Sugar Free Survivor (WARNING: Lots of Food Pictures)

Today is the day-Reward Day. March has ended and I am proud to say that I met all of my goals for March - 4 no-added-sugar days/week, 3 barre method classes/week, 150 minutes of cardio/week, and 64+ oz of water/day. Not only am I still alive, but I am going to carry on this no-added sugar program in addition to my April goals for another month, to try and solidify these good habits. 
I am so thrilled to remove my new Ted Baker cosmetic bag from its packaging. I think its important to reward myself with something that is purely a want not a need; that way I can't justify my way into giving it to myself without earning it. Since I have a sugary holiday weekend coming up, I decided to treat my body with delicious but no-added sugar foods. My dinner of grass-fed burger, with aged cheddar cheese, sauteed mushrooms, with roasted butternut squash and baked cinnamon papaya for dessert certainly tasted rewarding. 

Blue Porch Cafe Meat & Three, Woodbury, TN

Avoiding added sugars has opened my eyes to both how terrible our packaged foods are for us and how naturally sweet fruits and vegetables are. It has taught me to appreciate how delicious and filling real food is, and has made me able to discern when I'm eating something actually life-changingly delicious versus just something covered in sugar. Do not get me wrong, I am still a long way from possessing the discipline to resist things I think I want. I still binged on lots of sugar, but the Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, Dark Chocolate Banana Cream Pie and Russian Turtle Cake were entirely worth it, while my Reese's McFlurry and puppy chow was not.

One of my biggest motivators was a tip I read in Foodist by Darya Pino Rose - not to tell yourself that you cannot have the food at all, just not right this moment. This is extremely important for me, because my overeating is tied to what I call "famine mode." Famine Mode is when I eat all and then more of something because I start thinking about how terrible it would be if I never got to have it again. Telling myself I could have another scoop of ice cream later in the week if I wanted actually did help me be okay with not making myself sick on ice cream. 

I took this tip a step further and used this to ask myself (a) whether I wanted the food item itself or was just eating it because I could and (b) whether that food item was really going to be a good representative of that food. There were two moments when I realized that I was starting to actually change my view towards food. One sugar-friendly morning, I reached for the honey to add to my Greek yogurt and stopped myself because I was only doing it because I could, not because I thought my food needed it or even wanted it. The second was at a monthly banquet dinner I attend. I DIDN'T HAVE A ROLL. This never happens. I love bread, I always have a roll. I didn't tell myself I couldn't have it, but I always leave those dinners feeling painfully full on mediocre food. I told myself to eat my salad and entree, then I to have it if I was still hungry. Then I thought, this roll isn't even that good, why eat something that is a sad excuse for bread when I would rather store up this bread opportunity for a fresh baked yeast roll or baguette?  The roll I had a couple of weeks later at a delicious small-town TN restaurant completely reinforced this line of thinking (see picture above w/ pie). 

I don't want to lie to you, this wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done. The hard part of eating a no-added sugar isn't cravings or cooking or even meal planning in general- it's the planning for avoiding the added sugars out in the world on a day to day basis. I spend a lot of my day at the law school so packing for the day isn't just lunch; often it is breakfast, post-workout snack, lunch (for both me and my roommate that eats twice as much as me), afternoon snack, and a "just-in-case I am still hungry snack," ALL of which I have to make sure has no-added sugar. The law school makes it even worse by having pizza every day and being surrounded by Starbucks, Panera, Brueggers, Chipotle, Mellow Mushroom, etc. For example, I had a 2.5 hour makeup class that I knew my professor would bring pizza to. How the hell was I going to sit in a room smelling pizza for 2.5 hours and resist it? With a kale salad? Soup? Hell no. I knew I had to come up with something better than the pizza to get me through. So after spending time researching flatbreads that I could make, I made a ground beef, tomato and arugula spelt flatbread to take with me to class - just to avoid wanting the pizza. This same professor brings chocolate for our class once a week. Its this kind of convoluted planning that makes me want to quit and wallow in a vat of pie.

Yet, once you have figured out what does not have added sugar in it, done your planning and your grocery shopping, it really isn't that hard to stick to a sugar-free plan. So much of the time-consumption for me was due to making many things for this first time. The worst part about the flatbread pizza was making the flatbread itself. But once I made it, I recognized it was actually pretty easy (like the Naan). Then, I had 6 no-added sugar flatbreads in my freezer that I could and did use later after just 30 seconds in the microwave. Another upside is that everything I ate this month was delicious. There was not a single thing I ate on a no-added sugar day that I said to myself - "Oh this would be good if only it had sugar or honey or artificial sweetener or corn syrup or other random creepy sugar forms that exist in our food." Yet, there were plenty of things I ate on sugar-friendly days that made me feel awful the next day. So to end this month and propel my sugar-free self into April, I thought I'd share my favorite three meals in each category over the past month:


Breakfast

Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats:

• Ingredients: 1/3 c rolled oats (instant or 5 minute), 1/3 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1/3 c Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, 1 T raw unsweetened peanut butter, 1/2 T cocoa powder, 1 T cacao nibs, 1/2 banana, pinch salt, 1/4 t cinnamon. 
• Best Method: mix oats, cinnamon, salt and cacao nibs in a jar or cup. Blend together Greek yogurt, Milk, Peanut Butter, Cocoa Powder, and Banana. Pour over oat mix and stir. Put in fridge overnight. 
• Tip: I usually make two at a time. After two days, the bananas don't taste as good anymore.

Egg white, Avocado, Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Breakfast Sandwich on Food for Life Ezekial 4:9 English Muffin

• Tip: If throwing out an egg yolk makes you cringe (1) buy egg beaters egg whites (2) eat the whole egg or (3) save your egg yolks and make aioli (Try this recipe)

Papaya Boat - See post "Jamaican me Hungry" 

Lunch

Spelt Flatbread with Avocado, Shredded Chicken, Hummus, Diced Red Onion, Cucumber and Goat Cheese.


Roasted Sweet Potato, Quinoa, and Fried Egg Bowl from Fitness Magazine. 

Mason Jar Salads w/ Sugar Free Dressing (ex. grapeseed oil, white wine vinegar, thyme, garlic salt and cracked black pepper). 

• Tip: Make shredded chicken in the crockpot, by placing raw chicken in the crockpot with some water and cooking on low for 5 - 6 hours. Then you have versatile shredded chicken for the week. This freezes great as well. 

Dinner

Ginger, Soy & Garlic marinated Tofu bowl with Quinoa, Bamboo Shoots, Sundried Tomatoes and Kale
Recipe for 4 Servings

• Remove Extra Firm Tofu from packaging and cut into even cubes. Dry tofu by placing it on a plate lined with paper towels, a top layer of paper towels, then another plate. Let dry for at least 30 minutes. 
• 2/3 Marinade Recipe omit sugar. Marinate tofu cubes for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place tofu cubes on baking sheet (SAVE MARINADE), Bake tofu for 40 minutes, turning half way through. 
• With twenty minutes to go on the tofu, cook 1 cup of dry quinoa per instructions. While the quinoa is cooking, drain canned bamboo shoots, dice your sundried tomatoes (16 tomatoes) and chop kale (about 4 cups raw). 
• Once quinoa is cooked and fluffed with a fork, add the kale (the heat will cause it to wilt), sundried tomatoes, bamboo shoots and marinade to the quinoa and stir. 
• Divide quinoa mixture and tofu into four bowls or containers. This is also a great lunch enjoyed cold. 

Dal Makhani and Bhindi Masala - See post "Happy (Punjabi) St. Patty's Day"

Spelt Flatbread with Ground Beef, Tomatoes, and Arugula. 

• Brush flatbread with olive oil and minced garlic.
• Sprinkle cheese of choice on flat bread. 
• Toppings of Choice
• bake on 375 for 10-12 minutes. 

Snacks

Garlicky Parmesan and Roasted Chickpeas 

• Tip: These are great as both a snack and as a salad topper. 

Almond Butter Date Balls - Adapted from this recipe. Added 1/4 c cacao nibs. These last weeks in the fridge. 

Cheese - aged cheddar, Babybel, string cheese (just make sure no creepy sugar additives are in the ingredient list)

• Block cheese is often less expensive. Get a block of cheese and cut into portions to make portion-friendly snacks easy to grab and go .

Dessert

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Milkshake

• Blend 1 T raw unsweetened peanut butter, 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 banana and 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and enjoy!

Carrot Cake "Whoopie Pies"

• Based off of this recipe. Omitted Maple Syrup, added 1/4 c diced dried fruit, 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce, and 1/4 chopped walnuts. 
• Then, sandwich two cookies with cream cheese. 

Baked Peaches or Papaya

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
• Slice peaches in half and place on lined baking sheet. 
• Place some butter in the center of each and sprinkle with cinnamon. 
• Bake for 35-40 minutes. Fill with Greek yogurt and chopped nuts.