recipe tab above are sugar-free. Also, just try sticking to these main food groups: fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains, and meat (unless you are a vegetarian).

I am not the only one who posts sugar-free recipes, though. There are so many great bloggers out there who have great sugar-free, recipes, too! Here are some you will want to try:

Whole Wheat or Bust’s Sweet Potato-Quinoa-Pecan Tamales.

Happy Healthy Mama’s Mango and Avocado Coleslaw

Chocolate Covered Katie’s Raw Chocolate Mint (Spinach) Ice Cream

She also has a whole section of her blog dedicated to sugar-free recipes. Check it out HERE.

Little Miss Healthify’s Oat Flour Muffins

Choosing Raw’s Wall of Green Soup

Heather Eats Almond Butter’s Unsweetened Chocolate Oaties

Healthful Pursuit’s Comforting Baked Mac n’ Cheese with Bacon (Dairy & Gluten-Free)

Kat’s Health Corner’s Single Lady Banana Cream Pie

Snacking Squirrel’s Pumpkin Millet Crackers 

Pure2Raw’s Raw Carob Crepes

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you know any other great sugar-free recipes? Please include a link to your favorites in the comment section below!

Happy Easter!

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Happy Easter Everyone! The Easter Bunny hopped on over my way with some tempting peanut butter…

Remember I gave it up for lent? Now I am reunited with my beloved, spreadable, creamy friend.

PEANUT BUTTER!!!
If Elvis Liked Chocolate Bites
Chocolate Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Peanut Butter Crust
Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Chocolate-Peanut Truffles

I need to catch up on some peanut butter recipe experiments!

Have a great Easter, everyone! What are you doing to celebrate? 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
— John 3:16 NIV

Calories, Fat, Carbs, and Protein

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Hello everyone!

You may have noticed that I don’t post the Nutrition Facts for all of my recipes. The only reason I don’t is because I don’t count calories or carbs, and it is just a bit more time-consuming. However, I completely understand those who need the calorie information due to Diabetes, weight loss, weight gain, etc.

For those who need the nutrition data, please feel free to ask me. Just leave a comment or send me an email at spoonfulofsugarfree@gmail.com. Tell me which recipe(s) you are interested in, and I will get the data calculated for you right away!

Now onto something fun. Like raw flax crackers!

I have never made raw flax crackers before, but they looked easy enough. I threw a bunch of stuff in my magic bullet, and Voila! Crackers that taste good and are good for you.

Raw Bloody Mary Flax Crackers

~These crackers are gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan, raw, and, of-course, sugar-free! 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flax seeds
  • 12 oz. tomato juice
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 clove garlic
Blend all ingredients. Spread mixture thinly on a Parraflexx sheet, plastic wrap, or parchment paper in your dehydrator. Dehydrate overnight or until crispy. Each dehydrator is different, but mine took about 24 hours to rich desired crispiness. Half way through dehydrating, I took the crackers out to cut into desired shapes. You may also break into pieces after they are done drying-your choice.
These taste delicious with Homemade Hummus! They are sure to satisfy your crunchy cravings.

Health Benefits
  • Flax: Full of healthy Omega-3’s to help your heart stay strong. It is also a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber to keep your gut healthy and help you stay full. Flax also contains lignans which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. These lignans help protect against cancer by blocking enzymes that are involved in hormone metabolism and interfering with the growth and spread of tumor cells.
  • Tomato: This fruit is full of the antioxidant, lycopene, that fights against cancerous cell formation as well as other kinds of health complications and diseases. Free radicals in the body can be flushed out with high levels of Lycopene.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

How will you save money on feeding your family tonight? Save some money on your meat order with ProteinPromo’s offers.

What is your favorite seed/nut?

If you don’t like seeds and nuts, your crazy. My favorite changes from time to time, but right now I am really loving my almonds 🙂