Delicious recipes made without refined sugar to help you cut out or limit sugar in your life. Plus tips for taking sugar breaks to get rid of cravings. 

These recipes below are sweet foods that are sweetened with maple, honey or just natural fruit. I have included notes on a few of the recipes on how to make it 100% sugar-free. The best part about these recipes is that they all provide nutritional benefits.

One great thing about cutting out or limiting your sugar intake is you will have more room to fill up on healthy foods! Your body will thank you by making you feel great!

Reason to Eat Less Sugar:

• Prove to yourself you have self-control. Put your mind in charge, not your body!
• Break the sugar addiction
• Strengthen your immune system
• Rid yourself of sugar crashes which will give you more energy throughout the day.
• Reduce inflammation in your body.
• Lower your risk of getting cancer, diabetes, dementia, and prevent fatty liver disease.
• You may get clearer skin with more of a glow.
• And MANY more reasons!

You will become more mindful of what you are putting in your mouth. Is what your eating making you feel good? Does eating too much sugar make you feel sick?

I’ve taken sugar breakfast for a full month, and a couple of weeks and I’ve learned a lot! Here are a few tips I’ve learned…

Tips to Help You Eat Less Sugar:

• Read nutrition labels. You might be surprised how much sugar is in your favorite treat or even savory snacks! Sugar is almost everywhere!
• Eat fruit instead. I especially like cold fruit!
• Don’t drink sugar. You might be very surprised how much sugar is in your favorite beverage! take a look at the nutrition label!
• Brush your teeth after meals. 
• Infuse your water. I love honey lemon water in the mornings.
• Start your day with protein and your sugar cravings will be reduced!
• Drink more water.
• Get enough sleep.

The American Heart Association suggests no more than 25 grams of sugar for women and children and 36 grams for men. It doesn’t take long to check how many grams of sugar you are about to consume on the label. Or if there is no label you can google it and get a good guess of how much sugar is in what you are about to consume.

After you check out these great recipes be sure to read at the end of this post advice from real people on how to eat sugar moderately!

Are you ready to eat less or no sugar? Here are 13 recipes to get you started!

** SUGAR-FREE RECIPES **

Breakfast

Healthy Sweet Potato Pancakes

This recipe is so good we’ve been making it for almost 5 years!

Note- It calls for 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. For no refined sugar, I would suggest adding either 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup.

Carrot Pancakes

This is another recipe we’ve been making for a VERY long time! It’s our favorite way to eat veggies for breakfast! These pancakes are so tasty! I love the texture.

Notes- Instead of adding 3 tablespoons of sugar, add either 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup.

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

I like this recipe so much I’ve made it a couple of times a month for a full year! I’ve made it many times without any brown sugar and it’s so delicious! I love that I can make it on Sunday and breakfast is ready every day for the full week!

Notes- To make this refined sugar free, omit the brown sugar and instead of adding 1/4 cup of maple syrup, add 1/3 cup.

Maple & Brown Sugar Overnight Oats

Even though brown sugar is in the title this recipe is VERY easy to switch to just maple syrup. Note below. I have to say, this is another recipe I loved so much my husband and I had it a few times a month for at least a year!

Notes- Don’t add any brown sugar but instead of adding 1 tablespoon of maple, add 2 tablespoons.

Smoothies

Detox Green Smoothie

This is seriously THE BEST GREEN SMOOTHIE recipe ever! Even my kids LOVE it!

20+ Healthy Smoothie Recipes

So many great recipes in here! My favorite is the Caribean Passion Smoothie.

Notes- Some of these recipes call for juice, if you can’t have juice because of the sugar in it, you can replace it with water and use honey to sweeten the smoothie.

Snacks

Healthy Carrot Muffins

This is such a great recipe that has NO refined sugar! But still tastes amazing! This is a reader favorite recipe.

No-Bake Chocolate Cookie Energy Bites

I love this recipe! It’s easy to make with no sugar too. 

Notes- Use a no sugar added peanut butter and add sugar-free chocolate chips or an unsweetened chocolate bar.

No-Bake Cranberry Almond Energy Bites

Cranberry and almond go perfectly together, especially in this energy bite recipe!

Notes- Use sugar-free almond butter (or another nut butter) and craisins.

Winter Fruit Salad

Fruit is the best natural treat! This Winter Fruit Salad is great year-round and tastes delicious!

Treats

Apple Monster Cookies

This is a fun recipe! Apples are the “cookies” and you can top it with your favorite toppings!

Notes- To make it sugar-free use nut butter with no added sugar and be creative with your toppings.

No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies

Cookies for breakfast?! I’m in! This recipe is similar to energy bites. We love this recipe!

Notes- To make sugar-free, use nut butter with no added sugar and skip topping it with the chocolate drizzle or use sugar-free chocolate chips.

Sugar-Free Chocolate Bites

Save the best for last! I perfected this recipe back in 2017 when I went a full month without sugar. I love chocolate so much and this was my favorite sugar-free recipe! It’s DELICIOUS!

Which recipe do you want to try first?

Tips from REAL people on how to eat sugar moderately:

Trust me I LOVE sugary treats! Chocolate Chip Cookies, Muddy Buddies, Tres Leches Cake… etc. all have a special place in my heart. I certainly have a weakness! I find it best to only consume treats/dessert 1 time per day so I can be more aware of how much sugar I am consuming. Also, don’t shame your self for indulging a little here and there. Eat a cookie or two sometimes but not a few every day.

Here are what some of my friends do to reduce their daily sugar intake:

-Only have 1 special treat each day.

-Only have sweets after 5 pm but just 1 serving size of it.

-Some people say if they start eating sugary treats early in the day then they crave it all day long.

-Don’t keep junk, treats, etc. in the house. Instead, go out once a week for a treat. One of my friends calls it “Treat Saturday.”

-Monday-Friday no candy, chocolate, treats, desserts, etc. Saturday and Sunday one special treat.

-Give yourself a certain number of treat days each month. Think ahead of what will be happening that month with birthdays, celebrations etc.

-If you reach your specific goal, give yourself a non-food award.

-Before you have a treat/something sugary eat something that is “alive”, meaning one that is in its natural forms like fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains etc.

-When you get a sugar craving, have some tasty fruit or dark chocolate to satisfy the craving without indulging.

-Be mindful when choosing which recipes to make even when it comes to dinner recipes. A lot of savory foods have a high amount of sugar. 

-Learn how to use natural sweeteners like honey, pure maple syrup, monk fruit sweetener, etc.

-If you love to bake, be thoughtful about what and when you want to bake and share with friends and neighbors. 

-Find refined sugar-free treats you love. (This and this from Russell Stover look really good! Also, Lily’s Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Bars.)

-Whatever “sugar rules” you decide to abide by, don’t shame yourself when you decide it’s time to have a treat. Enjoy it with no guilt!

-My advice: Take a sugar-break (for at least 3 days but I would say up to 10 until the cravings go away) and this will help you be more mindful of how much sugar you typically consume per day. You’ll be surprised after just 1 day of reading labels that sugar really is in almost everything!

Let me know what YOU do to be smart about your daily sugar intake! I would LOVE to hear!

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