Lorelai Brooks chose to reduce extra sugar from her diet not out of pressure or remorse. It began with a basic want for improved mood. “I was sick of the energy crashes,” she says. “I wanted to reinterpret sweetness in my relationship.”
She was most astonished by how fun it became rather than by how challenging it was.
Lorelai has always adored making rich delicacies as a lifetime baker. She discovered, though, that pleasure did not originate in bags of brown sugar or spoonfuls of syrup when she started experimenting with no-added-sugar dishes. “Real ingredients have so much flavour when you let them shine,” she notes.
She started by questioning her top choices. She experimented with mashed bananas and cinnamon instead of standard muffins. Her morning porridge improved with stewed apples and a little of vanilla flavour. Desserts evolved into a new creative playground: dates, coconut, and cocoa replaced fudge and icing. Even among dubious friends, her trademark chocolate avocado mousse proved rather popular.
But Lorelai was not prepared for the way her taste receptors changed. A few weeks later, once “normal” sweets began to taste essentially synthetic. “Once your palate resets, fruit tastes like candy,” she says laughing.
The change went beyond the physicality. Her emotions flattened out without the highs and lows. In the kitchen she felt more focused, calmer, and even more creative. “It’s like I started appreciating real taste again and at last stopped chasing the sugar rush.”
She now shows her works to people attempting to reduce consumption. People believe it’s about sacrifice, Lorelai adds. “But rediscovery is really the key here.”
