How to Conquer a Sugar Addiction {part 1} + A Little Recipe

I am a sugar addict. Or, I was a sugar addict. For years I'd load up on pounds of candy and sugar laden goodies and I couldn't get through a meal without finishing it off with a little something sweet.

My need for candy turned into a need for cakes, croissants and anything else that would give me my little buzz, only to leave me with a serious ache in my belly and a lull in my energy. I would sometimes wake up literally feeling hungover because I had consumed so much sugar the night before.  My head would be foggy, my skin would be muted and dry and my whole body would ache and long for more.

Here is the truth; sugar is a drug. Sugar, in it's most refined, highly processed forms, is a bad and dangerous socially acceptable drug and we don't even realize how much of it is in the foods we consume.

Sugar is pumped into everything to make it taste better and to keep us coming back for more. It wasn't until I started eating an extremely clean  vegan diet that I realized just how addicted I had been over the years. I do my very best to stay away from the stuff now but on the rare occation that I pop a sugar treat into my mouth, I am quickly reminder why it's, why I refer to, as the devil!

Today my need for sweets is still present but it's different.  I am a fanatic for my raw lemon bars and anything with cocao in it but I focus only on eating the things that are whole and natural and leave the white stuff out.

If you are looking to ditch the white stuff but want to know more of how you can get the good stuff I suggest you check out my two Pinterest boards, RAW Treats and Vegan Sweets.

Here you will find some of the most delectable treats I've found around the web and today I'm sharing a clean treat with you as well! Before that however, I want to give you a few tips on how to get over your sugar addiction. Pin it so you can go back and reference it whenever you need to!

So what can you eat instead of the sugary devil-like foods? Well, stay tuned next week for part two of this post. In the meantime, I leave you with one idea and it's the bom.com.

Ladies and gents...without further ado here it is:

Blueberry and Raspberry Galette. (Vegan, Gluten-Free and Refined Sugar Free)

Ingredients:

For the crust you will need:

(I adapted my crust from one I found on Nutrition Striped)

1.5 cups baking and biscuit mix (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mix)

1/2 cup coconut oil

3-4 tbsp cold water

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp organic pure almond extract

1/2 tsp sea salt

For the filling you will need:

1.5 cup organic blueberries

1.5 cups organic raspberries

Juice from one lemon

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup (grade B)

2 tbsp. agave

1.5 tsp organic pure vanilla extract

How to Make:

Begin by preheating oven to 325 degrees.

1. Add berries and all other filling ingredients together into a mixing bowl and set aside to marinate a bit.

2. Pouring the baking mix into a mixing bowl, extracts and salt into a mixing bowl and mix until well combined. I use a hand mixer because my food processor is broken but you could definitely use that!

3. Add in the coconut oil and mix until the pie crust is crumbly. Add ice water and mix until dough clumps together.

4/ Pour mixture onto a baking sheet on top of parchment paper (this makes life easier) and form dough into a large circle.

5. Add berry filling to the center of the pie crust making sure you don't add too much of the juice that has settled at the bottle.

6.  Gently fold just the edges of the dough (about two inches) and place it in a pie dish (I cut out a circle of parchment paper to help with removal later)

6.  Brush the outside of outside of the crust lightly with maple syrup and place in over for 30-40 minutes (this depends on your oven so check after 25 minutes)

7. Allow to cook and then serve with Coconut Whipped Cream.

What are your favorite clean treats? Share in the comments below!