So this week I am determined to get it sorted. Have a read of the below to see how I go day by day.
Monday 2nd June
So as usual when deciding to get back on track I woke this morning with determination that I would start off strongly. Easily done with a couple of homemade roast veg puffs, a couple of scrambled eggs and avocado. Nothing to flash but very tasty and filling.
Going into a lunch with a friend and afternoon munchies I know that mornings are not my problem time. That is still coming!!
I had lunch at a delish coffee bistro called Roast Coffee & Eatery which I have been a few times so I knew that there was both sweet and savoury to choose from. Still full from breakfast I chose a roasted tomato soup which was fantastic and shared a salad with my friend minus the dressing. The one problem I had was the iced tea! I asked for no sugar but the fresh lychee in the tea made it so sweet that I couldn't be 100% sure it was only the fruit that was making it taste sweet so I decided to leave it. As we chatted and time went passed I started to get hungry again and struggled to find something small to eat that wasn't sweet. If I wasn't determined to cut the sugar I would have caved and ordered some cake or pudding just because it was easier to choose. My friend recommended some mushrooms on toast that I didn't see and it was fantastic. So much better than a dessert could have ever been and made me feel good. A little bonus! :)
Following on from a late running lunch I was lucky to not get afternoon munchies however after no time at all it was out again for dinner with another friend who just flew into town. A nice pub called No Idea provided a great menu to choose from and made dinner an easy choice which when you are trying to avoid something can often be very difficult. A garlic sauteed portobello mushroom and duck breast and I was happily heading home with a successful sugar free day!
Tuesday 3rd June
Waking up I was lucky I was craving a delish frozen yoghurt and muesli breaky. One of my fav go to meals for both breakfast and afternoon tea if I feel like something sweet. Simply blend a frozen banana, frozen blueberries, a couple of dessert spoonfuls of full fat no added sugar yoghurt and 2 teaspoons of basil or chia seeds until smooth. I then top with homemade sugar free Coconutty Granola from Sarah Wilson's I quit sugar book which I add 2 cups of oats and don't add any sweetener.
The key really to going sugar free is to increase the fat intake, especially saturated fat. It is nothing to be afraid of and can really help to curb any sugar withdrawals you may have.
After my yoghurt and muesli I was still hungry (happens a lot when pregnant haha) so a couple of pieces of toast with butter and peanut butter or vegemite and cheese and I was good to go! At least for now.
Anyways off to shopping now so will see how the rest of the day pans out. With no plan for lunch and nothing really in the fridge until I go food shopping this afternoon this is sometimes the hardest part. Eating on the go and choosing foods when out and about when hungry can make it difficult but having a resolve to keep sugar free will keep me on the straight and narrow. I hope!
Okay so shopping was no problem, in and out in 30 mins and bought 2 nappy bags! Success :) Such a happy little camper!! I was home in no time and was able to tuck into a nice salad as soon as I got back. I also saw in the fridge some leftover brown rice and 2 more roast veg puffs. The rest of lunch was sorted!! Nothing fancy but I knew it would taste good and was filling and healthy. So I heated up a big bowl of brown rice with the 2 puffs and mixed it all together once hot with a can of tuna. I have this thing about tuna and rice. To me it is so tasty! Especially when the rice is puffy and sticky and hot and the tuna is cold. Weird I know and it is definitely not a pregnancy thing cause I have been eating it for years!
After 2 servings of rice in my lunch mix up I knew I would be full for a while but I wasn't expecting the sugar cravings. About 3pm (when I would normally munch on a couple of dark choc digestives and maybe 1-2 butterscotch lollies) I was stalking the kitchen for something to eat. I have a tray of 4 glass bowls that sit on our kitchen bench and silly me filled them up last week with different types of wrapped lollies. What was I thinking!! Well i think it was along the lines of 'mmmmmm 1 or 2 here and there wont hurt and I can restrain myself'. Never has that been true in the past so why would I at 8.5 months pregnant think it would be ok now!!!!!! Nonetheless I was extremely happy with myself as I did not cave in to the lollies screaming my name. Nope I opened up a box of water crackers (sugar free) and cut up slices of cheese and an apple and ate that for afternoon tea. This is usually my normal but after a few sweet things.
We always have dinner at 7pm so when I started to get hungry at 6 I knew I only had to hold on for a little while. Still hard but why ruin a perfectly good pork chop dinner with some stupid snack so close. Needless to say I was famished by the time dinner was ready and I swear the baby was fighting me for best position at the table so as to get a hold of the oncoming food! Dinner was delish and filling (thanks to the fat staying on the pork chop during both cooking and eating) and I went to bed a very happy chappy with 2 days sugar free!!
Wednesday 4th June
Woke up last night at 1.30am (seems to be a regular occurrence now with the bub) and swear I felt hungry. It's only happened one other time during the pregnancy but it's soooooo annoying!! I'm far to lazy to go downstairs and find something healthy to eat at that time plus the dog would wake up and follow me downstairs thinking it was breakfast or play time. So I had some water and went back to sleep.
With having to be out the house reasonably quickly this morning (within 2 hours of being up) with many things to do before I leave I went for my never fail same breaky as yesterday! Frozen fruit yoghurt with the granola. After a comment yesterday about photos I took one today and will add it soon. I really can't stress how delish this really is!!!!!! If you have sweet cravings in the arvo of after dinner or even at 1.30am whip this frozen yoghurt up and it will definitely do the trick!
A cold full fat milky coffee added to some toast with PB and one with cheese and vegemite and I am ready to head off to my Baby and Bumps meeting. I know the food seems like a lot but I graze breaky over about an hour as I know I can't eat until at least 12 so it helps make me full without eating a massive meal in one 20 min setting. Doesn't mean I wont get hungry before 12 but with an apple in my bag I can handle it.
Soooo.... After my Bumps meeting we were off to lunch. Breaky had served me well and I wasn't hungry much at all. Apple still in bag we headed off to lunch to a gorgeous cafe called Cafe Tartine. I was swayed and excited by the possibility of a real french baguette. Nice and crunchy but when I really started to think about what I would have in it then my idea had to change. I love a good baguette with just butter, good ham and seeded mustard. Pure heaven for me! However with a no go with the cold ham I was at a loss to choose what to have. With a quick glance over the menu I happen to see a lamb angel hair pasta dish. Success! I love pasta no matter what and I could be pretty sure that the lamb ragu sauce wouldn't have sugar in it so that was my mind made up. Wow!! It was Delish! I could have easily had a second serving for dessert. It was only a small serving size so I really did rationalise having a second round. After lunch some of the girls ordered dessert and although I was tempted by my favs of creme brulee and coconut panna cotta I just really didn't feel like anything sweet. It was so nice to finally be back in a state where I wasn't craving sweet things after every meal.
Following on from lunch I had a wander around the shops and found myself at home hungry. Again.... So with a big bowl of salad sitting in the fridge I happily demolished that and then an hour or so later I was having my afternoon tea of sliced apple and cheese on a water cracker. No afternoon lollies screaming at me which was nice also considering I was so tired I was quite surprised that I didn't have any sugar cravings.
Luckily for dinner to roll around there was not much thinking or planning required. Leftovers from Sunday were shoved in the oven and a delish meal of Chorizo, new potatoes and chicken on a bed of green veg was ready in an hour. Zero sugar cravings after dinner was just the icing on the cake.
Thursday 5th June
I don't know why I have done this to myself this week but all I can think of is I would have eaten so much sugar this week if I hadn't decided to kick it!!!! 3 cafe meetings in a week all with countless delish possabilites to be eaten would have seen me talking myself into having something sweet at each place. Special occasion, new place, all sorts of excuses and reasons why would have popped up.
On that note I have a Nutrition discussion over coffee this morning which I am holding at a lovely little cafe next door to my apartment. They have wonderful cupcakes, truffles and coffees however they also have great pot pies, spring rolls and pad thai so I know I can have something if I get peckish minus the pad thai however as it contains sugar.
So starting the morning off knowing I am going to a tempting place and even with my resolve building everyday I have to plan smart and make sure I am nice a full before walking out that door. Today for breaky I went agin with my frozen yoghurt but I added in some coconut basil seed pudding. My sister-in-law got me on to this and after a few mistrials I have found the way I love to eat it. In Thailand you can't buy Chia seeds easily but you can get Basil seeds. Same family, similar health benefits and same thing occurs when put in liquid. All I do is put 1/4 cup of seeds in a container mixed with 150ml of full cream coconut milk and leave in the fridge over night. The next morning you have a lovely thick pudding. Due to the abnormal texture of the seeds after they soak up water it can take a bit getting used to it however on the other hand some people I know love it straight away. I just add 1 heaped dessert spoon into my mini processor and blend it with all my other frozen yoghurt ingredients. Then add the norm of coconutty granola and goji berries. With the addition of the Basil seeds this makes the yoghurt so much more filling and due to the continued increase in size that occurs with the seeds in your tummy you feel full for a lot longer too. I am still going to top up with a piece of toast but only because I am not sure how long my meetup will be and I really don't want to tempt fate and be persuaded by the sugary cupcake smells.
So the meetup went great and I was too busy to be worried about the cakes and sweets however afterwards I did need some lunch otherwise it was going to be another 2 hours before being able to eat something at home. With the options available I decided on a Vegetable Pot Pie and Spring Rolls. The Pot Pie was amazing!! I have never had such a tasty little vegtable pie ever! For just 50 THB - $1.85. I am going to go down next week and get a few for our freezer. After such an amazing little pie I was really let down by the spring rolls. I obviously knew they were deep fried but if done properly they shouldn't be too oily. Unfortunately these were swimming in oil. I would have preferred to have 2 pies. Oh well at least I know for next time. Main thing at the moment though is no sugar so that's where the importance lies!!
For the afternoon I was back at home by 2.30ish and demolished a massive bowl of salad followed by an equally large bowl of popcorn about an hour or so later. I usually eat popcorn with 1/2 tsp of icing sugar sprinkled over the top as well as salt and by the time you finish the popcorn a lot of the sugar and salt is sitting at the bottom of the bowl however after having just salt on the popcorn I thought if you are really feeling like something sweet then some homemade popcorn with a little sugar dusted on is a pretty safe bet. Of course if your covering it in big spoonfuls then it's a completely different story but a little sprinkle is not going to be any major problem. Once you have removed sugar from your diet that little bit of sugar will be plenty.
For dinner it was a roasted chicken leg with a baked potato and veg. Easy and super tasty!! No real cravings today however more boredom was the problem which is an issue for many. When boredom strikes people often graze the fridge and the pantry and if there is lots of unhealthy options to choose from then its easy to get into trouble. If only healthy foods are kept in the house then boredom eating ends up either also being boring or if you really are truly hungry then you are going to end up with a healthy snack.
Friday 6th June
Today is a good day for 2 reasons. I don't have a cafe to go to and our puppy is off for his first haircut. I really felt like a muffin and eggs for some reason so I had a little cook up. Toasted my sourdough muffin (sourdough does not have sugar) and then stirfried some leftover veg from the night before and then added a couple of eggs. Covered the muffin in homemade sugar free chilli salsa and topped with the egg and veg mix.
Lunch time was nothing to exciting as I had a big bowl of salad with a chicken leg left over from dinner on Wednesday and some small roast potatoes with skin on. It was a big salad once it was all mixed together however I was not hungry until dinner time. I was really suprised. Although I was busy doing stuff around the house I just didn't think about food once. I didn't feel the need to have an afternoon snack as I knew my lunch was plenty big enough to sustain me and the bub till dinner.
The hubby came home and made a delish Arrabiata penne pasta for dinner and then a skillet pan waffle that he had found on the internet that day. My husband loves to cook and is really good at it so when he finds a recipe it's always a success. I seem to have a few more mishaps with new recipes whereas he doesn't (can be very annoying!!) Now when he came home and told me that he wanted to make the waffle I asked what was in the batter. Did it have sugar and if it did I wouldn't be able to have it. Luckily the batter it's self was sugar free but toppings would be the clincher when it came to whether I would have any. We decided on some marscapone cheese and a homemade sugar free berry compote that we have on our granola. Hubby wanted to have honey on his which would have been delish however I wanted to stick with my sugar free week. While the waffle was being cooked I was having a little internal struggle about my toppings. Did I cave in and have a sugary topping or did I stay strong. Once it was cooked I made up my dessert with the cheese and compote and then stood looking at my coconut sugar syrup that I had made. Do I or don't I. I decided not to have it and enjoyed my dessert although it just felt like it was missing something. It really did need something sweet to just top it off. Sooooo. When I finished and took my plate to the kitchen I decided to break of a small bit and make a small mouthful up and topped it with a little syrup. It was such a delish waffle and my hubby had gone to such trouble to cook up both dinner and dessert I just wanted to try it how I thought it should be. I am so glad I did! That little mouthful with a little syrup was so good! As I was already full from dinner and dessert I wasn't tempted to eat a big bunch covered in syrup but I was just content knowing that I had a little bit and really got to have the taste that was missing. Also I was much happier having a little sugar on account of my hubby's effort in the kitchen than a cafe that wouldn't care what I ordered as long as I spent money. A little 'light bulb' moment for me.
Saturday 7th June
After having a look on the internet yesterday at a cafe on our street that we hadn't seen before we ventured out to hunt it down. Simple - Natural Kitchen was lovely!! Rustic sort of atmosphere and really creative tasty food. Hubby got the toast platter and yoghurt, muesli plate and I got a veg fritatta. A coffee and pineapple/beetroot juice later and we were off to hunt down another coffee shop we had found online. Lucky for us it was only 100m away. 'What If' was another gorgeous little cafe however with more hearty foods (they are known for their slow cooked meals) and really tasty coffee. Quick stop there for a coffee and just after we walked out we found another little breaky place right next door. When it rains it pours!!! Seriously! We now have numerous we can go to on the weekends and both Simple and What If have outdoor sections we can bring the dog when it cools down a little.
Back at home for lunch I was already starving so just an easy leftover pasta and salad lunch for me and not one hint of a sugar craving all afternoon. However..... in saying that the growing belly was really uncomfortable yesterday and I think may have impacted on my usually large appetite so in a way it was both a blessing and a curse. The biggest problem was when it came to dinner!!!
Hubby set off to the shops to get stuff for dinner which always is a fun time when he gets back as I never know which way his inspiration has taken him. I can almost guarantee that the kiddies are going to be begging for dad to cook on the weekends after having mums boring food all week! But thats ok with me. I have very fond memories of my dad doing eggs for breaky on the weekend when we weren't all over the city doing sport.
So dinner was a butterflied whole chicken on a the griddle pan and an extremely tasty potato salad. The chicken flavouring and the sauce/vinaigrette to put on top of the crispy skin was amazing! Unfortunately I just couldn't eat much as the bub was just squishing my stomach. Not a total disaster as I am very much looking forward to a toasted chicken sandwich on Sunday! Successes all round I say :)
Sunday 8th June
I Made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other than my small sprinkling of coconut syrup on Friday night I did it! Monday to Saturday Sugar-free. How do I feel???
Happy for completing it and loving the feeling of being able to have whatever I want on this lovely sunny Sunday. As I was feeding the dog I thought 'I am going to celebrate with a delish chocolate milk with my breaky and then I saw some fresh fruit in my fridge that I bought off a cart on Friday and was really taken by that. Now as I sit here with my fruit plate finished I really don't feel like a choc milk. The fruit was sweet enough and I am nicely full (for the moment).
The biggest thing I noticed when I used to do sugar/bad food on Sunday only is that all week you think of all the things you can eat on Sunday. We really have no holds barred for Sunday!! If we want it we can have it. However once Sunday rolls around and you have the supermarket/fast food etc at your feet your mind changes a little bit. What sweet thing do I REALLY want. I don't want a lolly here and there that just happen to be lying around the house. I don't want a choc milk or a just a piece of chocolate sitting in my fridge. Once you can have anything your decision all of a sudden becomes a lot harder because you don't want to waste your Sunday sweet food on something boring.... I must say though some Sundays I do eat anything and everything around me and then on others I am super selective on what I want to have and what the interesting thing is that the weeks that I have struggled the most or have had to turn down some amazing treats are followed by the most picky Sunday choices.
What I really learnt doing this!
Now I agree that life is all about enjoying life and for me I know that food is a big part of that but not all food. Good quality, delish food! That's not to say that I don't enjoy a good hamburger, pizza, fried chicken once in a while cause I really do but if the option to have these foods are only very occasional then your become more selective of what you really want. The decision becomes a lot more involved and you also enjoy the food a lot more when more thought has been involved.
As I woke up this morning and started thinking about what I would/could eat today I realised that over the past few months as I had become lax in monitoring my sugar intake I really missed the feelings that Sunday gave me. I had both a sense of accomplishment of staying sugar-free Monday to Saturday as well as a child like 'woohoo' what can I eat today!!
The other thing that I realised mainly on Friday night was that if you are going to break the sugar-free Monday -Saturday then make sure it's for something truly worthwhile! So that afterwards you feel good about your decision and get right back on track immediately after. Remember!!!! Its what you do 80% of the time that shows so make sure the 80% is good!!! oh and Fun of course!!!
That's it from me for my week of getting back to sugar free!!!
Looking forward to doing it all again next week and beyond!
I had lunch at a delish coffee bistro called Roast Coffee & Eatery which I have been a few times so I knew that there was both sweet and savoury to choose from. Still full from breakfast I chose a roasted tomato soup which was fantastic and shared a salad with my friend minus the dressing. The one problem I had was the iced tea! I asked for no sugar but the fresh lychee in the tea made it so sweet that I couldn't be 100% sure it was only the fruit that was making it taste sweet so I decided to leave it. As we chatted and time went passed I started to get hungry again and struggled to find something small to eat that wasn't sweet. If I wasn't determined to cut the sugar I would have caved and ordered some cake or pudding just because it was easier to choose. My friend recommended some mushrooms on toast that I didn't see and it was fantastic. So much better than a dessert could have ever been and made me feel good. A little bonus! :)
Following on from a late running lunch I was lucky to not get afternoon munchies however after no time at all it was out again for dinner with another friend who just flew into town. A nice pub called No Idea provided a great menu to choose from and made dinner an easy choice which when you are trying to avoid something can often be very difficult. A garlic sauteed portobello mushroom and duck breast and I was happily heading home with a successful sugar free day!
Tuesday 3rd June
Waking up I was lucky I was craving a delish frozen yoghurt and muesli breaky. One of my fav go to meals for both breakfast and afternoon tea if I feel like something sweet. Simply blend a frozen banana, frozen blueberries, a couple of dessert spoonfuls of full fat no added sugar yoghurt and 2 teaspoons of basil or chia seeds until smooth. I then top with homemade sugar free Coconutty Granola from Sarah Wilson's I quit sugar book which I add 2 cups of oats and don't add any sweetener.
The key really to going sugar free is to increase the fat intake, especially saturated fat. It is nothing to be afraid of and can really help to curb any sugar withdrawals you may have.
After my yoghurt and muesli I was still hungry (happens a lot when pregnant haha) so a couple of pieces of toast with butter and peanut butter or vegemite and cheese and I was good to go! At least for now.
Anyways off to shopping now so will see how the rest of the day pans out. With no plan for lunch and nothing really in the fridge until I go food shopping this afternoon this is sometimes the hardest part. Eating on the go and choosing foods when out and about when hungry can make it difficult but having a resolve to keep sugar free will keep me on the straight and narrow. I hope!
Okay so shopping was no problem, in and out in 30 mins and bought 2 nappy bags! Success :) Such a happy little camper!! I was home in no time and was able to tuck into a nice salad as soon as I got back. I also saw in the fridge some leftover brown rice and 2 more roast veg puffs. The rest of lunch was sorted!! Nothing fancy but I knew it would taste good and was filling and healthy. So I heated up a big bowl of brown rice with the 2 puffs and mixed it all together once hot with a can of tuna. I have this thing about tuna and rice. To me it is so tasty! Especially when the rice is puffy and sticky and hot and the tuna is cold. Weird I know and it is definitely not a pregnancy thing cause I have been eating it for years!
After 2 servings of rice in my lunch mix up I knew I would be full for a while but I wasn't expecting the sugar cravings. About 3pm (when I would normally munch on a couple of dark choc digestives and maybe 1-2 butterscotch lollies) I was stalking the kitchen for something to eat. I have a tray of 4 glass bowls that sit on our kitchen bench and silly me filled them up last week with different types of wrapped lollies. What was I thinking!! Well i think it was along the lines of 'mmmmmm 1 or 2 here and there wont hurt and I can restrain myself'. Never has that been true in the past so why would I at 8.5 months pregnant think it would be ok now!!!!!! Nonetheless I was extremely happy with myself as I did not cave in to the lollies screaming my name. Nope I opened up a box of water crackers (sugar free) and cut up slices of cheese and an apple and ate that for afternoon tea. This is usually my normal but after a few sweet things.
We always have dinner at 7pm so when I started to get hungry at 6 I knew I only had to hold on for a little while. Still hard but why ruin a perfectly good pork chop dinner with some stupid snack so close. Needless to say I was famished by the time dinner was ready and I swear the baby was fighting me for best position at the table so as to get a hold of the oncoming food! Dinner was delish and filling (thanks to the fat staying on the pork chop during both cooking and eating) and I went to bed a very happy chappy with 2 days sugar free!!
Wednesday 4th June
Woke up last night at 1.30am (seems to be a regular occurrence now with the bub) and swear I felt hungry. It's only happened one other time during the pregnancy but it's soooooo annoying!! I'm far to lazy to go downstairs and find something healthy to eat at that time plus the dog would wake up and follow me downstairs thinking it was breakfast or play time. So I had some water and went back to sleep.
With having to be out the house reasonably quickly this morning (within 2 hours of being up) with many things to do before I leave I went for my never fail same breaky as yesterday! Frozen fruit yoghurt with the granola. After a comment yesterday about photos I took one today and will add it soon. I really can't stress how delish this really is!!!!!! If you have sweet cravings in the arvo of after dinner or even at 1.30am whip this frozen yoghurt up and it will definitely do the trick!
A cold full fat milky coffee added to some toast with PB and one with cheese and vegemite and I am ready to head off to my Baby and Bumps meeting. I know the food seems like a lot but I graze breaky over about an hour as I know I can't eat until at least 12 so it helps make me full without eating a massive meal in one 20 min setting. Doesn't mean I wont get hungry before 12 but with an apple in my bag I can handle it.
Soooo.... After my Bumps meeting we were off to lunch. Breaky had served me well and I wasn't hungry much at all. Apple still in bag we headed off to lunch to a gorgeous cafe called Cafe Tartine. I was swayed and excited by the possibility of a real french baguette. Nice and crunchy but when I really started to think about what I would have in it then my idea had to change. I love a good baguette with just butter, good ham and seeded mustard. Pure heaven for me! However with a no go with the cold ham I was at a loss to choose what to have. With a quick glance over the menu I happen to see a lamb angel hair pasta dish. Success! I love pasta no matter what and I could be pretty sure that the lamb ragu sauce wouldn't have sugar in it so that was my mind made up. Wow!! It was Delish! I could have easily had a second serving for dessert. It was only a small serving size so I really did rationalise having a second round. After lunch some of the girls ordered dessert and although I was tempted by my favs of creme brulee and coconut panna cotta I just really didn't feel like anything sweet. It was so nice to finally be back in a state where I wasn't craving sweet things after every meal.
Following on from lunch I had a wander around the shops and found myself at home hungry. Again.... So with a big bowl of salad sitting in the fridge I happily demolished that and then an hour or so later I was having my afternoon tea of sliced apple and cheese on a water cracker. No afternoon lollies screaming at me which was nice also considering I was so tired I was quite surprised that I didn't have any sugar cravings.
Luckily for dinner to roll around there was not much thinking or planning required. Leftovers from Sunday were shoved in the oven and a delish meal of Chorizo, new potatoes and chicken on a bed of green veg was ready in an hour. Zero sugar cravings after dinner was just the icing on the cake.
Thursday 5th June
I don't know why I have done this to myself this week but all I can think of is I would have eaten so much sugar this week if I hadn't decided to kick it!!!! 3 cafe meetings in a week all with countless delish possabilites to be eaten would have seen me talking myself into having something sweet at each place. Special occasion, new place, all sorts of excuses and reasons why would have popped up.
On that note I have a Nutrition discussion over coffee this morning which I am holding at a lovely little cafe next door to my apartment. They have wonderful cupcakes, truffles and coffees however they also have great pot pies, spring rolls and pad thai so I know I can have something if I get peckish minus the pad thai however as it contains sugar.
So starting the morning off knowing I am going to a tempting place and even with my resolve building everyday I have to plan smart and make sure I am nice a full before walking out that door. Today for breaky I went agin with my frozen yoghurt but I added in some coconut basil seed pudding. My sister-in-law got me on to this and after a few mistrials I have found the way I love to eat it. In Thailand you can't buy Chia seeds easily but you can get Basil seeds. Same family, similar health benefits and same thing occurs when put in liquid. All I do is put 1/4 cup of seeds in a container mixed with 150ml of full cream coconut milk and leave in the fridge over night. The next morning you have a lovely thick pudding. Due to the abnormal texture of the seeds after they soak up water it can take a bit getting used to it however on the other hand some people I know love it straight away. I just add 1 heaped dessert spoon into my mini processor and blend it with all my other frozen yoghurt ingredients. Then add the norm of coconutty granola and goji berries. With the addition of the Basil seeds this makes the yoghurt so much more filling and due to the continued increase in size that occurs with the seeds in your tummy you feel full for a lot longer too. I am still going to top up with a piece of toast but only because I am not sure how long my meetup will be and I really don't want to tempt fate and be persuaded by the sugary cupcake smells.
So the meetup went great and I was too busy to be worried about the cakes and sweets however afterwards I did need some lunch otherwise it was going to be another 2 hours before being able to eat something at home. With the options available I decided on a Vegetable Pot Pie and Spring Rolls. The Pot Pie was amazing!! I have never had such a tasty little vegtable pie ever! For just 50 THB - $1.85. I am going to go down next week and get a few for our freezer. After such an amazing little pie I was really let down by the spring rolls. I obviously knew they were deep fried but if done properly they shouldn't be too oily. Unfortunately these were swimming in oil. I would have preferred to have 2 pies. Oh well at least I know for next time. Main thing at the moment though is no sugar so that's where the importance lies!!
For the afternoon I was back at home by 2.30ish and demolished a massive bowl of salad followed by an equally large bowl of popcorn about an hour or so later. I usually eat popcorn with 1/2 tsp of icing sugar sprinkled over the top as well as salt and by the time you finish the popcorn a lot of the sugar and salt is sitting at the bottom of the bowl however after having just salt on the popcorn I thought if you are really feeling like something sweet then some homemade popcorn with a little sugar dusted on is a pretty safe bet. Of course if your covering it in big spoonfuls then it's a completely different story but a little sprinkle is not going to be any major problem. Once you have removed sugar from your diet that little bit of sugar will be plenty.
For dinner it was a roasted chicken leg with a baked potato and veg. Easy and super tasty!! No real cravings today however more boredom was the problem which is an issue for many. When boredom strikes people often graze the fridge and the pantry and if there is lots of unhealthy options to choose from then its easy to get into trouble. If only healthy foods are kept in the house then boredom eating ends up either also being boring or if you really are truly hungry then you are going to end up with a healthy snack.
Friday 6th June
Today is a good day for 2 reasons. I don't have a cafe to go to and our puppy is off for his first haircut. I really felt like a muffin and eggs for some reason so I had a little cook up. Toasted my sourdough muffin (sourdough does not have sugar) and then stirfried some leftover veg from the night before and then added a couple of eggs. Covered the muffin in homemade sugar free chilli salsa and topped with the egg and veg mix.
Lunch time was nothing to exciting as I had a big bowl of salad with a chicken leg left over from dinner on Wednesday and some small roast potatoes with skin on. It was a big salad once it was all mixed together however I was not hungry until dinner time. I was really suprised. Although I was busy doing stuff around the house I just didn't think about food once. I didn't feel the need to have an afternoon snack as I knew my lunch was plenty big enough to sustain me and the bub till dinner.
The hubby came home and made a delish Arrabiata penne pasta for dinner and then a skillet pan waffle that he had found on the internet that day. My husband loves to cook and is really good at it so when he finds a recipe it's always a success. I seem to have a few more mishaps with new recipes whereas he doesn't (can be very annoying!!) Now when he came home and told me that he wanted to make the waffle I asked what was in the batter. Did it have sugar and if it did I wouldn't be able to have it. Luckily the batter it's self was sugar free but toppings would be the clincher when it came to whether I would have any. We decided on some marscapone cheese and a homemade sugar free berry compote that we have on our granola. Hubby wanted to have honey on his which would have been delish however I wanted to stick with my sugar free week. While the waffle was being cooked I was having a little internal struggle about my toppings. Did I cave in and have a sugary topping or did I stay strong. Once it was cooked I made up my dessert with the cheese and compote and then stood looking at my coconut sugar syrup that I had made. Do I or don't I. I decided not to have it and enjoyed my dessert although it just felt like it was missing something. It really did need something sweet to just top it off. Sooooo. When I finished and took my plate to the kitchen I decided to break of a small bit and make a small mouthful up and topped it with a little syrup. It was such a delish waffle and my hubby had gone to such trouble to cook up both dinner and dessert I just wanted to try it how I thought it should be. I am so glad I did! That little mouthful with a little syrup was so good! As I was already full from dinner and dessert I wasn't tempted to eat a big bunch covered in syrup but I was just content knowing that I had a little bit and really got to have the taste that was missing. Also I was much happier having a little sugar on account of my hubby's effort in the kitchen than a cafe that wouldn't care what I ordered as long as I spent money. A little 'light bulb' moment for me.
Saturday 7th June
After having a look on the internet yesterday at a cafe on our street that we hadn't seen before we ventured out to hunt it down. Simple - Natural Kitchen was lovely!! Rustic sort of atmosphere and really creative tasty food. Hubby got the toast platter and yoghurt, muesli plate and I got a veg fritatta. A coffee and pineapple/beetroot juice later and we were off to hunt down another coffee shop we had found online. Lucky for us it was only 100m away. 'What If' was another gorgeous little cafe however with more hearty foods (they are known for their slow cooked meals) and really tasty coffee. Quick stop there for a coffee and just after we walked out we found another little breaky place right next door. When it rains it pours!!! Seriously! We now have numerous we can go to on the weekends and both Simple and What If have outdoor sections we can bring the dog when it cools down a little.
Back at home for lunch I was already starving so just an easy leftover pasta and salad lunch for me and not one hint of a sugar craving all afternoon. However..... in saying that the growing belly was really uncomfortable yesterday and I think may have impacted on my usually large appetite so in a way it was both a blessing and a curse. The biggest problem was when it came to dinner!!!
Hubby set off to the shops to get stuff for dinner which always is a fun time when he gets back as I never know which way his inspiration has taken him. I can almost guarantee that the kiddies are going to be begging for dad to cook on the weekends after having mums boring food all week! But thats ok with me. I have very fond memories of my dad doing eggs for breaky on the weekend when we weren't all over the city doing sport.
So dinner was a butterflied whole chicken on a the griddle pan and an extremely tasty potato salad. The chicken flavouring and the sauce/vinaigrette to put on top of the crispy skin was amazing! Unfortunately I just couldn't eat much as the bub was just squishing my stomach. Not a total disaster as I am very much looking forward to a toasted chicken sandwich on Sunday! Successes all round I say :)
Sunday 8th June
I Made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other than my small sprinkling of coconut syrup on Friday night I did it! Monday to Saturday Sugar-free. How do I feel???
Happy for completing it and loving the feeling of being able to have whatever I want on this lovely sunny Sunday. As I was feeding the dog I thought 'I am going to celebrate with a delish chocolate milk with my breaky and then I saw some fresh fruit in my fridge that I bought off a cart on Friday and was really taken by that. Now as I sit here with my fruit plate finished I really don't feel like a choc milk. The fruit was sweet enough and I am nicely full (for the moment).
The biggest thing I noticed when I used to do sugar/bad food on Sunday only is that all week you think of all the things you can eat on Sunday. We really have no holds barred for Sunday!! If we want it we can have it. However once Sunday rolls around and you have the supermarket/fast food etc at your feet your mind changes a little bit. What sweet thing do I REALLY want. I don't want a lolly here and there that just happen to be lying around the house. I don't want a choc milk or a just a piece of chocolate sitting in my fridge. Once you can have anything your decision all of a sudden becomes a lot harder because you don't want to waste your Sunday sweet food on something boring.... I must say though some Sundays I do eat anything and everything around me and then on others I am super selective on what I want to have and what the interesting thing is that the weeks that I have struggled the most or have had to turn down some amazing treats are followed by the most picky Sunday choices.
What I really learnt doing this!
Now I agree that life is all about enjoying life and for me I know that food is a big part of that but not all food. Good quality, delish food! That's not to say that I don't enjoy a good hamburger, pizza, fried chicken once in a while cause I really do but if the option to have these foods are only very occasional then your become more selective of what you really want. The decision becomes a lot more involved and you also enjoy the food a lot more when more thought has been involved.
As I woke up this morning and started thinking about what I would/could eat today I realised that over the past few months as I had become lax in monitoring my sugar intake I really missed the feelings that Sunday gave me. I had both a sense of accomplishment of staying sugar-free Monday to Saturday as well as a child like 'woohoo' what can I eat today!!
The other thing that I realised mainly on Friday night was that if you are going to break the sugar-free Monday -Saturday then make sure it's for something truly worthwhile! So that afterwards you feel good about your decision and get right back on track immediately after. Remember!!!! Its what you do 80% of the time that shows so make sure the 80% is good!!! oh and Fun of course!!!
That's it from me for my week of getting back to sugar free!!!
Looking forward to doing it all again next week and beyond!
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