Sugar Free Pizza Sauce

One of the items I was surprised to find sugar in, was our go to pizza sauce.  Thankfully, the web turned out this great recipe that was quick to make, and the kids loved too!

ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter (optional or sub more olive oil if you're being healthier)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 3/4 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil, (i think the gourmet gardens tube from the produce department tastes better in this sauce) chopped *3/4 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped *1/2 dried
• 2- 8oz cans of tomato sauce
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 5 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2/3 cup warm water
• salt and pepper to taste

instructions

1. in a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil and butter and heat until almost shimmering. add the garlic, stirring a few times around the pot and then quickly add the onion powder, red pepper flakes, basil and oregano. stir a few times and allow the herbs to bloom.
2. add parmesan cheese, and brown sugar and then quickly dump in the tomato sauce, tomato paste and water. stir to combine and bring to a light boil. turn down to low, season to taste and allow to simmer for 1-2 hours for ultimate flavor or use immediately if needed.

The only changes I made to the recipe was substituting a carrot from our garden for the brown sugar.  I read on another pizza recipe site that carrots can help add sweetness (not to mention sneaking extra veggies into the kids).  All three of mine devoured the pizza, the littlest two knowing no difference, and the eldest who knew I had made the sauce and said it was even better than what we had had before!  Win!  Next time I may even add a red pepper.  Sneaky sneaky.

This recipe made up 3 portions worth of sauce.  I portioned out the remainder (we made one pizza to eat) and froze the extra in ziploc bags.  When I know we are having pizza night again, I'll just pull one out the night before to defrost.  (Hint - if you freeze it flat it will defrost quicker!).

Where I stand with sugar

I'm writing this on the eve of my fifth day without sugar.  I've been keeping a daily commentary going on Facebook with how each day has felt.  Looking back, and I knew it at the time, the second day was the worst.  I craved EVERYTHING.  Thankfully I have a strong will power and avoided our treat cupboard, but it was surprising how much I craved sugar.  And I didn't think I had that much sugar to begin with in my diet.  But I've learned, it's in EVERYTHING.

It is recommended that a woman not consume more than 25g of added sugars per day, and men 37g.  It adds up fast.  Here are a few examples:

A medium slurpee has 15g of sugar
A caramel macchiato from Starbucks has 37! (Keep in mind part of that is the sugar in the milk, so you can take off about 12 from that total).

Now the extra kick for me, is I started substituting with honey.  It's nautral right?  It is, but your body still sees it as sugar and treats it that way.  Any benefit that honey offers over sugar is so minimal (about 2% I read) that it truly is no different.  The only difference is you can use less honey when cooking, than what is needed for sugar, so it reduces it a bit.  But honey is still counted as an add.  Boo!

So needless to say, I've been doing some refining (ha!) around here with how I prepare our food, and I will start to share those recipes with you here on this blog from time to time.

What I can tell you on Day 5, is that fruit and vegetables have SO much more flavour and I find myself reaching for grapes or cherry tomatoes as a snack.  And (shock), that morning latte?  I think I've come to realize I loved the sugar, not the latte.  It's just not as appealing anymore.  I make one every morning and only drink half the cup.  What I do miss is a good chai, so I'm working on coming up with a good (sugar free!) substitution.