One month of no sugar

Thursday, January 24, 2019

I got home too late to post this update last night, so I’m doing it this morning! After class yesterday, I got together with some friends at one of my friends’ dorm. He cooked us dinner, which was really nice! The main dish had some sauce which tasted quite sweet, so I’m pretty sure it had sugar in it. And same for the store-bought veggie spring roll! But oh well! As I said on Sunday, I think it’s more important to embrace food as a social experience than it is to avoid every little gram of added sugar. (This is also my view on vegetarianism now -- I used to be more strict). At the same time, I did not have any of the baklava that one of my friends brought, but instead contented myself with rice cakes and cheese that I brought.

Breakfast: Half a grapefruit; Oatmeal with cinnamon, salt, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and blueberries; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of Earl Grey tea

Lunch: Leftover lentil stew from Monday

Late afternoon pre-class Snack: 2 rice cakes with peanut butter

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Today was Day 15, which means I’m about halfway through the challenge, and over 2 weeks in! I’m happy about this because the last time I tried cutting out sugar, I caved in the evening of Day 14. So it feels like I’m over a hump now! And I’m confident I can keep going for the next two weeks and change!

Breakfast: Half a grapefruit; millet with cinnamon, nutmeg, blackberries, pumpkin seeds, and cashews; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of Earl Grey tea

Lunch: Leftover roasted cauliflower from Friday and saag paneer from yesterday’s dinner, carrots and celery sticks, an apple

Here’s a picture of the saag paneer I made today. Guess it doesn’t look too amazing, but it tasted great!

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

I love having quinoa with cocoa powder, like I did for breakfast this morning! It’s so good to get to have that chocolate taste, but without the added sugar. Otherwise I would just miss chocolate too much. I had some sugar/junk food cravings again today in the late afternoon before dinner, but I didn’t cave! Made a cup of tea instead.

Breakfast: Half a grapefruit; quinoa with coconut oil, cocoa powder, salt, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sliced strawberries; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of green tea

Lunch: Leftover lentil stew from yesterday’s lunch, an apple

Late afternoon: cup of cardamom cinnamon tea

Dinner: 3 unsweetened corn cakes, homemade saag paneer that my boyfriend and I made following this recipe: https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/spinach_paneer_41837

Monday, January 21, 2019

My stomach/digestion were messed up this morning; I think it’s because of going out to the Indian restaurant the previous night and eating spicy/rich food that I wasn’t used to. So this morning I tried to take it easy and have food that would be easy on my stomach.

Also today I really wanted to eat sweets and junk food. Maybe it’s because the Indian food lowered my guard, maybe because today was day #unlucky 13 of the challenge, maybe because it was Blue Monday (just kidding, apparently that is not scientifically sound), or maybe because I didn’t get enough sleep last night so I was tired and cranky. But either way, I held out!

Also, I didn’t plan ahead very well and only packed a small snack to eat before class, which meant I was very hungry by the time I got home! I need to plan better next time I have an evening class.

Breakfast: millet with a pear, 2 hard-boiled eggs

Lunch: Homemade lentil stew (see recipe posted earlier)

Afternoon snack: An apple with peanut butter

Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

A few tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1 onion

2 celery stalks

5-7 cloves garlic

About a teaspoon each dried basil, sage, thyme, and oregano

2 bay leaves

3 carrots

Dried porcini mushrooms

1 cup green lentils

½ cup buckwheat kasha

4-6 cups water, depending on your desired consistency

Large bunch kale

1-2 large fresh tomatoes

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. First, chop all the vegetables and reconstitute the dried porcini mushrooms according to package instructions.

2. Heat the olive oil/vegetable oil in a large pot over the stovetop. Saute the onion, celery, garlic, and dried herbs for about 5 minutes, until slightly tender.

3. Next, rinse the lentils and buckwheat. Add them to the pot, along with the water, bay leaves, and mushrooms. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.

4. Reduce to a simmer, and allow the stew to simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add the kale, carrots, and tomatoes. Allow the soup to simmer for 15-20 minutes more, or however long it takes for the vegetables to be cooked to your liking.

5. Finally, add the white vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve  right away, or save in glass meal prep containers to eat at a later date! This type of soup tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had more of a chance to meld. You can even freeze this soup and reheat it up to a month later!

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Okay, so, I kind of probably ate sugar today. I didn’t have any actual sweets or desserts, but for dinner my boyfriend and I went with a friend to an Indian restaurant. I didn’t want to make a fuss by asking whether the items on the menu had sugar in them, so I just ordered food that sounded good/healthy and ate it. It’s very possible that some of the food (especially the chutneys and sauces) had some sort of sweetener in them, but oh well. At least I didn’t have a mango lassi! I think it’s important not to get obsessive about what I eat in a way that impairs fun at social gatherings. This foray into less-regulated foods doesn’t mean the no sugar challenge is ruined though! I’m going to keep at it.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, unsweetened almond milk, salt, coconut oil, pink lady apple, some blueberries, sunflower seeds, and 2 brazil nuts; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of Earl Grey tea

Lunch: Leftover cauliflower, quinoa and pomegranate salad from Friday; leftover arugula and bean salad from yesterday

Mid-afternoon: Cup of peppermint tea

Dinner (at an Indian restaurant called Cafe Tiffin): Papadum with chutneys and sauces, Niramish, Saag paneer, Naan

Salad: arugula/rocket, cannellini beans, walnuts, diced pear, raspberries, crumbled blue cheese

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Today is Day 11, which means I’m about a third of the way through the no sugar challenge! I did have some cravings for sweets today, but they weren’t strong enough to derail me. Also, my boyfriend and I went swimming today at the pool at his gym, which was nice! I’m trying to exercise more in addition to eating well.

Breakfast/brunch: A 2-egg omelette with cherry tomatoes, defrosted frozen spinach, cheddar cheese, butter, salt, and pepper; Half a yellow grapefruit; Cup of white jasmine nettle tea

Late lunch: Leftover cauliflower, quinoa and pomegranate salad from yesterday, cup of cardamom cinnamon tea

Friday, January 18, 2019

Earlier this week I had to submit a draft of the final paper for one of my classes to the professor. Reading dense articles to get ideas on the subject, thinking of my own argument to write, writing, and finally getting the courage to send the not-very-good draft to my incredibly smart and intimidating professor was really hard! But I realized one thing. It was no harder than preparing and submitting the draft of the paper for my other class about 2 weeks ago, before I started the no sugar challenge. While getting ready to submit that draft, I followed my usual habit and consumed large amounts of chocolate and cookies. That’s because I thought that downing several candy bars and half a packet of chocolate-covered digestive cookies would help me be more productive and make it easier for me to do tasks I dreaded. Now, when comparing the two experiences (one draft written with the “help” of indulging myself in sweets, one draft written without), I realize they were both equally hard. So the sugar didn’t help.

Even when this no sugar challenge ends, I’m going to try to eat much less sugar than I used to. I’ll still eat sweets on special occasions with friends and family. But I won’t eat them when I’m sitting alone in the library, because now I realize that they won’t make my homework go away or even make it any easier.

Breakfast: Half a yellow grapefruit; oatmeal with cocoa powder, salt, butter, almonds, and sunflower seeds; Blueberries; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of green tea

Lunch (same as yesterday’s lunch): Leftover pasta with tomato sauce, chickpeas, and parmesan from Wednesday, defrosted frozen leaf spinach

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Breakfast: Half a grapefruit; Leftover quinoa with ½ teaspoon coconut oil, ground turmeric and ginger, salt, pecans, 2 brazil nuts, and blueberries; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of Earl Grey tea

Lunch: Leftover pasta with tomato sauce from last night’s dinner, chickpeas, and parmesan cheese, with defrosted frozen leaf spinach

Early dinner/pre-class snack: Some leftover tofu vegetable stir-fry and brown rice from Tuesday

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The no sugar challenge is still going well! I do still find myself spending lots of time in the kitchen… But I enjoy cooking, so maybe that’s a good thing! The no sugar challenge is giving me an excuse to spend more time doing something I love. My boyfriend has also been spending a lot of time cooking with me, and I think he’s a little less enthusiastic about it than I am. So in the next few weeks I’ll keep working to find a balance. (But when he just read this over my shoulder, he said, “That’s not true, I like cooking. I wanted to cook today instead of going out!” So I guess he’s enjoying it too).

Breakfast: Half a grapefruit; Oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sunflower seeds, almonds, blueberries, and a scoop of plain yogurt; A hard-boiled egg; Cup of green tea

Lunch: Tofu vegetable stir-fry and brown rice, left over from last night’s dinner

Late afternoon: turmeric lemongrass herbal tea

Tofu and Vegetable Stir-fry

Ingredients:

1 block firm tofu

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

1 onion

4-7 cloves garlic

A knob of fresh ginger root

2 carrots

A head of broccoli

Snap peas

A bunch of asparagus

Shiitake mushrooms

About ¼ cup natural peanut butter

3-4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion and carrot, mince the garlic and ginger, slice the mushrooms, cut the asparagus into small pieces, and cut the broccoli into florets.

2. Drain and dice the tofu.

3. Mix together the peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a little bit of the minced garlic and ginger to make a thick sauce.

4. Optional: Steam the broccoli, carrots, and asparagus for 6-8 minutes until they reach the desired softness.

5. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Sautee the onions with the rest of the garlic and ginger. When they’re a bit soft, add the tofu and stir-fry until it’s crispy and golden. If you skipped step 4, add the broccoli, carrots, and asparagus now. Otherwise, you can add them at the end.

6. Next, add the snap peas. When they’ve softened, add the shiitake mushrooms.

7. When everything is cooked to your liking, pour the sauce over and stir until it’s well combined. Serve with brown rice.

Note: Feel free to substitute different veggies with whatever you have on hand!

January 15, 2019

I’ve done the no sugar challenge for a whole week! Everything is still smooth sailing so far, except for this strange feeling in my chest that I think is anxiety but could be the beginning of a cold… At this point I’m pretty sure it’s unrelated to the sugar though. It was fun to cook dinner with my boyfriend!

Breakfast: Half a yellow grapefruit; A hard-boiled egg; Quinoa with unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, a pear, coconut oil, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, and 2 brazil nuts; Cup of green tea

Lunch: leftovers of the millet, cheese, peas and spinach dish from yesterday’s lunch

Late afternoon: cup of chamomile tea