The first ten days of no sugar have been easy, due in large part, I believe, to the fact that we eat few packaged and processed foods to begin with. For the most part, I drink only coffee (with cream but no sugar) and water. I don’t feel any different, I haven’t lost any weight, but do feel proud that I have gone ten days with no sugar.
My sugar-free kids (Tilly, Kalina, Jubilee, Hezekiah and Tucker) have commented on how happy it makes them to be eating healthy. Friday at school they had cake to celebrate a teacher’s retirement, and all three kids said “no thank you”. We watched the football game at my parents last night, and they all turned down pizza that we knew would contain sugar somewhere…I am proud of these five. They are receiving no pressure or rewards for doing this, it is all their own. Their only reward is satisfaction in a challenge taken and and achieved. And very possibly better health.
This week’s dinners will be:
Colorful Chicken Fettuccine. This is a long time family favorite. Jubilee has really been “craving” pasta, I think her body is wanting the energy containing carbohydrates now that it has no sugar. I make sure this is full of fresh veggies and everyone enjoys it.
Paleo Buffalo Chicken Nuggets. These look so good! I don’t plan to make them paleo (I won’t be using coconut flour), so I will be altering the recipe slightly. I will serve these with fresh veggies and potato wedges. While the recipe looks delicious, I spent $10 on two pounds of ground chicken (on sale) so this won’t be a regular on our table, unless we find a cheaper source of ground chicken. I’m taking this one for the team (you, my dear readers) so I can tell you whether or not this recipe is worth making.
Easy Burrito Bowls These look hearty, healthy, adaptable and delicious.
{I have a little life-hack for your kitchen. Did you know you don’t actually need to soak your beans overnight? You can start them in the morning and just cook them a bit longer? And I have discovered the best, laziest way ever to cook your beans. Put them in your crockpot (with plenty of water) and turn it on low….then go to bed. You will wake up with perfectly cooked beans. Really, I promise, I’ve done it myself! Bulk beans are so much cheaper than canned.}
Updated: Never mind. Buy an Instant Pot. I can’t live without mine.
Quinoa Chili Enoch loves chili, it is one of his all time favorite foods. I consider a recipe like this a helpful suggestion, and never follow them exactly. I am looking forward to this recipe though, it looks hearty and delicious. We all enjoy a hot, hearty soup this time of year.
Our Wednesday dinner will be something I already have in the freezer since I’ll be in Seattle with Kalina that day.
Lunches will be more of the same from last week: quinoa salad, tuna, cheese, peanut butter, nuts, pumpkin seeds, hummus, and plenty of fruits and veggies. And just a heads up, regular mayonnaise has sugar in it, but we found two kinds at Trader Joe’s that are sugar-free. I used it yesterday to make hot artichoke dip. YUM!
And a follow-up from last week: the Pork Tacos with Cilantroslaw were amazing! We had leftovers and I had them for lunch two days in a row. So good.
Another great recipe we tried was Peanut Butter Banana Muffins. These had only 2 tablespoons of honey and taste delicious. These had the perfect blend of peanut butter and banana.
And if you’re looking for more inspiration, you might want to follow my Month of No Sugar Meal Plans and Recipes board on Pinterest.
How about you? Any favorite sugar-free recipes to share? Anything with sugar that surprised you?
I am so glad you enjoyed the Pork Carnivals. They are a favorite at our house. And way to go being sugar free
Thanks! I think I could have eaten these all week long. Thanks for posting the recipe on your site. I’ll now be stalking your site now for more new family favorites 🙂
i had chili over the holidays and it has sweet potatoes in it…it was great but i don’t have the recipe. i will try to get it and send it to you.
i am going to try the pork taco’s…i love taco’s! thanks for your recipes
Oh, that sounds interesting. I’d love the recipe.
We went gluten free instead of sugar free. I have Hashimoto’s which is a autoimmune hypothyroidism. We have reduced sugar. It is easier than I thought it would be.
Thanks for your input. I was gluten free for a while when Apollo was a baby. The first three days were hard for me, but that was it.
Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce both have sugar. Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce sometimes have sugar too. Those all surprised me along with the mayo.
When I was dairy-free (for over a year) while nursing I got into the habit of reading labels on everything. Nothing surprises me anymore. And I certainly wouldn’t have fish sauce in my house 😉
The thing about sugar is that every starch we eat is quickly converted into sugar in our bodies. So while cutting out added sugars is great, it may not make that much of a difference in your life and health if you replace it with other carbohydrates. A slice of bread can have 20 grams of starch, that’s 5 teaspoons of sugar to your body. Carbohydrates aren’t necessarily bad for your health if your body can use the energy and not store it as fat. As much as I love chocolate and bananas I need to limit my intake, whereas my kids can eat freely and stay lean. I avoid grains because they make me feel bad and my body doesn’t utilize carbohydrates well, I just gain weight and feel tired.
Yes, I totally get that. That’s why I think Jubilee is loving pasta so much right now. I have cut out wheat before (there was some concern when Apollo was a baby that he might have celiac) and I *did* feel good. Most interestingly to me was, within three days all of my sugar cravings went away. It was crazy. Since I am looking to lose weight (and I *don’t* want my kids to lose weight) I think I will need to cut way back on carbs as well.
I had the same experience when I somewhat accidentally cut out wheat. I felt kind of low for a few days and then I felt amazingly more energetic. I still struggle with eating too many carbs, I tend to yo-yo with my carb consumption, and therefore my weight :(, but wheat stays out of my diet for the most part, it’s just not worth how I feel when I eat it.