One of the foods our cleansers struggle with giving up most is SUGAR. Added sugar is everywhere, even hidden in your favorite salad dressings or condiments, which makes it particularly hard to avoid, and the more you eat it, the more you become reliant on it.
Sugar can lead to health issues such as chronic weight gain, an overgrowth of candida, blood sugar imbalance, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and more. It’s also been linked to an increased risk for more serious health concerns like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
During the Conscious Cleanse, you’ll give up added and refined sugars completely, but if you think you might have a sugar sensitivity, you may need to do even more to tame your sugar cravings (take our Sugar Sensitivity Quiz here). Many fruits, grains, and other healthy foods still have naturally occurring sugars that can sabotage your health if you’re sensitive to sugar.
We both know how difficult it can be to give up sugar; Jo went from snacking on chocolate candy to “healthier” sugary treats like dried dates and other fruit, while Jules loved high-sugar fruits like bananas in her smoothies every morning. After having kids, not sleeping, and our hormones having changed, we realized that we needed to cut out even the natural sugars if we wanted to feel our best.
That’s why we’ve included a Low-Sugar plan as part of our Conscious Cleanse On Demand program to give you even more support in giving up sugar for good. You’ll have access to a daily Meal Planner of low-sugar recipes to help with meal prep, a Resource Library full of helpful tips for cutting out all types of sugar, and a Food Journal where you can track your food choices. You can reach out to one of our expert health coaches at any time with any questions or concerns, or send us your Food Journal so we can look for patterns and help you identify a sugar sensitivity.
When we realized we needed to cut out high-sugar fruit and other sources of natural sugars from our diets, we weren’t sure how that would affect our morning smoothie ritual. But with a little tinkering, we were able to come up with a way to enjoy green smoothies without the extra sugar – low-sugar green smoothies! Some of our favorite low-sugar green smoothies include our Lemon Blueberry Smoothie and our Fruit Free Green Smoothie. If you’d like to make your own low-sugar smoothie, here’s our go-to guide for making the perfect low-sugar smoothie.
How to Make the Perfect Low-Sugar Green Smoothie
Choose a liquid: 2 cups of unsweetened nut milk or water.
Add 1 piece or about 1 cup of low-sugar fruit (optional): blueberries, raspberries, ½ of a lemon, 1 pear, cherries, cranberries are all great low-sugar options.
Add lots of greens! About 2 cups of spinach, kale, collard greens, Swiss Chard, Romaine lettuce, or other leafy greens.
Top it off with 1-2 superfood add ons: 2-3 TB. hemp seeds for protein; 1-2 TB. unsweetened raw nut/seed butter, 1 TB. chia seeds, or olive or coconut oil for energy from healthy fats, 1 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon to help stabilize your blood sugar and add sweetness – all these can help with sugar cravings.
Blend in a high-speed blender and enjoy!
With love and low-sugar smoothies,
Jo Schaalman and Jules Peláez are co-authors of the book The Conscious Cleanse: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body and Transform Your Life in 14 Days, a best-selling, step-by-step guide to help you live your most vibrant life. Together they’ve led thousands of people through their online supported cleanse through their accessible and light-hearted approach. They’ve been dubbed “the real deal” by founder and chief creative director Bobbi Brown, of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, beauty editor of the TODAY show.