It's Time for Another Health Kick!

By Erica

Oh you guys. I have not only fallen off the healthy eating wagon, I have rolled up under the wheels and am currently lodged in the axles somewhere. It's not pretty. Yesterday, I tried on two different pairs of jeans before I found a third pair that fit. I'm not even going to tell you which jeans finally fit. (Hint: It rhymes with HAT JEANS.) This, combined with the fact that we've noticed that our four-year-old daughter, Maddie, is ridiculously affected by sugar consumption, is a perfect recipe for a Health Kick™.

We've decided to become a Mostly Sugar-Free Household. We're not trying to eliminate sugar from our diet entirely, especially for Maddie, because that's just insanity. Having sugary treats is part of childhood and my kid isn't going to be the one at the birthday party who's not allowed to have cake and ice cream. We just need to have sugar-free options at home and let the full-sugar items be rarities. Our kid is already really good at snacking on yogurt and fruit and other healthy choices and broccoli is her favorite food. Me, on the other hand, I'm a sugar-addicted train wreck.

I could really use any tips and tricks you have for getting through those horrible first weeks without sugar and any recipes you have for yummy sugar-free treats. 

Comments

[Elissa]

Oh I feel you Erica. For this pregnancy I am theoretically supposed to be following a diet that is free of refined sugar. I am a sugar fiend, so it has been super-challenging. While I have not completely eliminated sugar, I have reduced my consumption quite a bit. Keys for me are making sure I get plenty of protein and some fat. If I get really hungry I'm much more likely to go on a sugar binge. Daytime snacks are nuts, dried fruit (love prunes and CA dried apricots), string cheese, hard boiled eggs, and seaweed snacks. Oatmeal with some peanut butter and raisins mixed in is a great, substantial breakfast that is not loaded with sugar. We don't get flavored yogurt anymore; I add a squeeze of agave nectar to lowfat or whole milk plain yogurt and add fruit for additional sweetness. And a no-sugar-added dessert that I love is to take a ripe banana, halve it lengthwise, and saute it in some butter (the amount depends on how decadent I'm feeling) until it starts to brown. Add a tsp of vanilla extract or a tablespoon of dark rum off the heat and enjoy. Tastes like bananas foster.

[Tessie]

Ava eats WAY too much sugar, which is ironic since I eat practically NONE. I almost feel like I'll be able to monitor it a little better once she's in kindergarten and I can pack her lunch? At daycare I really don't control what she eats at ALL, and there is always some sweet treat for a special occasion.

Anyway. Good luck with the healthkick!

[kakaty]

I actaully gave up (processsed) sugar (and grains) one week ago today! Day one wasn't too bad, day 2 was pure hell - I thought my head would crack in 2 from the headache I had all day. From then on it hasn't been that bad. And I was a SUGAR ADDICT. The biggest thing is to have things on-hand and easy to prepare/eat for when you get a craving. And lots and lots of water.

I'm eating what I guess you'd call a "primal" or "paleo" diet for the most part. What I have found, in only the few short days I've done this that things taste way more sweet. I had strawberries today and damn near spit them out because of the overpowering sweetness.

Filling up with protien seems to be the key for me. Like way more protien then you think you'll need.

I'm eating a lot of eggs, chicken, fish and nuts. Breakfast is usually eggs - I'll eat 4-6 hardboiled egg whites (don't like HB egg yolks), 2 scrambled eggs with spinach or a green smoothie with protien powder. Lunch is a huge salad - massive amounts of lettuce, various other chopped veggies, a sprinkle of local grass-fed feta (yum!), and fruit (strawberries, blueberries or dried cranberries) and then some sort of protien - chicken, tuna, a hamburger patty w/o a bun.
My usual 3 PM snack is about 15 almonds (big handful) and a handfull of blueberries. Dinner is always a variation on lunch - with more veggies.

My "treat" is fresh-ground peanut butter on a spoon. I LOVE peanut butter. It took a bit to get used to PB without sugar, but it's so creamy and rich I really does seem decedant (now - a week ago I would have laughed at myself).

The final trick (for me) is to know that when it's worth it I will dive into a really crazy-good sweet treat without guilt. Like homemade birthday cake or the perfect pot de crème at my favorite restaurant. But I'm not going to waste my sugar allowance on crappy mass-produced ice cream or an Oreo.

[Katie]

Fresh fruit. Keep it on hand, ready to eat. We're coming into summer, when fresh fruit is better than any other dessert I can imagine--fresh berries, peaches--yum! For a splurge, use the fruit to top frozen yogurt, gelato, or ice cream. (And buy the mini-ice cream cups, which are a fabulous way to do portion control.) And don't keep any prepared sugary foods in the house. When you do splurge, make sure it's worth it--I second the idea not to waste your sugar on mass-produced cookies.