What I Ate Wednesday - Sugar Free

If you aren't familiar, What I Ate Wednesday is a blog hop-party style event hosted by the lovely Jenn over at Peas & Crayons where bloggers share a snapshot of their life in food, from sweet to savory and everything in between. For more details click here.

I've participated many times...see here and here for instance, but wanted to give it a go with my new sugar free life. I'm on week three of my big sugar break-up and will share more soon, but in the meantime, much like keeping a food journal, I wanted to participate in What I Ate Wednesday to chronicle this journey and help hold myself accountable.

Oh sugar.

You see, not too long ago I was eating a healthy breakfast, lunch, snack in the late afternoon and then dinner. But somewhere in all that I would bake for my family, cookies, scones, cakes, breads, pies and after discovering egg-replacer found myself gorging on dough. It started with a little nibble and then one day I realized I'd eaten more of the dough than what was left for the cookies themselves. Stricken with guilt and a major sugar high...I thought...this isn't good. What's going on here?

I noticed this pattern emerged in the colder months when turning on the oven and baking up some yummy goodness provided warmth, a family activity and a tasty treat, but it also left me with a blood sugar spike, brain fog and a nasty case of the nerves. NG. Not good. Over the years I've had sugar ups and downs; times when I'd eat sugar and then for a couple weeks try to avoid it, but still found myself craving it like a futhermucker.

So one day, not too long ago, I just said enough. No more sugar: white, brown, powdered, honey, syrup, refined, turbinado. It is no longer part of my diet. I'm sure it's snuck in there a few times since, but not in a significant quantity and certainly not home baked resulting in over-consumption. It turns out once I start eating sweets, I can't stop. There is information that breads, fruit, and other foods that have sugar can have a similar effect on a sugar sensitive person, but so far I'm doing okay with those food items. Every one's body is relatively unique and this is what is working for me right now. It seems the bottom line for me is if I eat sugar, I lose the ability to regulate how much I eat, so better not to start.

Here is what I ate in a day:

 

Brekkie

 

 

 

 

Lunch

 

 

Leftover pizza with a load of veggies and cheddar.

 

 

 

Dinner
 

 

Onions, Garlic, Sweet Potato, Black Beans and Mixed Greens cooked in olive oil.

A sprinkle of cheddar cheese atop a tortilla/wrap, melted and then topped with veggie mixture.

 

Guac=2 ripe avocados, 1/2 the juice of a lemon and a sprinkle of salt. Mash.

 

Smokey Ranchero Sauce- Courtesy of Raw Basics by Jenny Ross. Mmm, mmm good.

 

Served with tortilla chips and a squirt of Sriracha.

 

And a snack...this is the difficult part- if I'm hungry, but not for a meal, what to eat? I think this journey is so much about changing my habits and approach to food as much as it is about changing what I'm actually eating. If I'm chilly, I want something warm and soothing- usually that means something sweet, doughy and sweet. In lieu of that here is a snack that fills that yearning, but without the unpleasant side-effects.  

 

Do you eat sugar-free? Any thoughts, advice, what has worked, hasn't, tips? And Sarah Wilson has been my greatest resource so far- check her out.

 

Living sweet sans sucre!