Supermom's Sugar-Busters Starting Now!

We've talked about it.

Some of you have emailed me about it.

I've been thinking about it.

Today I decided:  It's time to do this thing!

Supermom's Sugar-Busters is forming now and we will officially kick-off our mission to get off of sugar on May 1.

Here's how it will work:

We'll hang out together on our facebook group, Supermom's Sugar-Busters.  There we will plan ahead and prepare so that we will be ready to have more success as we transition away from sugar.  Each member of the group can contribute recipes, tips, links to helpful stuff, etc.  We are all in this together!  I will be getting off of sugar (again!) right along with you.  

Possibilities include:

-- group calls where we can talk about what is/isn't working for us, and brainstorm about ways to overcome any difficulties you are facing and to experience greater success in reaching your goals

--private Super Speedy Coaching Calls with me, where I can spend 10 minutes talking to you on the phone, to help you with specific needs

We will be flexible and open to other ideas that the group generates and feels a need for!

Who can join us?

Anybody that gets the newsletter, reads the blog, or follows us on facebook is invited!  If you have a close friend or family member that you want to invite, feel free to do so.  After that, let's wait and see how many people we get.  Since this is our first time around, I'd like to start small(ish) and see what develops and see how I can improve the experience before adding tons of people.  So, yes, you can tell some people, but don't invite all of your facebook friends and twitter followers.  OK?  :)

What is the goal?

Well, our goal is to stop eating sugar.  Each person is going to have their own ideas and needs for how strict they will be, AND THAT IS OK WITH ME!  So, if you want to get off sugar, but still plan to indulge in birthday cake every so often, THAT'S OK.  If you want to get 100% away from sugar 100% of the time, THAT'S OK TOO!  I am not the sugar police, and nobody knows better than me the ups and downs that life brings and the way that our food and health goals flex accordingly.  So, if you think this group can help you, come on and join us!

How much does it cost?

No monetary cost!  I do ask that if you join the group you plan to make an effort to contribute to the group as best you are able.  If you have any experience with kicking the sugar habit, or if you have great links/articles/recipes to share, we want to hear from you! Or you may not know anything about getting off of sugar and may feel like a total novice, but at least you are able to encourage others toward their goals--That counts too!  Again, I'm not policing your involvement.  I'm just asking that we create a group that will support and encourage one another, because that will be way better than one "expert" talking at everybody, and I want this to be really helpful for all of us.

What you need to do:

Request to join our private facebook group here.  If there's an option to send a note with your request, let me know you got this newsletter.  If you invite a friend, ask them to let me know that you invited them.  That's all!

From there, just stay up-to-date with the Facebook group and you'll know everything that's going on.  OK?

What if I'm not on Facebook? 

Now is the time for you to join Facebook if you are not already on there.  I find that for most people, Facebook is something they are already keeping up with both on their computers and their phones.  By having our group hub on Facebook we are making it simple, there is no special system to learn or log in to, and if you have a smartphone, the group support and resources are only a tap away!  

You can start joining the group right now.  We will be sharing recipes and ideas to get set up to kick sugar starting May 1.  (and yes, if you already started or are starting later, you can still jump in!)

Let's do this thing!

~Erica

Healthy Hot Cocoa

It was a chilly day at my son's football game this morning, so when we got home my boys were clamoring for some homemade hot cocoa. My happy discovery of coconut sugar has made so many of my regular, non-healthy favorites possible to make in a healthy way, and BOY AM I HAPPY ABOUT THAT! :)

So today, I bring you the Healthy Hot Chocolate recipe:

3 cups milk (you can use rice, almond, coconut, or regular milk as you wish)

half a cup water

Heat the liquids either on the stove top, stirring often to avoid the milk scorching on the bottom of the pan. Or if you are not opposed to using a microwave, just microwave the liquids for three minutes or so and avoid the scorching issue altogether.

Add to the warm liquid:

3 tablespoons cocoa, cacao, or carob powder

a dash of sea salt

two-thirds cup of coconut sugar

Whisk it up and enjoy!

I'm back to avoiding sugar, so I am glad I can make this in time for cold weather! :)

No-Sugar Barbeque Sauce

Facebook is good for many things, including getting some great recipes from friends! This is one I thought you all would enjoy:

Ingredients:
- 1 6oz can tomato paste (preferable organic)
- 1 to 1.5 cups of beef stock (I made my own but if you buy, you want it without salt and MSG. Imagine brand is usually a safe one)
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- half of an onion... Read More
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions:
1. Dice your onions and garlic as fine as possible. You want your BBQ sauce a little chunky but the more fine you dice these, the better the flavor will spread through the entire sauce.
2. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Whether you use 1 cup or 1.5 cups of beef stock will depend on how thick you want your sauce.
3. Bring sauce to heat on stove with a low setting.
4. Cover and simmer. Stir frequently and taste regularly. The longer you simmer, the more consistent your flavor will be. I simmered for 20-30 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

Questions about getting off sugar and eating more raw foods

My friend Amy sent me this email today:

I have been reading a book about giving up sugar. I am a major addict- I know I am- driving to McD for a coke....... ridiculous! I believe that it will be possibly my ticket to lose the weight i need to lose- I could use to lose at least 35 pounds but 50 would be perfect! At any rate, I was wondering about how hard it was to quit, why you decided to, and if you use a "cook book" for your raw creations? Time consuming?

thanks for answering my many questions!

Amy

Here's what I wrote back:

Hi Amy!

Good to hear from you.

I was stuck at the same weight for a long time, despite doing several different things to try to get it down. It was like it just couldn't budge. Back in March I started thinking about getting off of sugar, which I have done before. I felt like my health needed it, and thought that it might also pay off in the weight loss dept. too.

This time what I did to quit was just stopped eating anything overtly sugary (cake, cookies, etc.) but didn't go the whole nine yards on weeding out spaghetti sauce that has sugar as an ingredient. I just took it slow. (I now weed out more of these things, but still am not completely perfect at it)

I have a lot of recipes for healthy treats that I use as a bridge to get over wanting sugary stuff. I did use honey and agave nectar (still do) but was more mindful of what I was eating, and didn't just replace every sugary thing with something made with honey. I really hadn't been eating a lot of junk, but for whatever reason weight started to come off just from changing to no sugar. I lost about a pound a week like that.

In May I started really ramping up how much raw food I was eating. Again, I've done that before, usually very gung-ho and then burning out because there was so much new stuff to try to get used to. By this point in my life I've done enough raw foods that I had a lot of things we like to eat that happen to be raw, but we just eat it because we like it. So this time eating more raw has actually felt easy for the first time ever.

I've purposely not made a ton of rules for myself. I stick to the no-sugar pretty hard, just because my past experience is that once I'm off of sugar, eating something with sugar tends to give me a bad headache and sometimes other unpleasant symptoms. So I just avoid that and it hasn't been a problem.

I didn't run into hardly any problems with getting off of sugar. I don't know if it is because I did it sort of gradually or what. The main trouble I have is during PMS I want chocolate so bad that it can be tough. I now have a bunch of awesome raw chocolate treats that I make, though, so as long as I am stocked up on the ingredients I need I am all set. :)

The first time I got off of sugar it was a lot harder. We also went to all whole foods at the same time, all cold turkey, and the process was more difficult. But, really, I hit a hard spot several days into the process, and just rode it out for maybe 2-4 days, and then it was done. It is amazing how once I'm off of sugar it doesn't seem hard. I can go to a church potluck and feel no pain to pass by the desserts. :) We have had 6 birthdays in our home since me stopping the sugar and it has been no problem for me to not eat cake. (even the kind that was my favorite) Breaking that cycle is really, really nice. Also, taste buds really do change, and I am finding it really interesting to see how even healthy treats will seem too sweet to me if I have not had any for a week or two.

I just got two wonderful raw recipe books by Ani Phyo. You can find both at any book seller. Her stuff is delicious, but very easy to put together. Some other raw foods books I've had are very gormet and just too time consuming. Ani's style is just what I like. Quick and easy and tastes great. She has a lot of recipes at her web site aniphyo.com (on the blog).

I also like Serene Allison's raw recipe book Rejuvenate Your Life which is available at the Above Rubies store aboverubies.org. Some of her stuff is a lot more fussy to make, but we have many favorites from it that we love.

I have shared a lot of recipes on my blog at http://supermomshealthandwellness.blogspot.com/ and that includes raw stuff, no sugar stuff, and dehydrator recipes.

What I teach people in my healthy eating classes is that baby steps is the key to long term success, and it certainly seems to be true for me.

The raw foods aren't really time consuming, so much as sometimes needing to plan ahead. For instance, today in my dehydrator I have these raw foods:

peach spice grawnola
breakfast toast
sunflower bread
some sort of raw burger

Some of these things had ingredients that needed to be soaked ahead of time. Some of it needs to be ground (flax) or whatever. Some of it is simply mix and throw it onto the dehydrator tray. This stuff was overwhelming to me back when I first started and I had to map out which days to soak or start sprouting things or dry things or whatever. It was sort of hard to get it to all come out "on time." Now that I've done it long enough it doesn't seem that hard. I just think to myself what I'd like to have this week and just start the process and then I've got it.

With everything in my dehydrator today, I'll have food for today plus leftovers for another day. Many days I don't have to make anything "fresh" except for my morning smoothie and a salad. I typically have some sort of raw bread, crackers, and treats on hand. When it is time to eat I will sometimes just have whatever everybody else is having, but often I will just ask myself, "Is there something raw I would like to eat?" and usually there is.

Another interesting thing since making these changes in eating this time around is that I need less food to feel satisfied, and if I overeat I really feel gross (and my old normal sized portions are definitely too big now). This seems to help keep things in check.

About 3 weeks ago I added in some exercise with a friend of mine. I do a 3 mile walk workout about 3 times a week. Since adding that the weight is coming off a little faster.

This is the first time that I've done anything that is bringing me weight loss that feels like the regular way I want to live, instead of like a punishing place that I cannot wait to leave. I've lost 12 pounds since March which is a little less than a pound a week, but it seems sustainable, so I am really pleased about that.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions!
~Erica

10 pounds gone!

I just had to share my excitement in hitting the 10 pound weight loss mark today, since getting off of sugar in March and increasing my raw foods since then. One could say that I am rather excited! (I also lost 5 pounds from November to March, so that makes it even funnER!)

One thing I thought to myself this morning when I weighed in was that I am so glad that I am always just thinking about losing 1 pound. Rather than being disappointed or reserving my glee, I have gotten to be very happy every time I see that one more pound has gone away.

Losing just one pound at a time is my all-time favorite perspective on weight loss. I highly recommend it! :)

Pay Offs: More is caught than taught

So as you know, I stopped eating sugar in March, and since then, as I've become comfortable with that I've also been ramping up the amount of raw foods I'm eating, which is naturally replacing lots of other stuff. This time around has felt easier and more natural, I think just because I'm so used to what I now know that it flows really easily all the time. There is no more angst, no more lists and flow charts of what to soak, sprout, dehydrate, and create for the week. :) I've not harped on any of the family members about their eating (not that I ever did), but this time the kids seem truly enthusiastic and embracing of eating healthier. I've had several wonderful moments with the kids where they have spontaneously showed me how much they are getting it about eating healthier, and boy has that been cool!

#1. The other day my 16 year old son thanked me for making smoothies every day and told me how much he enjoys that. He went on to share that one of his friends had told him that they she was having headaches daily and having trouble sleeping. He told me that what he told her was that the way she is eating is making her sick! He said, "I haven't had a headache in, like, 7 or 8 years or more." I asked him what he attributes that to, and he said, "They food we eat. I mean, really mom--what do we even have in this whole house that has sugar in it? Other than actual sugar in a container?" Interestingly, all I could come up with is that there is some baking chocolate somewhere in the back of the pantry. Seriously. Later on I asked my 13 year old daughter what we have in the house that has sugar in it, and she couldn't think of anything else either. Which was interesting. Because I hadn't realized we had come that far. It hasn't felt like a big effort. It was gradual, and I have been able to have enough fun treats, yummy snacks, and good meals around that they don't miss anything, and love what they are eating!

This is what I'm talking about when I say Baby Steps and taking the time to establish healthy habits that become a no-brainer for you. This makes it so. much. easier. and more successful.

#2. This morning my 6 year old crawled into bed with me to chat before we got up for the day. He was excited for me to get up and make the smoothies. Once I got up, other kids came along to express their enthusiasm and give their ingredient recommendations:

Can we have a kiwi in there?
Can we have an orange too?

As I was adding the spinach I was telling the boys, "do you realize that most kids probably don't have a single piece of green leafy stuff in an entire week? And you're so lucky, you get to have it every day, so you get to be so big and strong and healthy!"

They like that. :)

#3. We made our "rainbow smoothies" as they called them, and they were so happy to slurp it all down. :) My ten year old said that he just loves smoothies because they are a healthy energy drink. He declared, "What I'd like to do for a job when I grow up is to go to a country that thinks that soda and kool aid are the best stuff to drink, and tell them that the best thing they could drink for their health and energy is smoothies!" I guess he doesn't realize that he is already in that country.... :)

He said that once people could understand that message, fast food places "would go down the drain" and businesses like mine "would go UP the drain!" :) Don't you love that?!

#4. My 16 year old is a very cool kid. He plays electric guitar in a band with his friends. They are cool too. ;) And when his friends come over and they want something to eat he never holds back from recommending the healthy stuff we've got around here. I often here him explaining to a guest, "Yeah, my mom makes all this really healthy food and it's really awesome. You should try this, man. It's really good. I eat this every day." They usually do try the stuff, and normally they even like it and ask for more, which is one of my most favorite testing grounds. :) When his friends are here for dinner they are big on the compliments and say things like, "Wow! This is healthy?! That's *awesome*!" and "This is, like, the healthiest and best meal I've ever eaten!" which actually makes me feel a little bit sad for them, because they seem to appreciate it so much. I love to get to feed those kids. :)

Getting Off Sugar Q&A

Hi Erica,

What process did you follow for getting off sugar? And do you allow yourself to have some type of sugar (sucanat) or substitute (stevia)? Or do you just use fruits to satisfy the sweet tooth. I would really like to get away from sugar, but could use some ideas for how to do it.

Thanks,

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for writing! What I did for getting off of sugar was to exclude all obvious sugar from my diet (cookies, candy, etc.), plus tried to avoid sugar even as a trace ingredient in other foods, though at times that is not workable for me. (usually if I do not plan ahead and am out someplace) I did (and do) use stevia, honey, and agave nectar for sweeteners, in addition to fruit. As time has gone on I use fewer of these and find that my taste buds have changed to the point where I need and want less sweet stuff most of the time.

An interesting experience happened to me yesterday. I have been eating Jocalat bars (fruit and nuts, mostly raw) as a treat since getting off sugar. I allow myself one per day if I really want a treat. However, I ran out several weeks ago, so have only had fruit, smoothies, and my healthy ice cream type stuff for treats for probably 2 weeks or so. Yesterday I was able to purchase some Jocalat bars and decided to have one on the way home. I was surprised to discover that my favorite flavor seemed almost *too sweet* to me, and the entire bar felt like it would be too much to eat in one sitting. That had never happened to me before! It was really interesting to see how much my taste buds had adjusted to not having sweet treats like that every day.

This was probably my third time in 10 years to get off of sugar, and this time felt easier than ever before. I didn't really have withdrawal symptoms, which may be because I was a little more gradual on the trace ingredient sugar than I have been in the past. Now that I have been eating no sugar for 2.5 months, it feels fairly effortless. (this has been the case in the past as well) I do not feel deprived, and it does not bother me to not have any cake at a birthday party or desserts at a pot luck.

In addition to not eating sugar I have been avoiding white flour as much as possible, and have been increasing the amount of raw fruits, veggies, and nuts that I'm eating. I have lost about a pound a week since getting off sugar, and that is very encouraging as well.

I hope this helps!
~Erica

Healthy, Yummy Pudding

It has been since March 11 that I've not been eating sugar. Most of the time this comes fairly easy for me now, but today was a struggle. My 13 year old daughter wanted me to help her make cheesecake brownie bars for the family, which are most definitely not healthy or sugar-free. :) I did help her and that didn't bother me a bit, but the smell.....! Ooooh my goodness the glorious s-m-e-l-l of chocolate has lingered in the house all day, and that has made me really struggle with wanting to have a piece or twenty. :)

Although in theory I'm all for moderation and would tell you that it is ok to indulge every once in awhile, for me in the past I have found that once I am off of sugar, eating sugar again causes me headaches, mouth sores, or other unpleasant ailments that I'd rather avoid. I took a few nice big sniffs of the cheesecake bars, but weighed the indulgence in my mind for hours and ultimately decided to make a treat for myself that could help me not feel deprived. :)

Normally I would make some healthy ice cream, but I didn't have any frozen bananas. So I made a pudding instead. This is how it went:

3 ripe bananas, sliced
6-8 frozen strawberries
about 3/4 cup of soaked almonds (they hadn't been soaking long since I thought it up shortly before creating this)
about a half cup or so of natural peanut butter
about a tablespoon of cocoa powder (I'm out of carob)
about 2 tablespoons of organic agave nectar

It all got whizzed up in the food processor and served. It was chocolately, crunchy, and nutty, which hit the spot really well.

I am reading impressive things about raw cacao powder and plan to buy some soon. I had to adjust to the relatively high price of it before I could bring myself to the point where I could accept it. Cacao is very high in antioxidants and sounds like a great healthier way to get chocolatey goodness into the diet. I'll let you know when I finally buy some and try it out!

No-Sugar Graham Crackers and Chocolate Topping

The kids were wanting a treat today and asked for homemade graham crackers. This is something I learned from the MSG Myth Cookbook. In this book there are a lot of great recipes for making yummy food without MSG and other glutamates, but it often uses white flour and sugar. So I adapt a lot of these to be closer to whole foods. Here is my adaptation of the homemade grahams:

1 cup whole wheat flour

half cup whole oat flour (grind your own, or just whir up some oatmeal in your blender)

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey (I used raw agave nectar today)

1-2 tablespoons rice milk, regular milk, water, or in my case I used some run-off liquid from making homemade yogurt the other day

1/3 cup butter, oil, or applesauce

half teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

Mix together dry ingredients. Melt butter, mix with other liquid ingredients, and then add to dry items. Mix until smooth. (I did all of this using my Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Food Processor and it worked great)

If it seems to sticky to work with, chill for about a half hour. I just went ahead and rolled it out onto a cookie sheet (sprayed with no-stick spray). You want it to be fairly thin--a quarter inch or less. Poke it a few times with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes. It should be golden brown.
When you take it out of the over, quickly cut into the size/shapes you want your graham crackers to be.

In addition to being able to use this for a graham cracker alternative, you could cut it into smaller pieces and make it into cereal!

My daughter wanted some chocolate to go along with this, so here is what I did:

Melt a tablespoon of coconut oil.
Add in about a tablespoon of cocoa, carob, or cacao powder.
Add in a couple tablespoons of agave nectar or honey.
Mix it up til smooth, and taste a bit to see if it is sweet and chocolatey. Add more agave or honey if needed.

I drizzled this over some of the grahams. The kids came running and loved it. (even the 16 year old) You could add some natural peanut butter or other nut butter to the chocolate if you like. The coconut oil is good for you, plus if this drizzle needs to sit for awhile, it'll get a little hardened up and not stay runny.

I had some leftover chocolate concoction after the drizzling, so added natural peanut butter and some unsweetened flaked coconut to mine and poured it into a container and stuck it in the fridge. It'll hit the spot sometime when I'm feeling a chocolate craving. :)

Quick Update, and a New Sale!

Hey everybody!

It's been a crazy busy week or three here.....hence the lack of latest blog posts. I just sat down at the computer with a y-u-m-m-y bowl of healthy ice cream (recipe from my online class!) and wanted to check in with you all.

It has been 44 days since I stopped eating sugar, and I'm doing very well with that. I've lost a little more weight, too. I'm considering going on a juice fast for a week or two. I've had a lot of stress lately and I'm just not feeling as healthy or energetic as I'd like to. I've never done a long juice fast yet but have been reading about it online and thinking through whether or not I've got the time or energy for it right now. (juice fasting can produce a lot of detox symptoms which can be rough going while it lasts....basically, things feel worse before they feel better...can I deal with feeling worse?! I don't know...) At the very least, I'm busting out my Green Star juicer tonite so that I can make some delicious and refreshing juice made from carrots, celery, zucchini, beet, and apple tomorrow. Believe it or not, it is very light tasting, sweet, and wonderful!

I am also looking forward to taking my children to our local Earth Day Festival tomorrow. It is supposed to be a gorgeous day! (it was in the 80s here today)

Today I was THRILLED to see that my potato plants are growing!!! I've been eagerly awaiting to see if the above-ground method was going to work, and had just about given up hope. but today, there were some beautiful baby plants poking up through the straw. How FUN! The kids and I were just about jumping for joy at the sight of them. :) Now we have to get busy with the rest of our gardening plans. I feel like we are getting a late start!

Are you growing anything in your yard these days?

I also wanted to let you all know that I've got several items on sale this week:

My Supermom's No-Lice Hair and Body spray is at an all-time low for a limited time. If you've got kids or work with them, you will want to check this out.

Also on sale right now:
Super Dad Vcaps and Super Kids liquid multi vitamins!

What are you doing to improve your health this week?!

A little no-sugar treat

It has been over a month since I stopped eating sugar. Along the way I created some other eating guidelines for myself, in an effort to get back to where I'd like to be health-wise, and to help lose some weight. I've mainly only eaten whole grains (and have limited them), have limited myself on treats (one Jocalat bar per day), and haven't overdone it on fruits. I've also tried to get in raw foods as much as possible. I've lost about pound a week doing this, which seems good to me considering that exercise hasn't been added into the mix.

*I did just start adding some exercise yesterday, and if I told you what it was you would cringe for how pitiful it was. Actually, I am going to tell you: 2 minutes of going up and down our stairs as quickly as possible. I was going to start with 3 minutes but found that I was already hurting after just one minute! I tell you this in order to keep it real. Too many of you email me and mention your make-believe ideas about how perfectly I'm eating and living. I'm not! There's a reason why I teach like I do--I have to be honest! I fall off the wagon. A lot. And then I get back on. That's what I'm best at. ie: Knowing what I'd like to be doing, struggling to do it, being nice to myself anyhow, and then trying again when I'm ready. It seems like I get a little better at it every go-round. :)

Tonite I was having a hankering for a treat but wasn't willing to fall off the no-sugar bandwagon for it. Decided to see what I could make from what I had. I ended up with a variation of my healthy fudge recipe, which I share in the online class. Here's what I did:

half cup natural peanut butter and natural cashew butter
*Last time I went to the health food store I ground my own nut butters there. These have been entirely non-oily, and the peanut butter in particular is easily spreadable even though it is kept in the fridge. I don't think I will ever go back to peanut butter in a jar again!

half cup of light agave nectar
*works into the mix easier than honey, fewer calories than honey, and a lower glycemic index

about a cup of unsweetened flaked coconut

some chopped dates (maybe a half cup)

about a third cup of cocoa powder
*You could use carob powder as well, but I don't have any right now

I just whizzed it all up in the food processor, tasted a bit to make sure it was ok, and smooshed it into a medium sized Tupperware container and stuck it in the fridge. I plan to cut it into small squares to enjoy when a chocolate craving hits me. You could also roll it into balls or logs, coat with more coconut or crushed up nuts, etc.

Obviously there is a lot you could do to vary this recipe. I just worked with what I had. I was pleased that I didn't need to heat this since I prefer keeping it raw if I can. The agave in place of honey sure helped, as did the easy-spreadability of the peanut butter I have. Yay!

The I-need-a-treat blues

It's been close to three weeks since I stopped eating sugar. I've had a couple of days when I felt bummed about not being able to eat somethign sugary, but mostly have done alright. Today, though, reading some blogs, I came across some very tempting photos of pies and cakes and treats and.....oh my! My tummy did flips of joy, wishing for a bite (or twenty) of those sugary items. Good thing I have a stash of Larabars and Jocalat on hand. These all raw fruit-and-nut bars have helped me get over the I-need-a-treat blues more than a few times. I limit myself to just one a day, but it helps. :)

I used to have them for sale here, but they didn't sell very fast, so I let them sell out and didn't restock. (I have a limited amount of space to keep things in stock, and I don't like stuff that just sits. Pretty much anything I sell has to be a popular item that sells consistently.) Still, I think they're wonderful. You may be able to find them in your local grocery store, and certainly in your health food store. Or you can order them straight from the company. :)

Continuing Saga of the No Sugar Diet

Though I know it probably makes all of you weep (with joy?), I've stopped keeping track of everything I'm eating. I don't have time, and it would also be a mighty boring list. Starting the no-sugar kick in the middle of a two-week grocery shopping period was not a good thing, and by last night I was practically crying myself to sleep because I was so sick of not having anything good to choose from to eat and feeling hungry.

True confessions from Supermom.

Today I got myself organized with a shopping list, got two kinds of raw treats going in the dehydrator, and went to the store. I bought so many fruits and veggies that I got comments about it from the checkout lady. :)

When I was feeling so low last night I was reminded that once again I have not followed my own advice. I have done well at not eating sugar, haven't made a single slip up of what I call "overt sugar" (obvious sugary items that feature sugar as a main ingredient) in well over 10 days. I was extremely inspired by the podcast I did last week with Paula Brake. But then I made up too many rules for myself, and didn't have enough good things to eat instead. That's just a recipe for disaster. Once we get hungry and don't feel like we have a nice variety of healthy choices available, it isn't likely that we can stay on track.

My talk with Paula reminded me once again that our bodies do so well when we give them really good fuel. Judging from all of the Bee Strong and vitamins I sell, I know I'm not the only person that wants (needs!) more energy, health, and vitality these days. Why not start at the source and feed myself stuff that will help my body do those things naturally?

The trick is taking time to establish those habits, to allow ourselves some time to transition into a new way of eating and to feel comfortable letting go of some of our old favorites. (Finding new favorites is a great way to do that, too!)

I am feeling happier (and less hungry) now that I have a nice supply of Larabars and Jocalat, some yummy tomatoes, raw organic agave nectar, wholesome bread from Great Harvest, and many other healthy and delicious goodies that will hopefully keep me afloat in healthier eating land for the next two weeks.

Getting Off Of Sugar: What I'm Eating Day 4-5-6

Day 4:
Breakfast: fruit smoothie (banana, frozen blueberries and strawberries, a kiwi, and some juice). I had a glass of this plus enough leftover to make 5 healthy popsicles that are now in the freezer

Lunch: big salad (organic greens, some chopped up turkey breast, chopped tomato, salsa for the dressing)

Snack: honey whole wheat bread with healthy peanut butter

Dinner: homemade cream of mushroom soup (yum!)

Snack: 2 oranges

Day 5:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with some ham and shredded cheese
Lunch: We went out to eat for my mother-in-law's birthday. We were at a buffet, so I got salad, steamed veggies, and some chicken. The only thing I ate that I didn't feel was a good choice was dinner rolls (two of 'em, I'll admit!).
Dinner: ended up being pizza (again!!) because we were on the road all afternoon and evening. We do not normally eat so much pizza. I'm sure this hasn't helped me lose any weight this week.
Snack: an orange

Day 6:
Breakfast: fruit smoothie, but this time I added some organic plain yogurt to it instead of juice, to try out getting some protein (an experiment)
Snack: homemade honey whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter
Lunch: organic green salad with some leftover meatballs chopped up, also a Roma tomato
Snack: half a bagel (not whole wheat)

I'm not having any withdrawal symptoms, though I am having small twinges every now and then of wishing I could have something sugary. My guess is that I'm having no withdrawal because I'm still having some items with sugar somewhere in the ingredients (albeit small amounts). Considering that I wasn't set up properly to eat sugar-free with the groceries I have on hand, I feel that I'm doing well progressing on my goal.

The No-Sugar Diet: What I'm Eating (Days 1-3)

Hopefully I won't bore you all to tears by sharing what I'm eating while making the break from sugar.

Day One:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with a little bit of shredded cheese
Lunch: leftover white bean chili, plus snatched a small piece of french bread pizza that I had made for the kids
Snack: A banana (Fast Food!), some raw almonds
Dinner: Chicken, broccoli, and brown rice
Snack: homemade unsweetened apple sauce
Drinks for the day: water, herbal tea sweetened with stevia

Day Two:
breakfast: fruit smoothie
Snack: homemade unsweetened apple sauce
lunch: salad made of organic greens, some dehydrated goodies, turkey, blue corn chips
Dinner: spaghetti and meatballs
Snack: homemade honey whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter
Drinks for the day: water, herbal tea sweetened with stevia

Day Three:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with some shredded cheese and bits of real cooked ham
Lunch: homemade pizza at our homeschool get together
Dinner: ended up being pizza also
Snacks: honey whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter, 2 oranges
Drinks: Water and herbal tea sweetened with stevia
Not an entirely successful day today, because I am sure I consumed some trace amounts of sugar in the pizza that I ended up with for two meals. (a fluke! This does not normally happen.) However, I'm giving myself a big pat on the back because I passed up cake and ice cream from my child's birthday two days in a row, and didn't so much as lick off my finger when icing got on it! Don't you think that deserves recognition?! :)

I'm not feeling any withdrawal symptoms from this yet, but I assume that I probably will. I did stop off at the store today to stock up on salad greens and some fruit. When I shopped for this two week period I wasn't planning to go off sugar, so I don't have all of the most helpful items on hand, and haven't had/taken time to make any of the healthy snacks that tend to help me get past the first few days off going off of sugar. (I've done this 2 or 3 times over the past decade) Tomorrow I hope to have some time to make a few things that might help. As it stands right now, I've been feeling pretty hungry and feel like there isn't that much to choose from to eat. It's not entirely true, but I get a little tired of eating what's here when I haven't planned for this change in advance.

SO, Tip For The Day: if you are going to try to make a change in your diet, Plan Ahead! It will help you be more successful and minimize the down side to adjusting to what you eat.

On My Mind Today--Weight Loss and Getting Off Sugar

With my first 4 or 5 babies, most of the extra weight came off by the time the child was around 1. (Just in time to get pregnant again--ha!) The last baby is turning six tomorrow. Obviously, the extra weight isn't going to leave on it's own. :/

Thankfully, I'm tall. (about 6') I can get away with carrying some extra weight without looking too bad. But let's face it--weighing 25 or 30 or 40 extra pounds over my ideal weight (whatever "ideal" is...) just isn't too good. It makes my heart work harder than it should. It makes the bulging disc in my lower back complain more than I'd like. And I'm tired of not fitting into clothes like I want to.

This isn't the first time I've thought about this, obviously. I've gone through spurts where I was concerned enough to join a fitness center and go workout almost every day. I did lose over 15 pounds doing that at one point, and I have kept that off, so it wasn't all for nothing. (I also felt hungry and tired all the time, and never got that supposed "high" from exercizing regularly. What a bummer!)

What I've found is a case of conflicting priorities. For instance, I homeschool five of my children. And I'm normally the only person at home with them. How am I going to take time to go to the fitness center every day? I don't want to leave them home alone. And bringing them along with me seems a little too adventurous. (though I have considered getting a family membership, and setting up all of those little legs on stationary bikes and treadmills while I do my thing. I'm sure my workout time would double because of all the interruptions of people tripping and falling on the treadmill, and fighting over whose turn it is to ride the bikes, and whether or not the balancing balls can be kicked or thrown across the room....oy!)

I do enjoy my Leslie Sansone walk at home DVDs, my rebounder, and my Joyce Vedral weight listing DVDs. Somehow, I lack the internal motivation to get those out and put them to use very often. It's too easy to find something else that needs to be done, or get sidetracked. (now I understand why some people hire personal trainers to come to their homes. If I had someone showing up at my door to make me workout, I know it would happen.... I would also like a personal chef to cook healthy meals for us all the time!!)

Another conflicting priorities issue I deal with is one of the ones that keeps me from being a hard-core health nut. And that's the fact that so many fun and nurturing things in life and in our society revolve around food. At first glance (and second, and third...) it seems hard to imagine how to get the same warm-and-cozy mothering in if I'm not willing to make cookies or have birthday cakes. My husband often invites me to have a date night at home, where we watch a movie from netflix and have a "treat." I have noticed that these treats are now happening several times a week, and usually they are not healthy or low calorie. (There is a reason that I do not preach perfectly healthy eating--I would not be practicing what I preach!)

I did manage to lose about 5 pounds over the holidays (how weird is that?!) but I've now gained two of them back, probably thanks to all of my "special" treats that are becoming all too commonplace these days.

So I had an epiphany ;) last night and this morning. Maybe I need to challenge myself to get off of sugar, and get back to the many ways of making treats, date nights, and fun times with my kids also be healthy. (Yes, I should still try to exercise, but right now getting off of sugar completely seems like something that might help me without taking a bunch of extra time.)

It is funny how when I am thinking from within my own issues, things can feel so difficult. "I don't know what we'll eat!" wah wah wah.... But if I treat my issues as if it is one of my class members writing and asking for advice, suddenly I have a whole bunch of truly great ideas for how I could keep the nurturing and fun aspects of eating in place, while making it more healthy. (I enjoy myself as a healthy eating coach a whole lot!)

So today, a decision: I'm going to try to get off of sugar, and use my creativity to have healthy treats that my family and I will enjoy. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stick with it for very long, or how consistent I will be. But I figure it'll be a good series of blog posts to share with you guys, and maybe it will help you get some ideas of some more changes you could make at your house.