Fall is the season of sweetness. Not only is there the sugar rush of Halloween, but fall produce is sweet and starchy enough to make you want to pass up that candy corn.

Fall’s abundance of sweet and satisfying fruits and veggies make it a great time to work on reducing that sugar habit. To truly heal your gut, refined (table) sugar is one of the first things that must go. However, that still doesn’t make it easy to give up such a highly addictive substance!

Crowding out versus deprivation

The DIY health approach to kicking sugar is NOT about going cold turkey. It’s about crowding out the refined white stuff with the natural sugars found in seasonal apples, pears, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, persimmons, butternut squash and beets.

Refined sugar compromises liver function, contributes to gut permeability (which can cause bloating and gas) and depresses the immune system. But what do you do when sugar cravings hit hard?

If you’ve ever been on a diet you know from experience that deprivation can often turn into binge eating. Deprivation creates an unhealthy cycle. A better approach is called crowding out.

Go ahead and enjoy your favorite sugary foods but make sure that you are also eating a few servings of sweet autumn fruits and veggies daily.

As your body gets sugar from natural sources, your desire for refined sugar will diminish. Fall produce provide natural sugar and starch, along with doses of filling fiber and nourishing vitamins. After adding in sweet fall produce you won’t feel so starved for that sugary latte pick me up or afternoon cookie break.

A few sweet potato food ideas to get you started

Sautee a red onion in olive oil and add cooked quinoa, an organic egg and sea salt. Once the egg has cooked add in a baked sweet potato without the skin and mix it in with a spatula.

Wonder Veggies

Sweet potatoes taste so sweet but won’t spike your insulin levels and are much less likely than white potatoes to cause bloating.They’re not even in the same family as white potatoes!

Simply roast them in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees and you have a base for some insanely delicious, nutritious dishes. The light yellow flesh sweet potatoes are my favorite.

You can mash sweet potatoes as a side dish or cut them up, toss them in oil, sprinkle some salt and make roasted fries. The flavor of sweet potatoes are enhanced by salty foods like feta cheese or tuna.

Tuna marinara with sweet potatoes

Start with a base of sautéed red onion and in olive oil then add a can of sugar-free marinara sauce (I used Putenesca pasta sauce from Trader Joes because it’s sugar free and has yummy olives) Add a can of tuna, packed in olive oil and then a sweet potato. Mixed this well in the pan and serve. Easy.

A few more ideas

Make your own applesauce by cutting and cooking down fresh apples in a little bit of water, Add a squeeze of lemon and some cinnamon.

Substitute pumpkin puree from a can for mashed potatoes. Mix it with roasted carrots (another high sugar veggie) and spiced ground beef (cumin, cayenne, salt and paprika) that’s been sautéed with onions and garlic.

Roast root veggies like turnips, carrots, beets, parsnip and yuca in olive oil and salt .

I made the most delicious mac and cheese dish for Thanksgiving last year by substituting butternut squash for elbow pasta and real cheese for packaged cheese mix. This dish may not be good for people with lactose intolerance but it’s a great way to get your kids to eat veggies.

Cut out sugar the fun way…by eating more nutritious and yummy food!

Are you inspired to reduce your sugar cravings by adding sweet autumn produce to your day? Please share your thoughts or even recipes in the comments below.