One foot in front of the other

I'm still working my minimal sugar and gluten intake. I did have a breakdown this weekend. Who knew a half cup of chocolate chips was over 500 calories? Jeezapete.

I found this article over the weekend. It is fairly basic, but has good info to know.

http://www.skinny-bits.com/2012/07/skinny-on-sweeteners.html

I hope to have something worthwhile to say before too long.

Hidden Sugars, again

As I wrote before, it is the hidden sugars, the sugars called by other names, that make dramatically limiting sugar so challenging. They are everywhere. We know not to eat Skittles. But Salsa? Why would anyone put sugar in salsa? 

These following terms represent added sugars: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, sugar, and sucrose.

Here is an info graphic about Sugar Consumption. I had told my sister a few months ago that when I ate sugar, I noticed my arms and legs were achy. On this info graphic, they list "aching limbs" as being tied to sugar consumption. Hhmmm.

When I start to feel weak, like I really don't need to be worried about all this sugar my family is eating, I just look for inspiration. Sarah Wilson is at the top of my list. I don't remember how I found her, but I am glad I did. Her approach is kind but no nonsense. I have bought both her e-book and her e-cookbook. They are both worth the money.

I think the best answer is to make all your own food. I am learning that we just can't trust the food industry or the government. I don't want to sound like a paranoid woman. But I just keep seeing that very few people out there are looking out for the health of my family. I must do it. I must read every label. I must bake and stir and grow and freeze and can and dry and mix and puree, as much as I am able.
 

Debrief

So, my sister and I were just together at the beach for two whole, entire weeks. It wasn't long enough. It never will be. Even though, we had a wonderful time enjoying each other's children and catching up and just being together.

Before our trip we had lots of goals for our time together. They were pretty much all food related. We would eat/serve no processed food. We would eat/serve no refined sugar, no gluten. Karen and I would eat no dairy. Karen and I would eat raw for 3-4 days.

Before my children and I headed down to the coast, I dehydrated corn chips, flax crackers, and granola--all raw. Karen and I discussed many meal options. We were ready for achieve.

The thing is, really, overall, it was pretty overwhelming. I definitely am one to bite off more than I can chew, and this case was no different. I wouldn't say that we were unsuccessful, but we were not stringent enough to meet the goals full on. We ate very little processed foods. Honestly, I can't think of any right now, but I know there were a few. I ate gluten one time the entire two weeks--gumbo, a personal weakness. I ate about two bites of chocolate and ate ice cream two nights. Karen and I almost made it two days eating raw. In the end, it was the desire for alcohol that did us in. I had not had any alcohol for 3 weeks prior to the raw bust though.

I can't do it all. I really can't. I have to decide what is important to me. How do I want my family to eat? What do I want my children's relationship with food to be? How do I want my children to see me and my relationship with food and with my body?

The answers to these questions are fluid. But for me, right now, gluten and sugar are where I want to focus my energies. I don't think much of either are healthy for any of us. I don't want to make a big deal of it. I don't want to draw all this attention to it. I just want to serve healthy food that I can feel good feeding my family and myself. And, I want them to eat it.

So I do feel okay about our beach goals because I think we were intentional and not overly dogmatic. And really, that is about all I can do, all I can be. 

Now we are back home, missing my sister and her family and eating as best we can.

Week Two, mid-week: Katie

Yesterday I found a website for moms, a well-grounded life, that I like. One thing she writes about is sugar addiction. I read something from her that was new news to me:

Seeking Balance :: Refined sugar is devoid of any nutrients. Our body needs nutrients to complete the digestion process. In order for sugar to be processed, it must actually grab vitamins and minerals from your body’s stores to complete its digestion.

So sugar robs us of nutrients every time we eat it. This leaves us with an unsatisfied feeling and a need to replace the drained nutrient reserve. We become hungry and crave more food. 

For my second week, I am doing fine. I've walked with weights one day and done yoga one morning. I haven't had any alcohol so far this week and I've had no sugar or gluten. My coffee consumption is back to its sky-high levels though. Small steps. 

The children and I are going out of town coming up. These are times where I falter. I've got to prepare for the car travel and the dining out of home experiences. 

Week One: Katie

I read a good article this morning on the evils of refined flours. Many of the symptoms resulting from eating refined flour are the same as those for eating refined sugar. The article also hints at possible reasons why so many people now have issues with gluten.

I have a theory, and that is that really everyone in our country should drastically limit or eliminate gluten from their diet. I think the increase in processed foods, genetically modified grains, over-processing of grains, and other modern day conveniences have made gluten a poison. I have another theory, and that is that I like to have lots of theories.

One quote from the article: “It is so much easier to overconsume any food where the work of chewing or digesting or separating fiber from starch has been done for us,” says functional nutritionist Julie Starkel, MS, MBA, RD.

So my first week of this self-directed journey went well but contained two missteps. I went out to eat with a friend on Wednesday to a deli that makes splendid pimento cheese. I love pimento cheese. So I caved and got the sandwich. Grilled pimento cheese. Delicious. Then, yesterday I couldn't let go of the notion of eating chocolate. So, after several hours, I caved and fixed me a big bowl of popcorn with chocolate chips in it. It was yummy and just the snack I needed. I maybe because I paired the chocolate with popcorn it didn't trigger more sugar cravings like often happens. Onward into week two....

Here I go again...

So, I've been doing fairly well with the no sugar. Not near perfect though. I had a birthday party slip. Then this evil man at the grocery store was giving samples of "Sin in a Tin." I caved and tried. Then I caved and bought. Then I caved at ate the whole damn thing in about 24 hours.

I read a sentence in a blog a few days ago that continues to reverberate in my head : "It is more peaceful for me without the struggle." She is talking about the struggle of how much sugar to eat. She does better without any. The same is true for me. I know I still have struggles ahead. I probably always will. But I do find a peace when I am not eating any sugar, a peace that I don't have when I am riding the roller coaster of sugar highs and lows, the lack of control and guilt that goes along with sugar binging.


So today, I am back on the wagon, which is a not the right metaphor. I am continuing the journey. I am continuing to learn. I am going to continue to be kind to myself. One way to be kind is not to struggle.

Katie : v.2.3

I bought some protein shakes and powders during the last NSC, only to get them home and find they had stevia in them. Today, I broke down and figured the bit of stevia in a shake would be okay, even worth the other added benefits. Gross. It tasted horrible. I even felt gross after I finished (most of) it. I just don't like stevia. During the last NSC I happened upon a little trick--Tree of Life's Cherry Concentrate.  I bought a bottle, thinking it was cherry juice. But when I opened it, I discovered it is a concentrate, so its consistency is more like maple syrup or agave. I really like a lot of the recipes from the web site Oh She Glows, but sweet Angela loves her some maple syrup. I have found the cherry juice concentrate to be the perfect "no sugar" substitute to use in her dressings and in other recipes I need to tinker with to make them free of sugar.

















Sugar : Stevia in a shake (blehck)
Gluten : None
Exercise : Yoga 10 minutes, walk 60 minutes

Katie : v.2.2

Today I waited to walk until supper time, so I had to endure a crying child for the duration of the walk. Lesson learned.

This morning the three and I picked up our favorite preacher and headed about an hour away to pick vegetables. Tomatoes and peppers, mostly. They were out of onions and the squash and zucchini were either miniscule or humongous. But, I got some good tomatoes and peppers and plan to can some salsa in a few days. 

Sugar : none
Gluten : none
Exercise : walk 20 minutes (+picking vegetables, but i won't count those minutes)

Variant Two : Katie

I like to think in chunks. Our first SFC was nestled between Karen's trip to NYC and my week with friends at the beach. We are now on the other side of a wedding we took part in and five weeks out from a visit by Karen and her family. . So, I thought another  s̶e̶l̶f̶-̶i̶m̶p̶o̶s̶e̶d̶ self-suggested SFC would be nice to fit in.

I do feel a lot of the sugar-free habits are sticking. I am better used to looking at labels. I rarely think of how I will get my next sugar fix. I've learned that a label can list "Sugars = 0" and then list sugar as an ingredient. Good Lord. It isn't any wonder people are confused and overwhelmed.

So, for this segment: 

My terms

For the next 37 days (June 25 through August 1)

• No sugars

• No gluten

• Walk/Exercise 3+ hours a week (Monday through Sunday)

That's it. I'm keeping it simple. No sugar. No gluten. More walking.

Today is Day One.

Sugar/Sweeteners : None

Gluten : None

Walking : 10 minutes

Hidden Sugars

I was with friends after our NSC and someone asked me what the hardest part of the no sugar challenge was for me, and I said all the hidden sugars. So many, many things have sugar in them. As I dive back in to another self-suggested NSC, it is the thought of having to be militant about hidden sugars that exhausts me the most.

Sugars that tripped us on our 34 day NSC:
Starbucks Passion ice tea, unsweet (BS it's unsweet)
Crunchmaster, gluten free crackers
Cape Cod, Salt and Vinegar potato chips


Other places we found hidden sugars:
All kinds of soups, even those "healthy-looking" cartons of soup
Doritos
Seasoning salt
Vigo Yellow rice
Tostito's restaurant-style salsa
Udi's millet and chia glutten-free bread
Lipton Onion soup mix
Mayonaise

Also, there is stevia in the protein powders I bought from the Health Food Store.

Cake

Today had a rough patch. NanaLin made her famous and delicious carrot cake with praline aside and cream cheese icing. It was gorgeous. It smelled divine. Everyone said it was out of this world. Exercise: none Alcohol: 2 glasses red Coffee: one cup (what can I say? We are on our second Full day of rain, pouring rain. As in a foot of rain yesterday.) Fruit: 1/2 banana, 3 strawberries, 2 smackaroons Sugar/Sweetener: none Salad: green salad with tomato feta dressing

Day 33 : Katie

Alcohol : one glass red Exercise : 30" walk Sugar/Sweetener : none Fruit : bananas in smackaroons Coffee : none

Day Thirty Two

Wow, this thing really went by fast. Hard to believe it's "over". Although not really over. I feel detoxified but I still crave ice cream on a hot day or a chai tea latte on a cold day. I struggle with what this all means for my life. Do I have ice cream once a week? Do I allow myself crackers that have maltodextrin? Do I bake with honey?
I still feel like an addict, I guess. I am afraid that I won't be able to control myself if I loosen the reins even a little bit. I won't know if I don't try. I am just not sure how or when to try. For now I think it is easier to just keep at it until I have more clarity. I have learned so much during this challenge, about food, the food industry, processed foods, my body, my cravings, my emotions surrounding food. I have not really ever been one to eat solely for sustenance, I eat for pleasure, for those pleasure centers in my brain that delight in sugar. That is a little better now I am sure, but I know I can easily slip back and I don't want to. I feel better not going through the sugar highs and lows of each day.
I also overall exercised more regularly this past month than I had during the previous couple of years. I am sure this contributed to me feeling better too. I too am so glad to have done this with my sister, who would let me talk endlessly about sugar and it's many facets. Love you sweet sister. I will keep blogging with you too.
Today was A's preschool graduation. Time flies as we all know. No time like the present to make positive change in my life.

Added sugars: none
Fruit: 1 smacaroon
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Farm Fresh

One of the greatest things about this challenge is how many more vegetables I have been eating.
I will take this opportunity to post about "Farm Fresh to You" which is an organic, local produce home-delivery company that I signed up for at the memorial day arts/crafts festival in our town. Our first box arrived Tuesday. The kids devoured the blueberries & watermelon. There were plums to add to our current collection of plums from the farmer's market. I made a salad with the romaine, carrots and avocado. I also make a ginger/garlic bok choy stirfry. I am enjoying trying vegetables that I wouldn't normally buy. I have a pound of sweet potatoes to make some sweet potato baked chips. Not sure what to do with the radishes in my fridge, but otherwise very happy with all of it. For now we are getting one box every two weeks. The only sort of bummer is it comes on Tuesdays, and I work all Tuesdays and lots of Wednesdays, so I have to get the kids to bed, clean all the vegetables and store them before I too can go to bed!

Day 32 : Katie

Last day of challenge. First day of the rest of my life. Salad : green salad with Blue cheese. Alcohol : 2 glasses white Coffee : none Sugar/sweetener: none Fruit: 1 peach, small; 2 smackaroons Exercise : none, rainy day at beach The last official day of our initial challenge. I've enjoyed each and every day and I'm so thankful to have my sweet, sweet sister to do it with. If anyone would like to join us for the next go-round, let us know. My plan is to continue posting. I am working off my phone for another ten days so posts will be short, but my plan is to continue full steam ahead. Maybe a little more fruit and the occasional bit of honey. Sweet kisses to all.

Day Thirty One

Added sugar: none
Exercise: none
Alcohol: none
Fruit: banana/date smacaroons (2nd batch)

Day Thirty

Added Sugar: none
Fruit: from smacaroon, plum
Alcohol: 2 glass shiraz
Exercise: none

Day Twenty Nine

Added sugar: none
Fruit: date/banana from smacaroons
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Day 31 : Katie

Coffee: none Sugar/sweeteners : none Fruit: 1/2 cup grapes, banana in 2 smackaroons, 1/4 cup of mango Alcohol: 5 oz red Exercise: 40 minute walk with children to boat launch in the heat of the day Salad: green salad with blue cheese, cucumber and mango with mint Had a good day today. Tomorrow is the last official day of this challenge. I have enjoyed every day of it.

Day 30 : Katie

Coffee: none Alcohol: 2 glasses red Sugar/sweeteners: none Exercise: ten minute walk Fruit: few grapes, little mango Salad: cucumber, mango, mint The cucumber salad was so cooling which was great since at one point today the car thermostat read 97•. we are down at the beach. I got a hankering for smackaroons so I went to the health food store and bought the ingredients I needed. I am going to try a batch with cacao nibs and a batch with dates. I also bought the stuff to make some delicious gluten free crackers. They are so good and easy to make. I'll post the recipe tomorrow. Friday is the last day of our challenge. I'm a little bit nervous about that. I have decided to continue posting here. At the health store yesterday I did buy an almond coconut Kind bar to enjoy Saturday.

Day 29 : Katie

Exercise: none Sugar/Sweeteners : none Fruit: none Alcohol : two glasses red Coffee: none Salad: one raw Brussels sprout

Day 28 : Katie

Alcohol: 2 glasses red Sugar/ sweetener: none Exercise: none Salad: raw, undressed Brussels sprouts Fruit: none Coffee: none

Day 27 : Katie

Alcohol: none Coffee: none Fruit: none Exercise: none Sugar/sweetener : none Salad: leftovers

Day Twenty Eight

Added sugar: none
fruit: 1 peach, 1 plum
wine: 2 glasses beaujolais
exercise: walked 3.5 miles

Day Twenty Seven

added sugar: none
fruit: banana/applesauce/dates in 2 oatmeal muffins
wine: one glass merlot
exercise: none

Day 26 : Katie

For day three of the June Salad challenge, I made an amended version of 101 cookbook's Crunchy Broccoli Salad. The dressing using almond butter and it was very tasty.

Really, the only thing I am looking forward to about the end of this challenge is not limiting my fruit intake quite as much. And, maybe having a little honey or stevia. I can't believe we are on the downhill slide.

Sugar/Sweeteners : None
Fruit : enjoyed a cup of cool, delicious watermelon by the pond
Coffee : None
Alcohol : 7 oz of red
Exercise : 30 minutes of swimming

Day Twenty Six

Tonight after work I made more oatmeal/date/almond muffins for the fam and for a co-worker whose son has mitochondrial disorder. We were talking about how hard it is to feed our families nutritious, whole foods at every meal. So I shared this recipe with her and decided to make some so she could see if her son will eat them.

Improved Oatmeal Loaf, aka oat/date/almond muffins
4 cups oatmeal
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 block silken tofu blended with 1-2 ripe bananas
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Sprinkle of salt
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
3/4 cup dates, chopped

Can be a loaf but I have become partial to the muffins. Must grease muffin tins or spray muffin liners because it Will stick to plain paper liner.  Bake 350 degrees x30 min. Super yummy.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: banana/applesauce/dates in 1 oat muffin
Exercise: none
Alcohol: 1/2 glass chardonnay

Day 25 : Katie

If you haven't read the NYT's article "Is Sugar Toxic?" I think it is worth 20 minutes of your time. We had another good time blueberry picking today, although we only got 20 cups today. Last night I told Lucia that we would have had to spend nearly $100 at the grocer to get the blueberries we picked for free yesterday. For my salad today I ate more of oh she glow's quinoa berry salad, plus I made foods for long life's raw vegan cole slaw. It was pretty good. Exercise : none Alcohol : none Coffee : none Sugar/Sweeteners : none Fruit : cherries in a Smoothie and berries in quinoa salad.

Day Twenty Five

Work. Busy. L is transitioning next week to the toddler room at school so I met with his new teacher today, the same one Avery had at this age. Avery has her little graduation from preschool party next Friday. They are growing up. For the party the school is asking parents to bring a favorite dessert, not sure what I want to do, an actual dessert or some fruit or naturally sweetened treat...

Added sugar: none
Fruit: none
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Day Twenty Four

We have floors! Yay, so excited to have our house start to feel like home again after the flood, floors being ripped out, walls opened up, new dry wall placed, floors being replaced. Funny how this all coincided with this challenge. All we need is a fresh coat of paint and things will be back to normal, actually better than normal. We got rid of mold, scratches on the floor, and shoddy moulding work.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: none
Alcohol: 1 glass chardonnay
Exercise: jogged slowly 2.5 miles, walked 1.5 miles

I have managed to injure myself and found I could not jog so well today which is really disappointing since I feel like I have been in a good jogging groove the past month.

Day Twenty Three

Uh-oh, falling behind again. All I know is that I didn't have added sugar, yay.
Oh I remember, it was the second cupcake wars at work. I was going to compete, but once I decided to do this challenge I decided it would be too hard to make a cupcake worthy of a competition without tasting it. I did go into the lounge to inspect the goods. I appreciated looking at the cupcakes. Each month there are 4 entries, everyone tries 1/4 of each and decides upon a winner who is announced when all the cupcakes are gone. The winner last month was a strawberry lemonade cupcake. This month was a lemon with cream cheese frosting. I would not have won anyway because I for sure would have made something chocolate, which apparently people don't love. Maybe it's the season and people want fruity things. I don't know. I always choose chocolate.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: 3/4 cup vitamix fruit sorbet
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Day 24 : Katie

There is a blog my sister and I both like to look at : Oh She Glows. The writer is starting a June challenge--a salad a day. I thought I would give it a shot. I do love a challenge.

Today I made the Fruit Quinoa salad. It was delicious.
Also, today the children and I picked 50 cups of blueberries. Yay.

Exercise : None
Coffee : None
Alcohol : 12 ounces red
Fruit : cherries and berries in salad
Sugar/Sweeteners : None

Day 23 : Katie

Had a good day today. Discovered raw cacao nibs. Oh heavens. So delicious. Much better than eating straight up unsweetened chocolate. Really they were such a delight. I have seen several recipes for them but I think they are delicious in their own right.

I did go out to lunch and had to ask several questions--like "what is in the chicken salad? Oh, relish. The tuna salad? Relish in that too, huh? The shrimp salad has relish too? Ok I'll just take the green salad with no dressing or croutons. Thanks." I felt rather annoying but was glad I asked otherwise I'd have eaten relish which is loaded with sugar.  


Alcohol : 8 oz red wine
Coffee : None
Sugar/Sweetener : None
Fruit : 1/2 cup cherries
Exercise : None

Day 22 : Katie

Today was T minus 10. Hard to believe.

Calories : 1514
Alcohol : 12 oz red wine
Coffee : none
Exercise : none
Sugar/Sweetener : none
Fruit : 1/2 cup mango, red apple

Day Twenty Two

Another day at work, I ate great at work. On the drive home, in addition to my usual air-popped popcorn, I also had 1/2 a larabar and I think it really set me into a perfect storm like Katie had on day 12. Once I got home I just wanted to eat and eat and eat and never felt satisfied. I am going to steer clear of the larabars for now and see if I can avoid this feeling.

Added sugar: none
Cheese and nuts: a ton
Fruit: dates in the larabar
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Day 21 : Katie

Yesterday we were inside. I was finishing up this batch of tomatoes. 29 quarts total.

I am missing more fruit. It is so hot now and I am wanting to eat more fruit. 

Sugar/Sweeteners : None
Coffee : None
Alcohol : 2 glasses red
Exercise : None
Fruits : Strawberries, banana

Day 20 : Katie

We had a good Memorial Day. Worked around the house some, got outside some. Today was the first time in months that I knowingly ate gluten. I made us a bunch of vegetables for supper and a skillet of cornbread. I totally caved. I am sure the wine worked against me. I've got to come up with a good gf cornbread recipe that isn't sweet. The ones I've tried have not been to my liking. Cornbread should not be sweet and should have a somewhat coarse texture. It's cornbread not cake.

Exercise : 15" yoga, one hour of yard work
Fruit: banana, strawberries
Sugar/Sweetener : None
Coffee : None
Alcohol : 3 glasses wine

Day Twenty One

Today we had our new neighbors and A's new favorite friend over for dinner. I asked the mom to make the dessert so I wouldn't have to torture myself making something delicious. She brought over a cheesecake with brownie crust and heath bar on top. It looked delicious but I really felt ok not eating it. It was a lovely time. How did I not eat any fruit today? Mysterious.

Added Sugar: none
Fruit: none
Exercise: jogged 4.5 miles 51 min
Alcohol: 1 glass chardonnay, 1 glass merlot

Day Twenty

Today was a fun day, we went with dear friends to a festival at the beach. I mainly ate an oat and date "muffin" while we were out and brought water from home. If I had not brought water I would have been very, very tempted by all the lemonade and hawaiian shaved ice stands. I did take a few bites of A's tamale, not sure if it had sugar, but after looking at chicken/chile tamale recipes, I don't think it did. It was spicy! Everyone again loved the muffins, I added 2 bananas and 3/4 cup chopped dates. They were nice and sweet, unlike sister's loaf that was not sweet... I find it to be a very versatile recipe :)

Added sugar: none
Fruit: dates/banana/applesauce in 2 muffins
Exercise: walk 3 milesw
Alcohol: 2 glasses merlot

Day 19 : Katie

Well, I finished my little pity party last night. I read so of an ebook that I bought back in February : Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar. I highly recommend it. Then I decided I would bake another batch of smackaroons and take them. So, last night when everyone was eating coconut cake, I ate two smackaroons. Again, a lesson in thinking ahead and being prepared.

I also made Karen's oatmeal loaf yesterday. It is different. At first it is a little off-putting because it isn't sweet. Because that is what we expect in a muffin, right? But then you accept it. And, then, you get these surprising and lovely bits of nut and raisin. When I make them again I will likely add more nuts and raisins. And, I think dried bing cherries would be great. I may rename these the fruit and nut muffins, because they are what really sing in these muffins. Also because oatmeal loaf brings to mind braless hippies on a commune in the 70s. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

The other fantastic thing about my day is that I went swimming in the pond. We live on a 7ish acre pond. There is a woman at the church I go to. If I had to guess, she is somewhere in her early- to mid-70s. She is so fit and healthy looking. One thing she does is go out to their camp and swim in the pond in the summers. Inspired, I decided to try it. I loved it. I swam one big lap of breast stroke and back stroke. It felt so good. I have always loved swimming. This might even me more fun than swimming laps.

Alcohol : None
Sugar/Sweeteners : None
Fruit : banana and raisins in smackaroons and oatmeal loaf
Exercise : Swam 15ish minutes
Coffee : None

Day Nineteen

Another crazy busy day at work. Enjoyed 8 veggie salad from TJ's with goat cheese and non-sugared vinaigrette for lunch. This kind of day (and yesterday) would normally be a day that I would snack and eat sugary foods at work to cope with the stress of a busy day at work where I eat at my computer (as always) and don't have a minute to breathe. This is showing me that I don't have to eat sugar to cope with stress. It's a good lesson for me to learn.

Added Sugars: none
Fruit: something, oh a lara bar on my way home from work
Exercise: none
Alcohol: none

Day 18 : Katie

I love coconut cake. I would say it is one of my top three favorite cakes. I made one today for PopPop's birthday which we are celebrating tomorrow. I felt sad for a while after I made the cake. I love to bake sweet confections and I love to eat them.

And I am in a bit of a quandary about tomorrow's little birthday celebration. I can be superstitious. I think it is bad luck to go to someone's birthday party and not eat--at least a bite--of their cake. To me it is like raising your glass for a toast and not drinking but just setting the glass back down. Bad luck and bad manners.

I feel like I've made enough mistakes in this challenge already so why not make one more? Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.

Alcohol : None
Coffee : None
Exercise : one hour of yard work
Sugar/Sweeteners : None
Fruit : one cup of strawberries, juice of a lemon

Day Eighteen

Work day: ate a ton of that detox salad, yummy. 

Added sugar: none
Fruit: vitamix sorbet 3/4 cup, 1/2 cashew cookie larabar, raisins and currants in detox salad
Exercise: none
Alcohol: none

Day Seventeen

I can't remember day 17, I guess that's a good thing, or it means i am waiting too long to post. Oh I made the whole foods detox salad, so yummy.

Added sugar: none
fruit: in summer salad, blueberries.
alcohol: 1 glass pinot grigio
exercise: 4.6 miles, 53 minutes

Day 17 : Katie

I spent the day in the kitchen canning tomatoes. The children cooperated by playing/destroying the house. We are out tomorrow so I am already planning food to take on our outing. Also, I have to bake a coconut cake this weekend for our PopPop's birthday. That may kill me.

Calories : 1057
Alcohol : 6 oz red
Exercise : None
Sugar/Sweetener : None
Fruit : 1/2 cup mango and 1/2 cup watermelon in a smoothie
Coffee : none

Day Sixteen

Today I made my 3rd sugar free baking/treat recipe. I got this recipe from a friend, not the internet, shocking I know. It is for "Oatmeal Loaf" or oatmeal muffins. They were really yummy, everyone loved them and the recipe is versatile.

Oatmeal Loaf
3 cups uncooked oats
1/2 c unsweetened apple sauce (I used more like 3/4 cup)
1 block silken tofu, blended to yogurt-like consistency
cinnamon, vanilla, salt to taste (i didn't use vanilla, but did use lots of cinnamon)
1/2-1 cup raisins (I did 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup almonds, chopped

You can add any nuts you like, or none. You can add mashed bananas, chopped fresh or dried fruit, canned pumpkin, hmm, i bet zucchini could be good too, I might try that next, and I think there are lots of spices that could be good too.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 + minutes.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: applesauce/raisins in muffins, fruit in summer salad leftovers
exercise: jogged 4.5 miles, 49 minutes
alcohol: 2 glasses pinot grigio

Day 16 : Katie

My sister and I each have unique challenges for this journey. She works 12 hour days, three to four days a week. She has to shop, plan, and prepare on Mondays and Thursdays. She has a long drive to work along with her long days. 

I live in a rural community with no access to organic produce and vegetables. We have a local grocer but it doesn't stock any organic meat or eggs, and very, very little organic produce. I can't even think of I have to drive 30 minutes to a Wal-Mart, 70 miles to a Publix, 3 hours to a Whole Foods or EarthFare, 6 hours to my beloved DeKalb Farmer's Market.

I don't think I've mentioned yet that I am also gluten-free. A little over a year ago, I found a blog that I really liked. Along with some articles I had read, this doctor helped me put together that I might have a gluten intolerance. Long story short, I came back very intolerant to gluten. On the test, the average number for a person with a gluten intolerance was 45, my number was 275. So, in addition to giving up coffee and sugar, I'd already given up gluten. 

While I've been doing this challenge, I've also been taking an ecourse from Dr. Haneca. She offers over 50 recipes, all of which are simple and something I would try. She offers encouragement along with information about how to live your healthiest life. I have enjoyed taking this course while completing this challenge.

Calories : 1913 (minus 430) =  1483
Exercise : Picked vegetables for 2 hours
Sugar/Sweeteners : None
Fruit : None
Coffee : None
Alcohol : 4 glasses of wine (eee gads, over a longer period of time, but still.)

Day Fifteen

I like talking to people about the sugar challenge we are doing. I am sure they don't like hearing me talk about all the hidden sugars, but I think it's fun to share my knowledge and to encourage people to listen to the 60 minutes segment that started all this for me. I have received mixed feedback, mostly people saying they could never do it or they don't buy into the science because they are afraid of what it would mean for their life. That they don't have the willpower. But the day before I watched that 60 minutes (4/1/12), I would have said the very exact thing. I was completely addicted to sugar. I would have laughed if someone had said "in one month you will start a 32 day no sugar challenge, oh and this month you will only have sugar when you are sick and when you are in new york city" (that was nice of me to allow myself sugar in nyc). But I have done it, I am doing it, and one big thing I am learning is that in fact I do have willpower, willpower that I never dreamed I had. Sugar was consuming me. Like you, sister, I don't want to go back to a place where sugar rules my food decision making when this challenge is complete.

Added sugars: none
fruit: 1/2 cup fruit is summer salad for lunch, 1/2 cashew cookie larabar
alcohol: 1 glass merlot
exercise: none

Day Fourteen

Today I ate some more of the choco bites, even though they weren't that delicious the day after. Sort of the same as how I would eat chocolate covered raisins or almonds every night before this challenge... At least they are healthy, but still not sure I should eat them just because they are staring at me from my refrigerator.

I also saved most of my fruit allotment for the summer salad by oh she glows. I loved this salad last summer, made it all the time. Maybe because the fruit isn't peak season (it has peaches, strawberries and blueberries) or because I skipped the maple syrup in the dressing, it wasn't quite as good as I remembered it. But I did still enjoy it.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: 1/2 date/1/8 banana choco bites; 3/4 cup strawberries/blueberries/peaches
Alcohol: none
Exercise: jogged 4.5 miles/52 minutes

Day 15 : Katie

If I had a uterus, I would be about to shed its lining.

Calories : 1606
Exercise : 10 minutes
Coffee : None
Alcohol : 14 oz chardonay
 Fruit : granny smith apple and 1/2 cup thawed strawberries
Sugar/Sweeteners : None

Day 14 : Katie

Whoa. Two weeks down. Really, this has been quite fun. Karen and I continue to discuss what this will look like at the end of this session. I know for me, I will be extremely disheartened if I revert back to my old ways. I really like my new ways. I feel better. I feel better about myself.

We are supposed to reside in the low 90s this week. As the temperature has increased, so has my intake of water. I've tried several different types of water. I am a big fan of La Croix twelve packs. I love the grapefruit and the berry, and then I have this weird attraction to the coconut. It is much like drinking a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic. While I wouldn't say it is yummy, I somehow really enjoy it. Maybe it just reminds me of Daytona Beach.

I have also blended cucumber, lime and mint with water and ice in the Vitamix. I loved that. Today I put slices of an orange and 1/2 a grapefruit in a pitcher of water, along with slices of a 1/3 cucumber and mint. Refreshing. 

Calories : 1292
Exercise : two hours of yard work
Coffee : None
Wine : 8 oz chardonay
Sugar/Sweetener : None
Fruit : 1/2 grapefruit, orange in a pitcher of water, did not eat, just infused

Day Thirteen

The chocolate cravings have been consuming me lately, yesterday and today. specifically.

Inspired by Spoonful of sugar free's almond chocolate chip cookie bites, I made these:

Almond/chocolate/banana bites

5 small dates
1 cup almonds
1.5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1/4 tsp salt
(1/2 banana)

I tried to make in the vitamix but the batch was not big enough so the dates got stuck in the bottom, so it wasn't sweet, so I added 1/2 a banana. Once I scraped all the ingredients into a bowl, the dates were mixed in and I found this to be a little too sweet and taste a little bit too much like banana. But it did satisfy my chocolate craving.

Added sugars: none
Fruit: 1/2 cup pineapple, 1 date/1/4 banana in 5 choco bites
Exercise: walking 30 min
Alcohol: 2 glasses wine

Days 11, 12, 13 : Katie

We went to the beach for a long weekend with friends--wew and family. We had a great time hanging out and playing in the water. We ate delicious grouper one night and wew taught me to make a Greek omelet. Also, Saturday night I made the Vitamix sorbet Karen has been raving about. I've never really loved sorbet. It is always been too sweet for me. The Vitamix sorbet is between a sorbet and an ice cream. It is creamy and fruity and cool and delicious. And easy. 

Interestingly, when I saw my friend, wew, I couldn't get over how great she looked. I probably told her three times within the first ten minutes of seeing her. I couldn't exactly say why she looked great. She just looked clear and healthy and fresh. After a while she told me how she had cut way back on her sugar, mostly by cutting out sweet tea and Cokes. She told me how great she felt both physically and mentally. Wow. Confirmation. Yet again.

Friday--
Exercise: 30 minute leisurely walk on beach, lugging beach crap to beach
Alcohol: two glasses of Preseco
Sugar/Sweetener: None
Fruit: 1/2 cup berries, goji berries
Coffee: None

Saturday--
Exercise: 30 minute leisurely walk around marina
Alcohol: three glasses (two white, one red)
Sugar/Sweetener: None
Fruit: 1/2 cup fruit sorbet, 1/3 of a banana
 Coffee: None

Sunday-- 
Exercise: None
Alcohol: None
Sugar/Sweetener: None
Fruit: One cup strawberries, handful of goji berries
Coffee: None

Day Twelve

I have been thinking about chocolate a lot lately. Missing chocolate. And no, unsweetened chocolate is not going to satisfy me.
So today instead of eating chocolate, I literally  ate 6 cups of chopped vegetables plus another cup or two of raw carrots and snap peas. I ended up eating 839% of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin A and 761% RDA of vitamin C and 54 grams of fiber (recommended is 14 grams?).
I thought I might make myself sick, but I didn't.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: 1/4 banana
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Day Eleven

Work day. Same old snacks. Ate a huge bowl of airpopped popcorn with parmesan cheese after the kids were in bed. Probably did not need to do that. But no sugar.

Added sugar: none
Fruit: none
Nuts/Cheese: a ton
Alcohol: 1 glass pinot grigio
Exercise: none

Day Ten

Back in the car today. If I am home--things are easy and breezy. For supper, the children and I decided to get chik-fil-a. I thought--I'll just get fries and a diet coke. A special little splurge I like to enjoy. I took one sip of that cool, crisp diet coke and thought "oh crap." i was too depressed to look at it so I put it in the drink holder behind by seat. Arrgggg. Not as tragic as my 31 grams of sugar category 5 disaster yesterday. Exercise: 1 hour of yard work Alcohol: None Sugar: 1 sip of a dern diet coke Coffee: none Calories: 1605

Day Ten

A good day home with the fam.
Floors are still ripped up from the flood and will still be when this challenge is long over.
Now my dishwasher is barely working, thanks to LB standing on the door today. He thinks he wants to transition to one nap but he was cranky all the day through today.
I know I sound like a broken record but I ate too many nuts today. It's what I go to instead of chocolate these days.

Added sugar: none
fruit: 1/4 cup fruit/veggie juice (vitamix) and 2 strawberries
exercise: none
alcohol: one glass pinot grigio 

Day Nine

Another busy day at work. Ate lots of nuts and lots of veggies too. I worry that I am eating the same foods over and over and that if I don't mix it up some I may get sick of some of these frequent fliers (carrots, sugar snap peas, 8 veggie mix, triscuits, cheese/nuts, air popped popcorn).

Added sugar: none
fruit: none
wine: none
exercise: none

boring! but so glad I didn't succumb to the thought to go get a half passion fruit/half green tea from the starbucks at work. that would have really been terrible (see below).

The Perfect Storm

Oh, today. I'm glad it is over. All things came together for failure. And I succeeded. At failing.

The children and I ventured to the big city with a friend and her son. We enjoyed the children's museum and lunch in the park--fountain, mounted police, squirrels. Beautiful weather. I brought iced green tea and sugar snap peas and cucumber slices. It was shaping up to be another easy day of sugar-free.

And then, about four o'clock, we stopped at a Starbucks before heading the 75 miles home. It was a fairly warm day. I wanted a cool drink. I went for the safe choice, the choice I've been making for years now. The iced passion tea UnSweet. I said UnSweet. Did you hear me? UnSweet.

I enjoyed my drink on the way home, sucking down most of it within ten minutes. When I got home I was hungry. I had eaten a light lunch--about five grilled shrimp on a green salad with no dressing. (I ordered my salad sans dressing because I wouldn't want to get tripped up by hidden sugar would I?) So I thought that was why I was hungry. 

I came in and ate a smackaroon. Then another. Then I wanted another. After three I thought, "maybe the banana in the smackaroon is affecting me like sugar" even though the previous two days is had not. Then, after I'd eaten four smackaroons and a small plate of tortilla chips with microwaved cheese and salsa, I had a Goody powder. In a desperate move, I put six ice cubes of red wine in a glass to thaw. My headache was not disappearing. I took another Goody powder. I started getting mad and thinking of how my day had gone. 

This was the former me. The me that used to come in from a day of teaching middle school, unhinge my jaw and shovel in whatever I could find--chocolate and olives and leftovers and cheese. This was out of control eating. 

I looked back at the day and knew I'd probably not eaten enough. But it felt like more was going on. I suspected it may have been the tea. I had a flash of one time hearing that there may have been sugar in the passion tea. I don't think I ever looked into it, because I didn't believe it. It was unsweetened, afterall. Unsweetened. And I usually order half passion tea and half green tea. (According to the website the green tea has no sugars.)

Tazo® Shaken Iced Passion Tea

Nutrition Facts Per Serving (24 fl oz)

Calories 120	Calories from Fat 0
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 31g	11%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Sugars 31g
Protein 0g

Not good at all. I was beside myself. But then I started thinking. This was a great day. An affirmation of why sugar is not good for me. It does not affect my body in a healthy way. It isn't something I can deny or ignore. I am glad today happened the way it did.

Calories : 2176 [almost 900 calories of snacks, including the tea, all consumed within an hour of a major sugar crash]

Sugar : hidden Starbucks sugar, 31 grams

Fruit : 2/3 cup strawberries

Alcohol: one glass of red wine

Coffee : None

Exercise : Fifteen minutes of yoga

Day Eight

Finally a day at work without a temptation! Thankfully dark chocolate mint covered espresso beans do not tempt me.
Gogo bear has started crying when I drop him off at school/daycare. It makes me very sad and normally when I am sad I look to sugar to cheer me up, but not today. Hoping he doesn't cry again tomorrow.

Fruit: my new obsession, once the kids are in bed, ask the hubbie to make me some vitamix sorbet. delish. had 2/3 cup (strawberry/banana/pineapple).
Added sugar: none
Alcohol: none
Exercise: none

Day Eight : Katie

So tired tonight. Only got through with half the Azaleas in the front yard and it wore me out.

Tomorrow going to the big city with the children and friends. Hoping I have time in the morning to prepare some snacks for us (me!).

Had a good day today. We even went one state over and bought us some honey bees. We are all very excited about that.

Calories : 1206
Sugar or Sweeteners : None
Exercise : Lots of Yard Work
Fruit : 2/3 cup strawberries, 1/3 bananas in smackaroons, raisins and Goji berries in 1 cup of detox salad.

Day Seven

Wow, seven days down. This 32 day challenge is going to fly by. And I know that I can do it. I have gotten into a not so great habit of finding starchy white breads that don't contain sugar and eating a few servings of it before it goes stale and I have to toss it out. If it weren't for that I would also be nearly gluten free, other than hidden gluten that I don't know to look for. I am thinking of finishing out the end of this challenge, maybe the last week or two with no gluten while I am at it... although I do love my triscuits and the only (not) sugar free, gluten free cracker actually has maltodextrin. Anyway, we will see.
Today was kindergarten lottery day.
I drew A's name (second out of six names).

Sugar: none
Alcohol: none
Exercise: jogged 3 miles
Fruit: 1/2 cup homemade vitamix sorbet (strawberries/bananas).  so delicious. interestingly i normally would have probably had 1.5-2 cups without measuring.

Day Six

happy mother's day.
it was a wonderful day, spent with a wonderful friend J and her family.
j is also doing this sugar challenge to some (most) degree with us although she is not blogging about it.
but she is doing a great job too and we were able to enjoy a sugar free (i hope chicken caesar salad has no sugar) lunch at the spa after wonderful massages/jaccuzi/catch-up time.  i had an unsweetened passion fruit black tea that was yummy. my sister is always suggesting i try an unsweetened tea when i get grumpy about this whole thing and after that cup i think i will try it more often.
i packed tons of sugar free snacks for the ride up north and had a good sugar free day.
i have found the detox back off sugar easier this time since i was mostly off sugar up until the 5 days before this challenge started. i have had a lot more energy today and yesterday.

sugar: none
fruit: 1/4 banana in 3 smackaroons
wine: none
exercise: none
happiness: a great big dollop

Day Seven : Katie

Today on the phone, I told my sister that I missed baking. She suggested I give the smackaroons a try. I am glad I did. They were so good and they were fun to make. No grains and the only sweetener in them is banana. The author of the spoonful of sugarfree website says she figures them to be 100 calories per cookie. I also made a batch of delicious crackers today. I have made these once before and my only complaint is that the recipe doesn't make enough. They are so good.

The children and I did make a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies today. Before we delved in, I thought it might drive me crazy, but I had just eaten a smackaroon so I didn't feel like I was giving anything up. 

My caffeine headaches have subsided. I am tired still some days, but I feel like my energy level is more stable. I also feel like I have reigned in the fat the past couple days. I'm trying to watch my nut and egg intake some because those two things were pushing my total fat for the day much too high.

Day 7 of 32 complete.

Sugar or Sweeteners : None
Alcohol : None
Exercise : None
Fruit : half a banana at breakfast and quarter of a banana in smackaroon
Calories : 1176

Day Six : Katie

Today was a wonderful Mother's Day. We had lunch at H's grandmother's. Lots of salads so I didn't have much of an issue. Although I did make buttermilk pancakes for the family today that I did not partake in. I hear they were good.

I made a salad today that I thought was delicious and will definitely make again. It is a copy of the Whole Food's Detox Salad. The only change I made was to omit the maple syrup and I used goji berries instead of currants.

Alcohol: None
Exercise: None
Coffee: None
Sugar & Sweeteners: None
Fruit: Half a banana, juice of a lemon, raisin and goji berries in a salad.

Day Five : Katie

Day Five was fine. We ate supper down at H's parents. I took a salad and a vegetable that I knew I could eat.

I have been getting a headache at night for a few days now. I think it is a no (very little) caffeine headache. They haven't been horrible, but bothersome. 

I am enjoying doing this with my lovely sister.

Today:
No coffee.
Half a bottle of wine
(Does it sound better for me to say 2 glasses of wine?)
Exercise : 10" yoga
No sweetener or sugar.
Fruit: 1/3 banana, juice of a lemon, 1/2 cup blackberries

Day Five

Today was the first day I felt good. Also the first day of this challenge where I had time/opportunity to exercise.
Went to a 2 year old birthday party and had the forethought to eat an ezekial tortilla with cheddar cheese (aka quesadilla) on the way so as to not be tempted by all the yummy, sugar-laden foods. It worked.

added sugar: none
fruit: 3/4 cup of fruit smoothie (strawberry/pineapple/cucumber/date)
         3 smackaroons without unsweetened chocolate, much better than my first attempt (banana and
         date)
exercise: ran, i mean jogged, 5 miles

Day Four

oh the tempting zucchini bread i had to look at all day today...  torture.
but i persevered.

sugars: none
fruit: none
nuts: 5 million
veggies: lots (thank you TJ's 8 veggie mix)
air-popped popcorn for the commute.
alcohol: 1 glass pinot grigio (while I unloaded DW and reloaded with a sink-full of "we haven't had water for 2 days but now we do, hooray" dirty dishes).
clean kitchen: check.

Day Four : Katie

Slip up on the potato chips. Really? Who would have thought?

I think really you just have to make EveryThing YourSelf.

Calories: 1519
Exercise: walk 30" pushing triple stroller; yoga 10".
Alcohol: half a bottle of red wine
Coffee: None
Sugar: None
Sweeteners: About five salt and vinegar chips. Dern things had maltodextrose.

day three

thanks sister.
today was hmm, a not so good day. no water in the house is not fun.
maltodextrin, also no fun. darn crunchmaster crackers!!

no sugar, yes maltodextrin; never again, well for now.
smacaroons with unsweetened chocolate, disgusting, but the bites without the chocolate were good so i will try without sometime soon. chia seeds, so fascinating how they gel in water. what is that all about?
yes to 1 glass of pinot grigio, had to after today.

Day Three : Katie

Day Three was easy enough. Lots of hydration going on.

No sugar or sweeteners.
No alcohol or coffee.
Calories : 1632.
No exercise.

Onward.

Day Two : Katie

Today we motored to the big city for a dental appointment and to go to a museum. Only temptation in my day was walking by the chocolate at Target.

I had no sweeteners or sugars.
No coffee or alcohol.
No exercise and too many calories.

[I've tried to comment on previous posts several different ways, but can't get it to work. I'm so, so sorry about your flooding. That is terrible. But you are correct, you can absolutely do this thing.]

Day Two

Today went pretty well. no added sugars. 1/2 banana. no vino. still eating more overall calories than necessary. dining room flooded tonight. may not be able to cook at home tomorrow... or the next day... may not be able to bathe... but if i can resist my own black bottom cupcakes, Lisa's carrot cake, & cookie pops from April, (all in one day) I think I can do this thing.  Good Night!

Day One : Katie

Day One for me went fairly well. I did eat more fat than I should have. Four eggs in a day is too many, huh? Since I have broken the sugar cycle already, this day was not the hell it might have been. (I'll post more on that later.)

I did find myself several times breaking out into a panic, thinking things like "Does coconut milk have sugar?" when I'd already checked the can.

My son loves strawberry milk. That nasty kind that has artificial flavors and red 40 in it. I saw a recipe for strawberry milk on pinterest. So today, I gave it a try. I forwent the stevia and added a third of a vanilla bean. For the milk I used lite coconut milk. It was delicious. I asked Elliott which strawberry milk he liked better. He said he like them both the same. I saw him later in the day pick up the yellow box of strawberry powder and say to it, "You aren't very good for me."

Tomorrow we are going to the big city for dental appointments and then to a museum. I am planning on bringing a few snacks for me in case things get tight.

I hope everyone else's day went well today too.

Summary:
No coffee; No alcohol
No sugars or sweeteners
Fruit: 1/2 cup strawberries, lemon juice
Exercise: None
Calories: 1576

Day One

How is it that I have to bake cupcakes tonight for a school fundraiser? I have decided to withdraw myself from a work cupcake baking contest scheduled for late in this "challenge" so that I don't have to compete with a cupcake I never tasted. Seems safer that way. But tonight I make my go-to black bottom cupcakes that I could practically make blindfolded, so I definitely don't have to tast them to know they will be good.
Wishing my fellow competitors great luck (and strength) today :)

The Agreement

Spoonful of Sugarfree/I Quit Sugar Challenge

32 Days of SugarFree

Dates: Tuesday, May 8-Friday, June 8, 2012

Participants: Katie, Karen, Jenny

Prize: a $100 gc to Athleta for all who complete challenge

KK Guidelines: No sugar in any form, no artificial sweeteners

Exceptions: 2 servings of fruit a day*

J Guideline: No sugary snacks or treats

Free Days: None

We also each have some individualized goals.
Jenny: Drink water
Katie: No coffee, alcohol only in social settings.
Karen: Try five no-sugar recipes

*The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets a serving size for fruit or vegetables to be equal to about one-half cup. Greens like spinach and lettuce have a serving size equal to one full cup. One serving of sliced fruit is equal to one-half cup; however a single piece of fruit, such as an apple or an orange counts as one serving.