I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson - Book Review

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Recently, I received a free copy of the book I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson. As someone who understands how dangerous sugar can be in one's diet, I was eager to check out the book and the 108 included recipes.

In this book, Wilson lays out an eight-week plan for eliminating sugar from your diet. You don't eliminate all sugar right away. It's a gradual process of cutting back on sugar, and then taking it completely out of your diet and getting your "sweet" fix in other ways. By the end of the eight weeks, hopefully, you'll be so used to not eating sugar that you won't want to eat any sugar.

The book offers a list of pantry staples and kitchen supplies that will help you on your journey. I like that the food staples are all things that can be used in multiple recipes instead of stuff you'll spend a lot of money on and then only use once.

There are also 108 sugar-free recipes, from breakfasts and desserts to sugar-free food for kids. Wilson writes that these recipes just so happen to be grain- and gluten-free because Wilson thinks starches from grain can feed the sugar addiction. But even so, if you're already on a gluten-free diet, make sure that any ingredient you buy says "gluten-free" on the label. Especially when it comes to things like nuts, certain brands are manufactured on the same equipment as wheat products.

Cutting out sugar is a daunting task because you'd be surprised at just how many things contain sugar! Even a "healthy" snack can contain a candy bar-and-soda's worth of sugar. It's almost impossible to eat sugar in moderation because sugar (in one form or another) is in everything we eat. The biggest problem is the power wielded by the sugar industry, and I'm glad that Wilson addresses the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) debate in this book. Basically, it's just as bad as sugar. But it's also cheap and overabundant thanks to the U.S. government subsidizing corn producers, so now HFCS is in everything we eat. Great!

Bacon and Egg Cupcakes

I haven't attempted the eight-week sugar detox diet yet, but I am all about lowering the amount of sugar we eat. I've written about this before. And I am more than willing to add some of these sugar-free recipes into our regular rotation. Pumpkin Pie "Oatmeal" or Poached Eggs for breakfast? How about a Chocolate Chip and Mint Whip beverage or Chocolate Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa? I'm kind of excited to use the food processor I got for Christmas (and haven't used yet) to make some of the pesto recipes in this cookbook.

There's a lot of great information in this book, and most of the recipes seem easy to make and good substitutes for full-sugar things you really love. If you're trying to get rid of all sugar from your diet or even if you just want to start slow and cut down on your sugar intake, I Quit Sugar is an excellent resource!

You can also find more recipes and resources at the I Quit Sugar website!

I Quit Sugar is published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers and is available to purchase now. I received a free review copy for my honest review.