I think it's so amazing how different each person's body is!
I totally agree,
Sheba's Mom, that you have to experiment and see how you react to each thing. I've been playing around with agave necter, real maple syrup, and other non-sugar forms of sugar lately to see how I react. The agave and maple syrup don't seem to bother me at all for whatever reason, but I haven't had them in really large portions yet. I actually had a piece of cake with frosting at my retreat...it was made with all organic ingredients and didn't have any white flour (can't remember what they used...spelt?). The only non-SBD ingredient was maple syrup so I figured I'd give it a try. I was able to eat the whole thing without any cravings at all!
I was so surprised! On the other hand, I tried a protein shake yesterday that was made with apple juice. It was the fourth ingredient and the sugar grams were low, so I tried one 8oz serving. Holy $%&*!!! I got an instant raging headache, the shakes...the whole nine yards. IMHO, it was WORSE than my reaction to cane sugar!
Am I the only one that feels nervous about using Stevia? I've talked with several doctors about it and only my psychiatrist (who uses it personally) had ever even heard of it. I know it's been used for years in other countries, but am totally unaware of any studies done on it. I get the whole "sugar companies and sweetener companies don't want anyone to know about Stevia" thing, but it still worries me. I think about problems we've had with interactions from other herbs, like St. John's Wort and Ginko Biloba, that have been used for hundreds of years, but still caused problems today. My psychiatrist thinks I'm nutty for feeling safer with Splenda than with Stevia, but I definitely feel that way, even though I'd like to feel differently.
I'd love to hear what you all think!
Kestrel, could you perhaps make baked fruit concoctions? Like combining apples and cinnamon and maybe another fruit, like cherries or plums, and baking them? You could top it with a little plain whipping cream (unsweetened or lightly sweetened with a natural sweetener). I'd love to hear more about what you do--my nutritionist would like to see me give up all SF products as he thinks they are causing cravings, but I feel totally depressed at that thought--I just don't know what I'd be able to eat that would really be enjoyable!
(can you tell that I love my sweets???
)