100% sweet, now with no HFCS!

Since July I've been slowly trying to wean myself  off of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  Why?  My honest reason, is I'm tired of companies putting it in things I don't think it belongs in.  Similar to my natural hair journey it's not nearly as holistic as it appears.  I like sugar, sugar belongs in jelly, candy, sodas, not HFCS.  If I pay for brand-name soda, it should have actual sugar in it.  If I pay for for premium candy it "had better not" have HFCS, and yet it does.



  But it was KFC that was the straw that broke this camel's back. I occasionally eat lunch there because I work in West Oakland where there is nothing near by.  When I eat biscuits I enjoy a bit of honey and butter on them.  I was reading the ingredients on the "Honey Spread" and first ingredient was high fructose corn syrup!  That's when I realised that this HFCS had just gotten to out of hand.  In Europe and Japan they don't put HFCS in every thing including sodas.  I guess Americans, they assume we wouldn't notice.  Admittedly it is has been very hard for me to stop eating HFCS. Especially when I was back home in the Deep South.  I still have my slip-ups, and I have a jar of jam in my fridge that I intend to finish, I hate to waste food. But I'm not buying anything else that has HFCS. I have definitely gone most of the past 3 months not buy HFCS drinks and I can totally tell the difference when someone ask me to taste a drink that has HFCS in it. It has this lime-ish (like the fruit) taste that is very noticeable in ginger-ale and other clear sodas.  I've learned a few things in the past few weeks that I think I will help anybody else who wants to eliminate HFCS.

1. If you love ketchup, stick with Hunt's. Hunt's has always been my personal favourite for it's thickness and salt:sugar ratio. But it's also one of the few major brands that by default has no HFCS, and it's still cheap.  Just double check as Hunt's recently went with a new HFCS formula therefore older stock may have HFCS.
2. Check every label! Sauces, chips, not just sweet stuff.  They hide this stuff everywhere
3. HFCS and corn syrup aren't the same thing.   Corn syrup is distinct from high-fructose corn syrup, created when corn syrup undergoes enzymatic processing that produces a sweeter compound containing higher levels of fructose.
4. Learn to make your own sauces, it's not that hard.  Especially if you love Chinese sauces like sweet and sour, duck sauce, etc.   You can make a big batch and it will keep a pretty decent amount of time in your fridge. Otherwise, spend the extra dime and buy all-natural condiments.

I still eat my regular amounts of sweets, and I have a huge sweet tooth. I have noticed a change in my level of energy and sugar cravings. When I eat real ice cream, candy, pastries with real sugar I don't crave more. I don't get as sluggish afterwards, I keep that "sugar high" and the "crash" isn't as noticeable.  Unfortunately for me I'm still addicted to "diet sugar" which isn't so healthy but I'm trying.  

As I gain more info on common non-HFCS I will let you know.

have a happy Monday,

Jasmine 100% sweet, now with no HFCS