As an update on my pursuit to cut out processed sugar, I'll say I have been doing pretty well! I have had half an ice cream sandwich the last couple of days as my "lunch dessert," and have had a few things here and there (a Mike's Hard Lemonade, a couple of jelly beans, etc.) but it's been literally one small thing a day. I have also made the following discoveries:
1) I absolutely adore almond milk. I use Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla. The link will take you to the nutrition information. The contents of this milk are healthier than milk! 2g carbs per serving- and ZERO sugar. It is absolutely fabulous. I have always eaten oatmeal every morning, but used to cook it in milk, and added both brown sugar AND maple syrup. I now cook the oats in water and add a touch of almond milk (less than a serving), removed the maple syrup, and reduced the amount of brown sugar I use by 1tsp. Here is what I eat every morning:
Renee's Power-Packed Breakfast
1/2c plain oats
1c water
1/3c almond milk
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2c frozen blueberries, or a half a banana, or 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
handful of chopped walnuts (about 2tbsp)
I prefer slow-cooked oats. Heat the water to boiling, and add the oats. Reduce heat after the oats are stirred, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit an additional 5 minutes. Add almond milk, fruit, and walnuts and stir. I add whatever fruit I have on hand, but prefer bananas.
2) My amazing friend M shared this advice: Believe that sugar is scary. She sent me this great article from the New York Times. Absolutely incredible information. Biggest take away: sugar is sugar- High Fructose Corn Syrup is no different from Raw Organic Sugar. Your body treats it the same way- and it's all scary. SO interesting to learn about this!
3) I allow myself a touch of crappy sugar each day. Just a touch- like I said, a few jellybeans, a half an ice cream sandwich, whatever. Today I ate a half a piece of milk chocolate-covered toffee from Trader Joes (OMG BEST THING EVER!). The old me would NEVER have been able to limit herself to a half a piece. But I did it and, believe it or not, I have lived to tell the tale. I do, however, eat this amazing yogurt every day and I think it has single-handedly enabled me to make all of these changes:
Delicious Yogurt Dessert
1 container plain, unsweetened greek yogurt
1 tbsp honey
chopped fruit of choice (today it was cherries)
3 tbsp all-natural granola
Prep is easy- mix all this and gobble it up!
Which leads me too...
4) ...this absolutely incredible granola!!! Thank goodness for The Granola Factory! Check out their recipe and their ingredients. SO basic! It's so fresh and tasty that it has to be refrigerated and eaten within 30 days. Now THAT is real food. It's pricey- $5.99 a bag at Wegmans. But I only eat 3 tbsp a day, so it is worth every penny.
5) Snacking on veggies instead of ____________ (fill in the blank with whatever crappy snacks you can think of). I have learned I am too busy to chop them myself. That's my excuse- no time to eat healthy, right? Well, enter pre-cut vegetables! For this momma, they are absolutely worth the extra bucks. I say that because I literally will not chop them myself. I have found the following pre-cut/pre-washed veggies, all at Wegmans of course (thank you, Wegmans, I love you.): sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, broccoli, and asparagus. They also have cauliflower, if you like it, which I don't. I also buy individual pre-washed romaine leaves to add to my sandwiches or tuna salad. I currently have green beans, sugar snap peas, and carrots in my fridge and run to them when I am telling myself I'm hungry. And have been adding lettuce to SO MANY THINGS! Lettuce doesn't add much in the way of nutritional value, but it does add a nice crisp and crunch to my food which I like.
6) My worst time of day is 4pm-7pm. I have the desire to eat (although I am not *actually* hungry) pretty much every minute between 4 and 7pm. So, I wait to eat my delish yogurt treat until around 4, and also keep healthy snack options in the front of the fridge/pantry for this time. Air-popped popcorn with light salt, my yummy veggies (I find that cherry tomatoes are truly perfect for this time of day), and also allow myself to brew a cup of coffee if I feel like it.
7) Which brings me to my changes in coffee prep! I used to use half and half and real sugar. Too much of both. Think Dunkin Donuts with cream and sugar, which essentially tastes like morning dessert. I now use 2 tbsp of Silk's Soy Coffee Creamer (although I just bought Trader Joe's version today, so we'll see how that is) and about 1 1/2 tsp of sugar for 12 oz of coffee. I imagine I used to use at LEAST a tbsp of sugar per cup! AH! I know 2 tbsp sounds like a lot of creamer, but believe me- it's down from what it used to be! Also I love teh slightly nutty flavor of the soy creamer. It adds a nice scent, as well as a flavor that enables me to reduce the sweetness. My friend K posted on facebook last week that she suddenly cut cream and sugar from her coffee and liked it just fine. Although I'm not ready to drink it black, I decided to take her advice and just reduce both the cream and the sugar and see what happened. Truth is, I didn't miss it at all. I will drink it like this for a while, but I'm thinking I'll cut out the sugar completely soon.
Well, so far, these are the changes I've made. And in the last 6 days it's been worth a negative 2 pounds to my body- YAY! Hoping that success continues!
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