Naturally Sweetened Lemon Butter

I love lemon butter. It's so yummy spread on scones or fresh bread.  It's tart and sweet at the same time, and the perfect base for tarts and fillings. It's creamy, rich and really satisfies a lemon craving.

My main dilemma with lemon butter is that it's normally packed full of refined, white sugar.  I knew I wanted to create a naturally sweetened lemon butter, but was concerned that it would taste like the lemon and honey tea I drink when I have the flu.

I started to experiment, and came up with an easy lemon butter recipe that fulfills lemon cravings, yet it is almost unrecognizable that it doesn't contain any white sugar.

Start with your lemons.  These beauties are local and fresh off the tree.

Squeeze the lemons.  I prefer just using my hand.  You could use a juicer or a juicing machine.  (To get more juice out of a lemon, microwave it for 20-30 seconds.  You'll get almost double the juice) You'll need 200 mls of fresh squeezed lemon juice (approx 3/4 cup).  

Strain the lemon juice to remove the seeds.  

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1 cup honey and 2 Tablespoons cornflour (corn starch) until smooth.  

Add lemon juice and 1/2 cup water.  Stir until combined.  

Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.

Remove from heat.  Lightly beat 6 egg yolks.  Stir half the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, stirring immediately and briskly to ensure the eggs don't cook.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and return to heat.  Stir briskly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil.  

Remove from heat. Cut 100 grams (1/3 cup) of butter in pieces and add to lemon mixture, stirring until combined.

Pour into a medium bowl, jars or mugs.  Cover the surface of the lemon butter with plastic wrap.  Place in refrigerator and chill for a minimum of 1 hour.

Serve the chilled lemon butter on scones with cream, on fresh bread or toast.  You can also use it as a base for lemon cream tarts (keep an eye out for the recipe, it's coming soon) or lemon tarts.  It's perfect for gift giving or addictive self-consumption.

Naturally Sweetened Lemon Butter

Yields 1 1/2 cups approximate

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup honey

2 Tablespoons cornflour (corn starch)

200 mls (approx 3/4 cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice

125 mls (1/2 cup) water

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten

100 grams butter, chopped

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together honey and cornflour until combined.  
2. Add lemon juice and water, mixing well.  
3. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.
4. Remove from heat.  Stir half the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, stirring immediately and briskly (to ensure the eggs don't cook).  Return the mixture to the saucepan and return to heat.  
5. Stir briskly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.
6. Add chopped butter, stirring until mixed through.
7. Pour into mugs and cover the surface with plastic wrap.  Place in refrigerator and chill for 1 hour minimum.
8. Transfer to an airtight glass container and store in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze for up to two months.  Defrost in refrigerator before serving. 

Enjoy!

Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Building Healthier Lunchboxes

So far, I've shared with you our favourite freezer friendly lunchbox recipes.  But, somedays you just need some more guidance on how to pack a healthy lunch.  Here are four complete lunchboxes to give you inspiration!

Four Complete Lunchboxes

Hard Boiled Egg, Corn Cob, Carrot Sticks, Tomato Slices, Celery Sticks with Cream Cheese and Sultanas,
Air Popped Popcorn and an Apple

Sausage Rolls, Corn Cob, Capsicum Sticks, Tomato Slices, Banana, Puffed Corn and
Chobani Greek Yogurt - Honey Flavoured

Sausage Rolls, Veggie Sticks, Chobani Greek Yogurt - Honey Flavoured, Bega Stringers Cheesestick,
Homemade Muesli Bar with Sultanas and a Banana

Empanada, Carrot Sticks, Cheese Sticks, Tomato Slices, Puffed Corn, Sliced Strawberries and a
Trail Mix of Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds and Sultanas

Building a Healthier Lunchbox

In case you need a little more guidance in building healthier lunchboxes, here's a basic guideline.

Start with a main option:

Empanadas, Sausage Rolls, Hard Boiled Egg, Tuna

Homemade Vegetarian Sushi

Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Add a dairy option: 

(this isn't necessarily a must, but it is added protein and calcium for growing bones)

Bega Stringers, Chobani Honey Greek Yogurt and Colby Cheese Cut into Sticks

Add a veggie option or two:

Corn Cob, Celery Sticks, Capsicum Sticks, Carrot Sticks, Celery with
Cream Cheese and Sultanas, Tomato slices

And a fruit option or two:

Banana, Apple, Strawberry and Kiwi Slices, Orange Slices

And finish with a grain or treat option:

Ryvita Multigrain crackers, Air Popped Popcorn, Puffed Corn,
Homemade Muesli Bar, Trail Mix of Sultanas, Sunflowers Seeds and Carob Buds

With lots of variety and fresh, healthy food, my kids devour their lunchboxes.  Removing sandwiches from lunchboxes can be a lot of hard work, but I've been really please with the results.  I hope you're inspired to make some changes too!  Enjoy!

Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Lunchbox Muesli Bars

My kids have always loved store bought muesli bars.  We used to eat them on a regular basis as a healthy snack (when I thought they were a healthy snack). Then I discovered how easy and cost saving they are to make at home, so I started baking my own. When we were still eating refined sugars, I made sugar laden ones every few week for after school snacks and lunchboxes.

When we removed refined sugar from our diets, I knew they weren't something we would give up easily, so I made up this quick and easy muesli bar recipe.  It's full of whole grains and natural sweeteners.  My kids love these!  

I've found refined sugar free muesli bar recipes that are suitable for the lunchbox very hard find.  Most recipes are either packed with sugar or contain nuts.  Since the majority of Australian schoolkids attend nut-free schools, mine included, I wanted a recipe that was yummy, met our nutritional needs (no refined sugars!) and was nut free. These are perfect!

They're easy to make, and are perfect to put in the freezer for an easy lunchbox treat!  

Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

These Bean and Cheese Quesadillas (pronounced "cay-suh-dee-yuh" for all my non-Spanish speaking Aussie friends), are probably the easiest of our sandwich free lunchbox foods. They're quick, easy and filling. The only problem is, they don't freeze well enough to defrost and serve cold in a lunchbox.

Quesadillas are one of the few foods that I make fresh for my kids because I can't just pull them from the freezer. Because of this, they only get them once every few weeks, but they are certainly a favourite.

Quesadillas are a five minute food, and are also great for a quick weekend lunch.  Toss a few things in a bowl, mix together and spread on a tortilla to cook.  Simple and easy.

For lunchboxes, I stick with three simple ingredients: tortillas, mozzarella cheese and beans.  You can spice yours up with seasoning such as Mexican chili powder or chipotle powder, or if you want them as a quick family meal, try adding a cooked, diced chicken breast and a jar of salsa. My kids are happy with just beans and cheese, so I stick with that for lunchboxes.

Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Sausage Rolls

My SIL deserves equal credit for my "Sandwich Free Lunchboxes" series. Together, we dreamed up how to remove sandwiches from our kids' school lunchboxes.  She also needs credit for all the hours that we've shared creating and cooking these recipes.

As I shared in my last post "Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Empanadas", I used to find the idea of school lunches frustrating. When my SIL and I started discussing our options for easier school lunches, we decided that a homemade, sandwich free lunchbox was the healthiest and most cost effective option.

Our goal was to have lunchboxes filled with foods that were not just nutritious and filling, but easy. We wanted food that could be made ahead of time and pulled out of the freezer each morning. Our brainstorming resulted in these recipes!

Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Empanadas

My SIL deserves equal credit for my "Sandwich Free Lunchboxes" series. Together, we dreamed up how to remove sandwiches from our kids' school lunchboxes.  She also needs credit for all the hours that we've shared creating and cooking these recipes

I used to find the idea of school lunches frustrating.  In Australia, there is no hot lunch. Growing up in the US, I ate hot lunch most days and loved it.  It never occurred to me that other parts of world don't provide cooked lunches for students each day (that said, given the current controversy over what is served in American school lunches, I now feel blessed my children have never eaten hot lunch).  

When my kids' started school in Australia, and I realized I had to provide lunch every day, I thought I would go insane.  Most days, it was easiest to pour some honey on some bread and call it a sandwich, then shove some Tiny Teddies, flavoured yogurt and a piece of fruit into the lunch box.  

When my family started to make major changes in our diets, stopped eating refined sugars and moved to eating mainly whole, real foods, I knew I needed a major overhaul of our lunchboxes.  My SIL and I started discussing our options and decided that a homemade, sandwich free lunchbox was the healthiest and most cost effective option.

Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: How to Flash Freeze

In order to have a freezer full of sandwich free lunchbox food, you'll need to know how to flash freeze the food. Flash freezing essentially means you pre-freeze the food so it doesn't stick together when you pack it into one container in the freezer.  

Flash freezing is a common practice of the food industry. Processed food is frozen at cryogenic temperatures in order to quickly freeze the food so ice crystals can't form. That's why if you buy a bag of dimsims, unless they've been defrosted during the transport process, they don't stick together.

Unfortunately, we aren't able to flash freeze at the temperatures that the food industry can, but we can cause the same effect, meaning our food should be easy to pull out of the freezer one at a time and form less ice.

It's easy, but can be a little time consuming because you have to keep moving things to and from the freezer, depending how much you need to flash freeze. However, it's well worth your effort because you won't be fighting against a clump of muffins every time you want to take one from the bag.

Smoothie Icy Poles

My kids love smoothies. In summer, we have smoothies most days for breakfast. They're fast, easy, and extremely healthy. Loaded with fruit, yogurt and baby spinach, they're very filling, and can keep my family going until lunch. With only real food ingredients and no refined sugar, these are the perfect way to start the day.

Given our addiction to this tasty way to start our day, when I came across this idea from Lisa at 100 Days of Real Food (Blog Post: My Favorite School Lunch Supplies), I knew we had to try them!

Smoothie Icy Poles

All you need is your favourite smoothie recipe (you can find ours here) and the molds.

I purchased my silicone push up molds from Ebay. They were fairly inexpensive, (under $15 for 10 molds including shipping) and they come in fun, bright colours which my kids love!

Start by mixing up your favourite smoothie in your blender or food processor. Or, if you have any, use the leftovers from breakfast. Gather your molds and find a jar to prop them in while filling.

The Perfect Smoothie

The title of this post is a bit misleading, because I don't actually believe I've found the recipe for the perfect smoothie.  I believe that the perfect smoothie is whatever your family loves, while still containing lots of fruit and veggies for optimal nutrition.

My kids love smoothies.  We have them most summer mornings for breakfast. The kids devour them, and I find they keep us going for hours, opposed to when we used to eat toast for breakfast.

The benefit of smoothies over fruit juices is that smoothies are the whole fruit blended into a drink, verses fruit juice where the fibre is removed from the drink.  They are filling, packed full of vitamins and minerals, and really yummy!

To make the perfect smoothie for your family, pick ingredients that fit your taste and dietary requirements.  If your kids hate raspberries, that's probably not the best choice.  However, things like spinach and kale are hidden by the other flavours, so give them a go (hiding it from the kids if you need to!).

How to Make the Perfect Smoothie

Eight Tips for Cutting Down on Your Sugar Intake

The series How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free, detailing how my family quit eating refined sugar, has officially finished. Have you read the series? What do you think? Does the idea of cutting out refined sugar feel overwhelming? But you agree you consume too much and need to make some changes? 

For some people, the idea of never eating refined sugar again is unimaginable. It feels like too much effort. Two years ago, I would never have dreamed I would reach a point where I'd no longer eat any refined sugar. Removing refined sugar from my diet didn't happen overnight. It took over a year of small changes, baby steps and lots of failures.

Like me, some people find taking small steps more manageable.  Making little changes feels a lot less overwhelming and more doable on a day to day basis. 

Here are some tips for helping you cut your sugar intake:

How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free - Part 4: Eleven Tips for Taking the Plunge

Are you convinced yet?  Have you done the research?  Can you see how refined sugar is effecting your body?

If you're ready to take the plunge, I would recommend committing to a minimum of two weeks of refined sugar free living, but two months is ideal.  You will most likely have withdrawal symptoms for the first 10 days.  You may have headaches, mood swings, rage, stomach upset.  The list goes on and on.  Be prepared for it to be hard work.  But the rewards are well worth it.

Here are 11 tips for you helping you on your way:

Make a commitment
Decide that you're going to be refined sugar free.  Make a commitment to remove all refined sugar from your diet for a minimum of two weeks. Choose an upcoming day in the next week or two to start (take into consideration when you grocery shop) and commit to start that day, making preparations beforehand. You may even want to treat yourself before you start. Indulge in that piece of cheesecake one last time.  At least you won't look back and wish you had.

Caramel Slice by Nadia at "the Good Food Cook"

Because I've been doing mainly writing posts as I work through the series How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free, I thought I would share a review on a great recipe that a family member came across and asked me to try.

Since going refined sugar free one of my biggest challenges is finding recipes that actually taste good.  Let's be honest: sometimes I think people who no longer eat sugar have lost their taste buds.  I know I'm one of those non-sugar eating people, but so often I try a recipe that has been labelled "tastes exactly like the real thing" and find that it tastes nothing like the real American brownies I was attempting to make.  I've had more fails than I can count attempting new recipes and I've thrown a lot of food in the bin because it was inedible.

One of my markers of success is when I can feed a naturally sweetened, refined sugar free recipe to a white sugar eating friend or family member and they tell me how incredible it was.  That was the response I got with this one. 

Healthy Date and Cashew Caramel Slice 
from Nadia Lim 
at The Good Food Cook

How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free - Part 3: What We Eat

Refined sugar is in everything.  I'm going to be honest: it's hard work removing all refined sugars from your diet.  Almost everything we eat in our house on a everyday basis is cooked and prepared from scratch.  There aren't a lot of items on the supermarket shelves that don't have some form of refined sugar in them, and it isn't just sweet things.  Sauces, marinated meat, stir fry mixes, and dips (to name a few) all contain some form of refined sugar.

Our family doesn't eat added sugar, but we still consume sugar that is found naturally in foods, such as fructose (from fruit) and lactose (from milk).  And, we use sweeteners that are closely related to how they occur in nature, such as honey, dates and maple syrup.  We also enjoy, in moderation, things sweetened with fruit juice or fruit juice concentrate, such as jams or fruit snacks.

Because refined sugar is in everything, including non sweet foods, we have a basic rule.  We don't eat a supermarket item if sugar (for the names of sugar, read this) is listed in the first three ingredients or the item contains more than 6 grams of sugar per 100 grams.

How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free - Part 2: The Evidence

Everyday a new headline appears:

"Is Sugar Toxic?"

"The Bitter Truth about Sugar"

"Sugar is Now Number One Enemy in Western Diet"

What is the problem with sugar and why such a fuss? What sugars are actually bad for you and why?

What is refined sugar?

There are many different forms of refined sugar, with two we hear of the most.  The first type is table sugar.  Table sugar is either sugarcane or beet sugar that has undergone the refining process to have all the molasses (and all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients) removed, leaving only the crystals.  It's what you put in coffee or use to bake.

How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free - Part 1: The Beginning

Last week I shared an article from "The Guardian" on my private Facebook page which sums up really well why my family is refined sugar free.  You can read it here.

After sharing the article, I got bombarded with questions from family and friends asking how and why we went refined sugar free.  I also got lots of comments like "I thought fructose was the problem" and "what about bread?"

To help answer the questions I've received, I'm sharing a series of blog posts on our journey to refined sugar free living.

Here's our story:



In January of 2013, I was challenged to seriously consider my eating habits.  My youngest child was already one, and I wasn't shifting any of the extra baby weight.  I knew I had to do something drastic, so for 3 weeks I only ate real food, nothing processed, nothing containing sugar.  This was a huge challenge to me, and at the end of those 3 weeks, I went on a refined sugar binge.  I ate so much sugar I felt sick, but after that, I couldn't seem to return to being refined sugar free.

I thought about sugar.  I dreamed about sugar.  I craved sugar.

7 Tried and True Refined Sugar Free Recipes

I've tried a lot of refined sugar free recipes and failed.  A LOT.  It always the same thing. The taste isn't right.  The sugar substitute used doesn't create the right flavour combination. It's bland or difficult to eat.

Just because I don't eat refined sugar doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy sweet foods.  It means I want to eat healthier without the nasty side effects of sugar addiction and teach my kids to eat foods that aren't highly processed with chemicals and additives.  I want real food recipes that we can enjoy and savour that I'm not ashamed to feed to my sugar eating family and friends.

I've dug through piles of blogs and tried hundreds of recipes to compose this list of  my tried and true refined sugar free recipes from other bloggers for you to enjoy as well.  These recipes please the hardest of critics (including my kids), and are made over and over in my kitchen.  I hope you love them as much as we do!

Honey Vanilla Toffee -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

Last week I shared my recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream topped with honey vanilla toffee.  This week, I'm sharing my recipe for the toffee. 

This is the perfect recipe for parties and special events when you need something that sugar eaters will enjoy as much as you do! 

Vanilla Ice Cream -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

Ah, ice cream.  How I love thee.  If anything were to ever make me return to eating refined sugar, it would be ice cream.  Especially Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Maple Tree Hugger...Yum!  Or Snickers ice cream bars...drool!!  My friends and I ascribed to the motto at college that there was always room for ice cream because it just fills in the cracks!!  In my opinion, there is always a reason to eat ice cream.

3 Ingredient Fruit Juice Jell-O (Jelly for the Aussies!)

When we removed refined sugars from our kids' diets, I never considered Jell-O.  My kids love it.  It used to be an easy treat, boil some water, pour in the box and stir.  They were devastated the first time we walked past a box in the grocery store and they realized I wasn't going to buy it for them anymore.  The thought remained in the back of my head that mums must have made it for their kids prior to processed foods being readily available.  I did some research and discovered that making Jell-O from fruit juice is as simple as making it from a box, and much better for them.  No nasty colours or flavours and it's not pure refined sugar!

Vanilla Cinnamon Poached Pears -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

Want a dessert that's tantalizing enough to serve at a dinner party, but simple enough that you can make it as a weeknight dessert for the kids?  These beautiful Vanilla Cinnamon Poached Pears are it!

Poached Pears are one of the simplest desserts, but also one of the most sophisticated.  They are beautiful, rich, and impressive, but so easy to make and you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen!  With simple and wholesome ingredients that are also good for you, you'll never feel guilty indulging!!

Honey Vanilla Granola -- Refined Sugar and Wheat Free

I've lived in Australia for 12 years, and have always assumed that muesli is the Aussie word for granola.  I just discovered I'm wrong!  They are in fact two very different things, although they appear very similar.  Muesli was developed by a Swiss man and contains raw oats and is never cooked.  Granola is mainly an American invention, and is toasted with a fat and a sweetener.  Granola is commonly sold under the name toasted muesli in Australia.  So, my previously intended recipe "Honey Vanilla Muesli" is now appropriately named "Honey Vanilla Granola."

Honey Toffee Slice -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

This beautiful slice is so good, people will have no idea it's refined sugar free!  Made with honey and butter, the toffee is buttery and smooth, just like the white sugar kind!  The base, made with almond meal is crumbly and sweet.  Combined with the thinnest layer of bitter dark chocolate on top, this sweet treat is satisfying for any sugar craving, no matter how big!

Honey Vanilla Puffed Corn

You will regularly hear me comment one of our family's biggest challenges is birthday parties.  Not only are we refined sugar free, but I also limit processed foods and we try to avoid all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.  (Except my husband, you'll always find a bag of Doritos in his hands!) My kids are always limited to the fruit table, which they don't mind, but parties are meant to be fun!

To solve the party problem, I make this simple, yummy snack.  This is a perfect party food or a special afternoon snack.  I frequently bring a bowl with us to parties so my kids have something fun to enjoy.

Just 4 ingredients, this easy snack will wow your kids!  Mine devour it in minutes!

Apple Rhubarb Pie -- Refined Sugar and Gluten Free

This easy and quick winter warmer dessert is great for using up in-season rhubarb.

The pie crust, from Primal Palate (http://www.primalpalate.com/), combines salty and sweet, and pairs perfectly with buttery, honey sweetened apples and rhubarb.

Apple Rhubarb Pie -- Gluten Free
Serves 10
printable recipe

Chocolate Coconut Mousse Pie -- Vegan and Gluten Free

This is simple, amazingly easy, yummy pie to make.   My beautiful friend, Ama, created this recipe to her family's taste, and it's a wonderful sweet, rich dessert.

A beautiful, delicious, naturally sweetened chocolate coconut pie!