I don’t know if it’s the same wherever you’re reading this, but strawberry season is in full swing here in Wisconsin. No matter where I go, I’m surrounded by cute strawberry stands selling buckets and buckets of the sweetest berries you’ll ever taste. Not only that…my boys and I have been picking twice in the last two weeks. Strawberries are serious business around here. 

So, it's been feeling like the perfect time to try making my very first batch of strawberry jam. In true Simply Sugarless fashion, I managed to make a version of jam that has no added refined sugar. Yes, there’s a bit of honey, but when you compare that to other jam recipes, it’s a total win (I found one with 5 cups of sugar to 4 cups of berries!). And as long as you use super sweet (preferably freshly-picked) berries, you won’t miss the sugar at all. I can honestly say that the version I made seems even sweater than the commercial one we usually buy.

I hope you enjoy this yummy + easy summer recipe!


SUGAR-FREE STRAWBERRY JAM
Prep time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: ~20-40 minutes (depending on your berries);  Total time: ~40-60 minutes 
Yield: About 16 ounces of jam

Ingredients: 
2 pints (about 6.5 cups) rinsed, dried (pat dry), and hulled super-sweet strawberries
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 lemons)
3 tsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon’s worth)

Directions:

• Place the strawberries in a large pot and mash with a potato masher or the bottom of a glass. Add the honey, lemon zest and lemon juice and heat over medium high.
• Boil, stirring regularly, until the mixture thickens. My batch took about 20 minutes to thicken, but I think I could have removed it from the heat sooner to yield a less dense jam. Cooking time will vary dramatically depending on your batch of berries. Just watch.
• To test, put some of the jam on a clean spoon and then put the spoon on a plate in the freezer. Let it sit in there for a few minutes and then take it out. If the jam doesn’t fall easily off the spoon when you turn it to the side, it’s ready and you can take the pot off the heat. If it does pour off easily, continue cooking for another few minutes and try the test again.
• Let cool and then pour into jars and store in the fridge and for up 1 week or freeze for future use.

{Created by modifying this recipe.}

It’s summer! And what says summer more than lemonade? 

Of course, lemonade means a bunch [a ton?] of sugar and I don’t know about you, but I would much rather meet my sugar quota by eating delicious strawberry shortcake than drinking a beverage. I know this recipe still calls for a good amount of juice, but I choose to believe that naturally-occurring sugar trumps added/refined sugar any day.

I hope you find some time to enjoy this sweet + sour treat this summer, preferably while savoring the sunshine...

SUGAR-FREE LEMONADE SLUSH
Prep time: 10 minutes
Yield: About 1 liter (or about 4.25 cups)

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (two large lemons)
2 cups no-sugar-added white grape juice
2 cups ice
1 tsp lemon zest (from one of the two lemons)

Directions:

• Add all ingredients into a blender. Pulse or blend until combined (but not entirely smooth).
• Serve immediately.

​
Extra notes:

• Zest one of the lemons before it is juiced. Zesting a juiced lemon is much more difficult.
• This recipe makes just the right amount of lemonade for our family of four (two adults and two young kids). If you’re making this for more than three adults, double or triple the recipe.
• If you don’t have a blender or would rather make regular lemonade (instead of the slush), you can just stir up the ingredients (instead of blend). Leaving it in the refrigerator overnight brings out the lemon flavor even more. 

{Created by modifying this recipe.}

This blog series has turned more into a “What I have Been Dying to Try Without Sugar But Couldn’t Muster the Motivation to Do On My Own” column. That doesn’t have as nice of a ring to it, so we’ll stick with “Simply Sugarless," but just know that I appreciate the motivation and have been crazy excited to share all these new attempts at cooking/baking with all of you.

The convenience of picking up peanut butter or spaghetti sauce or muffins at the grocery store is *obviously* an improvement over having to cook everything from scratch, but it’s nice to dig in [once in a while] and realize what’s really involved in the process of making some of our favorite, pre-made foods. And, seriously, how good does all the really fresh stuff taste?!? Amazing, right?

Anyway, that’s what’s going on with this month’s recipe: I’ve been wanting to make my own whole wheat bread for ages. A lot of commercial breads have pretty yucky stuff in them, but we go through SO MUCH BREAD in our house that baking it myself isn’t feasible. Plus, it’s a lot of work, you know? All that kneading…and the rising…whew!

But I’m happy to report that the final product here made all the hard work worth it. I’m still not sure we found a realistic replacement for my husband’s daily peanut butter + jelly sandwiches, but as a delicious break from the monotony of commercial bread? I’ll take it!

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
Hands-on time: 20 minutes | Rising time: 2-4 hours | Cook time: 40-50 minutes | Total time: ~5 hours
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients: 

• 1 to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour is fine)
• 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons of the water in the recipe
• 1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Directions:

• Combine all of the ingredients and mix until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. I used a wooden spoon, not a mixer, for this.
• Knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. It should be soft, yet still firm enough to knead. Adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover the container.
• Allow the dough to rise until very puffy – about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. My bread took the full two hours to rise.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8” log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” loaf pan, and cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap.
• Allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1” above the rim of the pan. Again, mine took close to the full two hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes until the top is nearly as brown as you would like it. 
• Tent with aluminum foil for the remaining 15-20 minutes of baking. Remove from oven.
• Turn the loaf out of the pan, and rub a stick of butter over the crust, if desired. 
• Slice when completely cool. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.
  
  

{Created by modifying this recipe.} 

So pretty, isn't it? There's really nothing like homemade bread! We have a bread maker and I used to make whole wheat bread in it all the time, but as happens in life, it fell to the wayside when things got busy. Sara's creation and all of these delicious-looking pics make me want to dig it back out...

View more Simply Sugarless recipes and/or learn more about the column + Sara here.  You can also follow Sara + her fam on her fun photo-a-day blog, Small City | Big Days. ​

Thanks for sharing, Sara!

I’ve been itching to try a recipe with coconut oil for quite some time, and then recently, I came across a recipe that intrigued me enough to give it a try. Coconut oil is supposed to be really good for you (see…the internet says so!), and what better way to reap the benefits than to consume it in the form of delicious muffins? 

I hope you'd agree that many of the recipes that I’ve shared here are quite yummy despite having no added sugar, but just wait until you try this one! It might be my favorite so far.

The most important addition to the recipe, in my opinion, is the almond extract. This simple (and very small) ingredient gives the muffin a little touch of cupcake. Mmm, so good. 

My only additional suggestion as you start in on the baking? Double the batch. Eleven muffins just isn’t enough--trust me.

BANANA COCONUT MUFFINS

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 11 muffins

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• zest of ½ lemon, finely chopped
• *1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted 
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (approximately 3 bananas)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 large egg, preferably at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided

*A bit of advice as you melt the coconut butter: scoop slightly more than the desired liquid amount into a microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Melt in 15 second increments in the microwave, stirring after every 15 seconds. Continue until all solid chucks are dissolved. Mine took about 45 seconds to melt.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a muffin tin or line the tin with muffin liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Stir in ½ cup shredded coconut.
• In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, mashed banana, honey, egg and extracts.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
• Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (feel free to fill pretty high, they don’t rise very much), then sprinkle the muffin tops with the remaining ¼ cup coconut (about 1 to 2 teaspoons each).
• Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack and let them cool.

{Created by modifying this recipe.}

Making homemade peanut butter has been on my to-do list for years now. However, somehow the convenience of the jars in the grocery store outweighed any motivation I could muster to do it myself.

But not anymore! I made it! And I have to say, it does taste pretty delicious and much more “peanut-ty” than my go-to store-bought option (Trader Joe’s, of course). I was worried my homemade version would never hold up to this favorite brand, and it’s definitely different, but it can hold it’s own, which in my opinion, means it's a win.

I will say though…shelling the peanuts was a nightmare. Total nightmare. If you can, find shelled peanuts (out of the shell) so you can skip this step all together. My grocery store only offered shelled peanuts with other ingredients mixed in, so I chose to avoid those. If you are going the shelling route, you need the 2 lb bag for this recipe (assuming that some will be eaten and some will be tossed). That 2 lb bag took me and my peanut-shelling assistants about 1.5 hours (!!) to shell. It was crazy! 

So, when you look at the times below, keep in mind that they do not involve peanut shelling. Learn from my experience: keep looking for shelled peanuts before taking on this recipe! 

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: About 16 ounces of peanut butter (a regular size mason jar)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of unsalted shelled peanuts
• 3 teaspoons peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• To roast the peanuts: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread shelled peanuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Roast for 3 minutes, then give the pan a shake and continue baking for another 5 minutes--but watch. The peanuts are done when they are lightly browned and become very fragrant. They will burn quickly if left in too long. Set aside to cool before proceeding. *If you buy roasted peanuts instead, you still want to do this step to warm them back up again.
• Add peanuts to a food processor (I used a Vitamix and it worked just fine, but I did need to use some muscle) and puree until smooth, scraping sides as you go. The mixture will be crumbly at first but will come together as you continue pureeing. 
• Once the peanuts are smooth, add oil and salt in small increments (you can also add a bit of honey if you want it sweeter). Feel free to modify your amount of salt + oil based on the flavor and consistency you desire. 

Special note: If you want chunky peanut butter, take a 1/2 cup of the peanuts after roasting and throw them into the food processor first to get some roughly-chopped nuts. Add these peanuts into the final product.

{Created by modifying this recipe.} 

So cool, isn't it!? Three cheers for Sara for making homemade peanut butter and shelling all of those damn peanuts with her boys!
So sweet.

​By the way, if you notice that Sara's kitchen looks slightly different, that's because she has moved to Wisconsin (from DC)! You can follow her and her fam on her lovely photo-a-day blog, Small City | Big Days. 

View more Simply Sugarless recipes and/or learn more about the column + Sara here.  

It shouldn’t surprise you at this point to find out that sugar is in a TON of processed foods. I don’t know about you, but finding non-processed foods to eat as quick lunch options (for me or the kids) is a big challenge.

The thing I love about these zucchini pancakes is that I make them once and get at least a few meals out of the recipe. They’ll keep in the fridge for about a week, but I often freeze what I don’t use and then pop them in the toaster later on. And what a easy (and sneaky) way to get in your veggies!

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES
Cooking time: 15 minutes prep time, 15 minutes cooking time, 30 minutes total
Yield: 8 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded zucchini (one large or two medium-sized zucchinis)
• 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup flax seed
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Directions:

• Blot grated zucchini with paper towels to remove moisture. Stir zucchini, eggs, and onion in a large bowl. 
• Add flour, parmesan cheese, baking powder, and oregano to the zucchini mixture until batter is just moistened.
• Grease large fry pan and heat on medium-high heat. Drop rounded spoonfuls of zucchini batter onto hot pan and flatten out a big with a spatula; cook until golden, about five minutes per side. 

{Created by modifying this recipe.} 

Don't these pancakes look and sound delicious? I've seen Sara's boys eat these for lunch since a very young age, and they do love them! Hoping I can get it together to make stuff like ​this for our babe (if she ever comes)...

View more Simply Sugarless recipes and/or learn more about the column + Sara here. 

What’s better to beat the heat than a tasty, frozen, healthy snack? Popsicles, like most other sweet treats, are usually packed full of sugar and corn syrup. But they don’t have to be!

Instead, these popsicles are full of mango + raspberry deliciousness with some carrot added in for some extra nutrients and smoothness. They're refreshing, sweet, and won’t disappoint.

Enjoy!
​
MANGO RASPBERRY POPSICLES
Cooking time: 15 minutes prepping, 3 hours (or so) freezing 
Yield: 6 popsicles (depending on size of mold)

Ingredients:

• About a cup of carrots
• 1 mango
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen), I used black raspberries

Directions:

• Steam carrots until soft
• Add carrots, mango, and raspberries to blender. Blend until mixed thoroughly. Add water, if needed
• Pour into popsicle molds (if you don’t have one, use plastic cups or ice cube trays and cover with saran wrap to poke a popsicle stick in each center)
• Freeze until solid, at least a few hours

{Created by modifying this recipe.} 

Thanks for sharing, Sara! I love the addition of carrots to the popsicles; nice to throw in a veggie every once in a while ;) And I actually do have popsicle molds and love making them, so will have to give this recipe a try!

View more Simply Sugarless recipes and/or learn more about the column + Sara here. 

This might be surprising given my friends (i.e. Mary Catherine), but I’m not much of a salad person. I don’t know what it is, I just never crave those leafy greens. When I eat them, I love it, but getting the motivation up to build my own creation is quite the challenge. And have you noticed how much sugar is in store-bought dressings? It’s crazy. But who has time to make your own?

All of us, it turns out. This super fast, sweet, delicious dressing can be made in just five minutes. Even I can get behind that.

Enjoy!

BLUEBERRY BALSAMIC SALAD DRESSING
Cooking time: 5 minutes total time
Yield: 1 cup of dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries 
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 1/4 cup olive oil  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Blend blueberries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and mustard together in a blender until dressing is smooth
• Season with salt and black pepper.
• Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. My salad of choice? Spring green mix with strawberries, blueberries + goat cheese.

{Created by modifying this recipe.}

Oh my goodness, this *does* sound super easy! And as a TOTAL salad-lover who actually does make salad dressing (it's one of the few things I'll make time for in the kitchen...although Ben is still the rockstar when it comes to this task in our household), I am definitely going to give it a try. 

Thanks for sharing, Sara!

View more Simply Sugarless recipes and/or learn more about the column + Sara here. 

Have you ever looked at the ingredients that go into most granola bars? Even the “healthy" ones? It’s horrifying. Having said that, my kids (and I) love them and they’re such an easy go-to snack. I’ve been tempted several times to make my own but just never had the motivation…until now.

The granola bars in the recipe below aren’t as cheap as the ones you can find on the grocery store shelf, and they’re not quite as convenient as just ripping open packaging to enjoy, but let me tell you, these bars are delicious.

​I was convinced that my chocolate-granola-bar-loving-self wouldn’t be satisfied with these, but boy was I wrong. They might just be the perfect combination of sweet (thanks honey and dates) + savory + satisfying. If you can get up the motivation to give them a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Enjoy!

ALMOND COCONUT GRANOLA BARS
Cooking time: 20 minutes prep time, 5 minutes cooking, 25 minutes total time
Yield: 12 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (I use Trader Joe’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter)
• 1 cup roasted almonds (no-salt or low-salt preferably), chopped
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

Directions:

• Process dates in a food processor or blender until a paste forms (it’s fine to have small pieces remain).
• Place oats, almonds, coconut, and dates in a large mixing bowl.
• Warm honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stirring frequently.
• Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and then stir, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout (I ended up having to use my hands to get the prunes mixed in).
• Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8x8-inch baking dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily. I parted with my 8x8 pan a few months ago so I had to use a 9x13 pan and just used one side of it. No problem.
• Press down firmly until uniformly flattened. Really pack the bars down, which helps them hold together better.
• Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let firm up in freezer for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to a few days.

{Created by modifying this recipe.}

This is a big one. I decided to take on sugarless cookies. {Gulp.} I took a risk here, but it definitely paid off.

These sugarless cookies are super soft and chewy and have every ounce of sweetness, but the sweetness is created by some friendly natural sweeteners, instead of sugar (think bananas and applesauce). I do have one confession to make, though: I opted for a chocolate chip variety of the cookie. I know, the choco chips have sugar, but I’m just not a fan of raisins in my cookies so I had to add this *smidge* of sugar. I hope you’ll forgive me.

For the record, I am confident that the cookies would be delicious with raisins instead (if you like that sort of thing), so you can go totally sugar-free with just that slight modification to the recipe.

I’m really thrilled with how these little cookies turned out, and believe me, I was skeptical. Give ‘em a try. I think you’ll agree they are a completely acceptable substitute...

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Cooking time: 15 minutes hands-on, 20-25 minutes baking, 35-40 minutes total time
Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas*, mashed 
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter 
• 2/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• Dash of ground cloves 
• 1 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats 
• 1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (or raisins) 
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
• Mix together the bananas, peanut butter, applesauce, vanilla, and spices.  
• Add in the oats, chocolate chips, and coconut; stir until well combined. (I did this in the same bowl that the wet ingredients were in. Save dishes and time!)
• Spoon a rounded 2 tablespoons of the cookie mixture onto the lined baking sheet, leaving an inch or two between each. These do not spread out very much so take that into consideration when deciding what a “rounded 2 tablespoon” looks like.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookie is brown when you peek underneath it, and allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.

*I didn’t have any frozen bananas for this recipe so I wanted to share the fun new [to me] trick to ripen bananas. Just put them in a 300 degree oven until they turn black and shiny. Depending on how ripe the bananas are before you put them in the oven, this could take 20-45+ minutes. 

{Created by modifying this recipe.} 

Have I talked about my quest for sugar-free snacks for my kids (and me, obviously)? It’s nearly impossible to find sugar-free store-bought snacks (check the labels…even the pre-teeth baby snacks have sugar!) and even more surprising: how hard it is to find easy + delicious sugar-free snacks to make yourself. There are a ton of recipes out there--and I’ve tried quite a few (!)--but somehow they always seem to fall short.

So, that's why I was so thrilled to stumble upon this recipe for sugar-free muffins. I make these as mini muffins so that I can freeze and reheat them for the kiddos (pop ‘em in the microwave for 20 seconds), but they’re just as yummy as full-sized muffins for adults.

Enjoy!

Sugar-Free Blueberry Muffins
Cooking time: 20 minutes hands-on, 15 minutes for mini muffins, 30 minutes for regular size muffins
Yield: 48 mini muffins, 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas (I recommend using thawed frozen bananas)
• 1 cup of grated apple (two medium apples)
• 1/4 cup of apple juice
• 1/2 cup of frozen wild blueberries
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of melted butter
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder


Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 370 degrees and line/grease a muffin tray.
• Mash the ripe bananas, add the melted butter, egg, apple juice and grated apple and mix.
• In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon and sift together.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
• Add the frozen blueberries.
• Spoon mixture into the muffin tray (fill them pretty full, they won’t rise much) and bake for 15 minutes (mini muffins) / 30 minutes (muffins), until golden brown.

{Created by modifying this recipe.}

I think you're familiar with this recurring column by now, but just in case you're not: Simply Sugarless is a monthly sugar-free recipe column written by Starr Struck's own Sara Meeks. Take it away, Sara...

Sugar is in everything. You know that, right?!? It’s pretty crazy. Today’s recipe is my attempt at circumnavigating the unneeded sugar in a typically pre-made + purchased dinner staple: spaghetti sauce.

Full disclosure: I’ve never tried making spaghetti sauce before. It’s been on my to-make list for years but somehow that little jar in my pantry was far too convenient and appealing. I’m learning with all of you this time around and I have to say, I’m a fan of this recipe. It’s not Ragu (my personal store-bought preference), but, honestly, I don’t miss it. You can really taste the carrots (and it is a bit orange in color), which I like and I think works well to replace the sweetness from sugar. Plus, I love that there are tons of veggies mixed right in so you know it’s so much healthier and nutrient-rich.

It wasn’t terribly time consuming--I promise--and I ended up with two normal-size jars worth of spaghetti sauce, so in total, it really only took ten minutes prep time per meal (I’ll freeze the second jar for future use).

I served my sauce mixed with ground turkey over whole wheat rigatoni noodles and sprinkled with parmesan. Let me just say, everyone in my house agreed that this sauce was super yummy!

Sugar-Free Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Cooking time: 20 minutes hands-on, 8 hours cooking (8 hours, 20 minutes total)
Yield: about six cups of sauce (enough for two meals at my house, with leftovers)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups carrots, chopped
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 oz) Italian-style tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

**Special note: make sure when picking out the canned tomato items listed above that you read the labels. They sneak sugar into other canned tomato products, as well. I know, I’m mad about it, too! The photo from my ingredient picture actually shows cans of sugar-included products before I realized the shopping mistake I had made and remedied the situation. Buyer beware!

Directions:

• In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Stir in bell pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, place vegetables and add remaining ingredients. Stir.
• Cover; cook on low heat setting 7 hours.
• Uncover; stir well. Increase heat setting to high; cook uncovered about 1 hour longer or until sauce is desired consistency.
• Placed cooked mixture in a blender or use immersion blender to puree. If you prefer chunky sauce, skip this step altogether.
  
  

{Created by modifying this recipe.} 

Is there anything better than warm baked goods on cold winter days? Definitely not. This month’s recipe is one of my favorites. I know I don’t miss the sugar and I hope you feel the same way... 


Sugar-Free Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Cooking Time: 20 minutes prep, 1 hour cooking (1 hour, 20 minutes total)
Yield: 1 loaf (8-10 slices depending on thickness) 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed (my best results have come from very ripe bananas that I’ve frozen and then let thaw on the counter for an hour)
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.
• Mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla. 
• Whisk together the flour and baking soda.
• Add flour mixture and stir until just blended. Do not overmix. **For the record, I have done this recipe in one bowl and I don’t notice a difference. Saving the extra dishes more than makes up for any negligible difference, but that’s just my opinion.**
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake large loaf for 60-70 minutes or until it comes clean with a knife.

{Recipe modified from this one.} 

MEET SIMPLY SUGARLESS:

Each month, I’ll be scouring the internet and my own personal recipe box for simple, sugarfree recipes that you can make without a bunch of exotic (and expensive) ingredients. I’m not suggesting that all the recipes will be super healthy (we’re still talking about baked goods and sweets, people), but I promise the recipes highlighted will be *healthier* versions of delicious treats, yummy snacks, and long-time favorite eats.

My goal here is to completely avoid refined white sugar and/or any of the artificial sweeteners that are usually present in sugar-free recipes. I’m also going to try my very hardest not to use any super-sugary syrup substitutes like honey and agave  (although maple syrup and molasses might make a cameo every now and then because they have a few more beneficial qualities in the form of vitamins + minerals). 

And one final note: you’ll notice that the recipe is listed right at the top of this post. Does it drive anyone else crazy when you have to scroll down forever to reach the actual recipe on most websites? Hope this intentional formatting makes your life just a bit easier ;)
​ ​

’Tis the season for lots of things: thinking of others, shopping, holiday cards, and mostly…sugar.

Sweets are everywhere and there's no way to get around it this time of year, so instead of trying to convince you to make a sweet that doesn’t have sugar (they would never compare with your favorite cookies!), I’ve decided to tackle a more realistic challenge: a sugar-free breakfast.

Over the next couple of sweet-filled weeks, take a pass on the cinnamon rolls and donuts and instead, try my go-to pancakes as your festive breakfast treat. I make them almost every weekend; the whole wheat flour and oatmeal adds an extra density that I find myself missing when I eat the “normal” variety these days. The applesauce and orange juice add just enough natural sweetness, and tossing a few berries on top helps keep the maple syrup out of the equation, too.

Enjoy this sugar-free breakfast…so you can binge on more cookies after lunch ;) 

Sugar-Free Whole Wheat Pancakes
Cooking time: 10 minute prep, 20 minute cooking (30 minutes total)
Yield: 16-18 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 TBSP unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• mixed frozen berries (to top pancakes when serving)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, add eggs, milk, OJ, and applesauce. Beat with a fork until blended and bubbly.
• Add the dry ingredients to the same bowl (no need to dirty another one) and mix until all ingredients are combined. 
• Grease a large saucepan and heat over medium-low heat (my temperature of choice is just a smidgen under medium heat but see what your cooktop requires).
• Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop pancake batter into pan. I find that makes the most manageable size for flipping.
• Flip when ready (a minute or two depending on heat setting)--I’m not sure what it is about this recipe but these won’t bubble quite as much as typical pancakes when they’re ready to flip. Just pay close attention and peek under the edges after a minute or two.
• Let the second side cook for another minute or two and remove from heat. Remember: these are made with whole wheat flour so they are going to end up a bit darker than what you’re used to. Don’t undercook them to create a lighter color.
• Serve topped with thawed-out frozen berries.

MEET SIMPLY SUGARLESS:

Each month, I’ll be scouring the internet and my own personal recipe box for simple, sugarfree recipes that you can make without a bunch of exotic (and expensive) ingredients. I’m not suggesting that all the recipes will be super healthy (we’re still talking about baked goods and sweets, people), but I promise the recipes highlighted will be *healthier* versions of delicious treats, yummy snacks, and long-time favorite eats.

My goal here is to completely avoid refined white sugar and/or any of the artificial sweeteners that are usually present in sugar-free recipes. I’m also going to try my very hardest not to use any super-sugary syrup substitutes like honey and agave  (although maple syrup and molasses might make a cameo every now and then because they have a few more beneficial qualities in the form of vitamins + minerals). 

And one final note: you’ll notice that the recipe is listed right at the top of this post. Does it drive anyone else crazy when you have to scroll down forever to reach the actual recipe on most websites? Hope this intentional formatting makes your life just a bit easier ;) ​

I’ve been on a quest for a sugar-free cranberry sauce for quite some time.

Cranberries are tough because they are so tart that they almost need the sugar to balance out the flavors. But notice that I said “almost;" I finally created one (I combined several recipes to come up with this completely original one!) that stands alone without sugar. The added fruit and fruit juices balance out the cranberries perfectly.

Can you tell I’m excited about this one?

​Enjoy!

Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6-10

​Ingredients:

• 12 oz fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple (used for 1/2 cup juice and 1 cup pineapple)

Directions:

• In a medium saucepan at medium heat, add the orange juice and 1/2 cup pineapple juice. Once it starts bubbling, add the cranberries.
• Let the cranberries bubble and pop for about 10 minutes, until the cranberries break down and start to thicken.
• Add the 1 cup crushed pineapple and stir to combine. Let cook for 3 more minutes or until you reach desired consistency.