hi

i have been on many different 'diets' eating plans over the years and did have to do a sugar free and i too found it miserable even though i have a basically healthy diet with lots of veg fruit and little sat fats and no meat. i am also a medical herbalist so had to consider diet in my training and if i see any patients now. sometimes it is amazing what a wheat or dairy free diet can do but is have seen a lot of peplpe needlessly punishing themselves when they have a basically good diet. it is about all the good stuff you put in too. am not saying sugar is good but it is better than fake sweetners which are the work of the devil. real maple syrup is great as a natural sweetner, but unless you have certain problems i would suggest that you treat yourself to a couple of cookies when you fancy but you can buy ones without trans-fats which really must be avoided - anything hydrogenated is a no, no i think as it changes the fat structure and is potentially carcinogenic, and avoid nasty preservatives. but good quality and home-made cookies and cakes i reckon can be ok sometimes, especially when life is hard with pain. love yourslef and tell yourself it's good for you, bless it if that helps!

just don't over do it! if you really want sugar free alternatives i like sun-dried mango - chewy and sweet-like! also look out in healthfood stores for nice bars made with fruit purees etc. there is anaustralian bar called a wallaby bar which is sold in some health food stores and the ginger and macademia one is yummy and made with rice syrup which is at least a natural sugar! my boyfriend works at a big health food grocery so am lucky to get nice sugra free treats! also you may want to look for the range of biscuits called 'eco' biscuits made in belgium and they have no sugar but are yummy - you wouldn't really know. they are individually packaged. again i don't if you can get them where you are and what kind of health food stores you have. some of the 'healthy' things can be a bit disappointing in hitting the sweet treat spot but hope you find something you like!!

hope this helps maybe, but enjoy your sweet things sometimes! also dark, organic chocolate like green and blacks does have nutritional properties too so that can make you feel better if you eat the 70% organic dark sort!!

love sarah