Not So Sweet May: How I Stayed Away from Sugar

First, wow. I got such a great response from yesterday's post about my month without refined sugar. The low end of that is that most people want to try and kick their sugar habit, but don't think they can. At the risk of sounding more like a motivational speaker, if I can do this for 31 days (two more left) then you can do this. This post is going to be about the foods and products that helped me stick to it. Along with tips and tricks, you have to have some kind of motivation to see it through. For me it was putting myself first and wanting to feel better every day. 

Here is what a normal day of eating used to look like for me:

Breakfast: Organic Chocolate Os with Skim Milk. Weekends were maybe pancakes and syrup.

Lunch: Salad, Sandwich, Leftovers from previous night. Followed by a cookie when I could get my hands on one or something sweet.

Dinner: Grilled chicken or fish, lots of veggies. Followed by ice cream an hour later. Maybe two ice creams.

So essentially I was having sugar for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is not accounting for the random candy that might be in the kitchen at the office that I would eat in between meals, or the junk snacks I might pick up in the checkout line. THIS is why I had to get it out of my system, and it's also why I know that if you are ready to do this, you can. Not that it is easy, but that you can definitely do it.

During the month of May I also had two and a half weeks of teething, sick kids, causing me to miss work or have to find time in the days or evenings to get work done. And sick babies do not sleep well, especially when they have three new teeth coming in at the exact same time. THREE TEETH. So you could say that stress levels were high in May and sleep levels were low. You can do this even with stress.

This May we had three birthday parties, Mother's Day, a beach weekend, and a three day holiday weekend. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, candy, cake, ice box pie... you name it, it was there. There is always going to be "something" in life, you just have to decide it's time anyway. 

Please meet my new best sugar free friend:  

When I decided to do this I knew I was going to have to change the way I started my day. I ate cereal mostly because it was fast and easy. I decided Smoothies were the way to go. Since I threw away my last blender in a hormonal pregnant moment 3.5 years ago, I researched and was ready to invest. Lucky for me this little sucker (officially the Ninja Master Prep Pro) was about $125 less than I was ready to spend. It shreds spinach like a pro and is also great at making baby food. Werk.

Every day I have a smoothie, essentially a salad in a cup. Every morning I am having a banana, an apple, a cup of blueberries, and over two cups of spinach or kale. I add in other fruits and mix it with either unsweetened almond milk or coconut water, but that is the base. It is sweet and totally satisfying. And when I add frozen fruits it tastes like ice cream. If you are just starting out there is a great instagram account called @simplegreensmoothies. They post a new green smoothie recipe every day. They also made this handy chart: 

They say the formula serves two, but as far as I am concerned a 32 oz smoothie is all for me. The first two weeks, if my sweet tooth was bad enough, I would have a smoothie for dinner or half of one as a snack. I always add cinnamon, my other best friend these last 31 days. 

Smoothies were my main tool. I didn't limit any other real, unprocessed foods as long as I was staying away from refined sugar. To keep me from feeling hungry I made sure to eat lots of real whole foods. Most foods that are advertised as "fat free" have added sugar or chemicals to make up for the fact that removing fat removes flavor. 

When I was on the go I had lots of Chipotle (I get the veggie bowl with green salsa and no cheese or sour cream), and at home we had our normal grilled dinners and sandwich lunches. We use Ezekiel Bread. It has no sugar.

Speaking of Ezekiel Bread, they also make a Cinnamon Raisin version. After my two weeks without dried fruit were up, I was all over toasted cinnamon raisin bread with unsweetened peanut butter.

Unsweetened peanut butter was a handy tool all month long. Find a peanut butter that has the following ingredient list: dry roasted peanuts. That's it. No sugar, no salt, just peanuts. Good fat that can go on anything. This was another favorite snack when I was back on with dried fruit: 

Never underestimate the power of a good, sweet, apple. An organic Honey Crisp apple can solve just about any sugar craving that came up. Add some peanut butter and you've got extra happies. 

When dried fruit came into the picture, clearly my snack options opened up. I now usually have a Lara Bar on me. They have various bars with different levels of ingredients, but my favorite is Peanut Butter Cookie. Ingredient list: peanuts, dates, sea salt. That's it. It tastes like a peanut butter cookie. 

pic from weelicious.com

If you want to start this now, here is some good news.... It's berry and cherry season! Nature's candy. Sweet Washington cherries, strawberries that smell amazing, raspberries, blueberries... all of it. So great when you need a sweet fix. If you find out which fruits are ripe and in season, they are going to be perfectly sweet and delicious. 

When you have your veggies and a sweet tooth, all you need to know about is caramelization. By cooking veggies the right amount you can bring out the subtle sweet goodness in them. 

Last but not least, DRINK LOTS OF WATER. I would aim for 60 - 80oz a day. On days when I wouldn't have enough water, the cravings were always worse. When I had plenty of water things were much easier.

That's really it. Cooking at home a lot also makes this easier and being prepared for the cravings. 

If any questions are left after the above, I'm happy to answer them. And for lots more smoothie info, as well as what our family is eating, you can follow Raising Texas on Instagram. 

Have a great weekend!

RT

28 Days and No Dessert... The Results are In

I feel confident that I can tell you how Not So Sweet May went, even though I still have three more days left. Technically three days, three hours, and twenty eight minutes. But it will be less by the time I finish this post. Yay!

My May desserts.

 Quick little recap on what I did the last 28 (and next three) days:

*No refined sugar when I was aware of it. The side note is for things like eating other people's cooking. Some people add sugar to the weirdest things... like vegetables. I did my best to guess on my own, but who knows. A lot of time there is sugar in your own products that you don't think about, but I am an ingredient label reader anyway, so I already knew my bread, peanut butter, and jar pasta sauces were without sugar. 

*No processed sugar substitutes (equal, splenda, powdered stevia, etc). This was something I have been doing for a while.

*No "sugar free" products. See above.

*For the first half of the month I stayed away from dried fruits. They are a natural sugar, but they have a really high sugar content and I didn't want to feed my previous demons. 

*I also stayed away from raw honey & pure maple syrup, even though they are natural sugars. 

*I don't normally have any caffeine beyond a cup of tea once or twice a week. This is an always thing for me, not just May. Although before May most of my caffeine probably came from chocolate.

And that's about it. 

Here is what I really wanted to happen this month: 

NOTHING. That might sound weird, because this month was really hard for me. If I'm being honest with myself, I wanted to be able to say, "See, I can eat as much sugar as I was eating and everything is the exact same! Go for dessert!" 

Here is what actually happened this month:

1. I stopped feeling tired all of the time. 

I really didn't get it. Both my kids sleep 11-12 hours a night. Why was I so tired? Why couldn't I fall asleep at night? Even if I did fall asleep and get a good 8 hours, why did I still wake up feeling like my head was glued to my pillow? Apparently the answer to all of the above was: because I eat so much refined sugar.

2. More than not being tired I have energy to burn.

This happened about 7 days in. More energy to actually want to get out of the house and get things done. More energy to prep kid and family meals, be on time to places, to hop out of bed instead of dragging myself out. Of course, normal stress and tiredness happens. We were up a couple hours last night with the "super scary" thunderstorm and I was dragging all day. The new energy cannot defeat a thunderstorm. But it's great and things are getting done in and out of home. 

3. No more bloating.

There is really not a lot of explaining to do here. Even when I was full of fruits and veggies and felt like I should be bloated, I wasn't. Even when I felt bloated, I still wasn't. 

4. Real weight loss.

Not water weight, or crash diet weight. The last four weeks I have watched real pounds go away. I normally don't weigh myself, but I did to see if the no sugar made a difference. One week in my weight range was the same. Two weeks in it was two pounds less. Four weeks in and I'm five pounds down. At this point I can feel the difference in my clothes, which is a good feeling.

5. No more headaches, no more mystery upset stomach.

I don't know if anyone else has ever had this issue. Mid day headaches that come out of nowhere, random stomach upset that can't be traced to anything in particular. But that's been nonexistent the last 28 days. 

6. Setting an example.

My daughter used to think that meals outside of the home meant a cookie or dessert at the end. And that is what I taught her by always having dessert. Now she doesn't think that way anymore. After just the last few weeks. 

7. Food tastes better. 
Sugar covers up the natural sweetness and flavors of food. Things taste better now which makes it easier to eat those tasty sugar free foods.

So that's where we are. And where do we go from here? The tough news for me is that I can't go back. You know that annoying saying "nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels"? Sub out "skinny" for "healthy" and it makes more sense to me. After feeling this good and knowing all of the above, I can't go back to my old norm. 

In June I'm going to try one floating day a week. That way if there is a special occasion, a delectable treat, or a needed half pint of ice cream (a joke!).... I have the flexibility to take a day off. In the mean time, I am going to look for other ways to indulge my sweet tooth that use natural sweeteners. Raw honey, dried fruit, pure maple syrup, things like that.

I know that 31 days is a long time for some people, and it was for me. Especially with the amount of sugar I was regularly consuming and how much I REALLY enjoyed that consumption. If this is something you are interested in doing, I would love to help get you through it. 

Another option is the Fed Up Challenge. If you haven't heard of the movie Fed UP, you can check out the trailer HERE. After you watch the movie they encourage a 10 day challenge that eliminates all sugar and also honey, agave, and all flour products. But it's only ten days long and there is a ton of social media support - check out #fedupchallenge. For more on that, click HERE.

This one is getting a little long, so next post I'll talk about some foods and kitchen items that got me through the cravings. It really took me the last four weeks to see and feel all of the benefits. And outside of taking on this challenge, it has not been an easy or stress free month. I know that if I can do this, you can. Maybe you don't want to, and that's fine. I'm not a judger of the sugar loving people. I was just ready to feel better. 

Now I feel like I'm selling something. 

Buy it. 

To be continued.....

RT

Embrace Your Inner Hippie

Granola... It's not just a fancy word for describing hippies anymore. It's in my kitchen and it's delish. The more I try to stay away from chemical ingredients that I've never heard of and processed food, the more I look into things I can make at home. Let's be more honest... the more I look into EASY things I can make at home. Because buying things at the store is really, really easy, but if I can easily make something at home, then I'm game. 

So at the end of the chicken salad post I told you I was using the chicken carcass to make chicken stock. That is a super easy (you are going to be seeing this word a lot in this post) process and you can use chicken stock in all kinds of ways. I put the cooked stock in the fridge overnight. The fat floats to the top and hardens. You take the stock out, spoon off the fat and trash it, then freeze the stock in whatever portions you want. Mine is laying flat in the freezer in ziplock freezer bags. 

My next move was to try out homemade granola. My husband eats granola for breakfast and my daughter loves it too, and we've never really settled on the perfect granola. Most of the time they are just too sweet. I had been eying a recipe from 100 Days of Real Food for a while and I finally pulled the trigger. I had the spices and a few other things on hand. Everything I didn't have I could find in the bulk section of our HEB. The unsweetened shredded coconut was with the dried fruits. This was a GREAT recipe to make with kids too because it involves dumping things in a bowl. I had a three year old helper who was REALLY excited about making granola. 

Here is the recipe direct from 100 Days of Real Food. It makes 3lbs of granola:

Ingredients

• 3½ cups rolled oats (if you want bars use steel cut oats so it will stick together better)
• 1 cup raw sliced almonds
• 1 cup raw cashew pieces (or walnuts or pecans) - we used pecans
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
• ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Also need – parchment paper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cover a rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, seeds and spices together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Heat the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the butter melts stir in the vanilla and salt.
4. Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.
5. Spread mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer. Bake for 75 minutes.
6. The granola will become crisp as it cools at which point you can break into pieces (if making bars) or break it up into small chunks by pounding it in a zip lock bag (if making cereal). Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Here's the sous chef showing off her dry ingredients. I did a little more stirring after this pic. 

Easy peasy honey and butter on the stove with the vanilla extract:

We mixed the wet and the dry with the spatula and then poured it on the parchment lined cookie sheet. (Look mom, I'm a real grown up who now has parchment paper!)

Seventy five minutes later, this crispy goodness came out:

and we did this to it:

And then packaged it away like this:

Later in the day my inner hippie wasn't done. (She had a big day.) I made my own hummus, which was so easy (there's the word again. Sorry) I was able to make a last minute decision to do it. There are tons of different versions and ways, this is what I did:

Lemon Garlic Hummus

2C Chickpeas (also called Garbanzo Beans) drained and rinsed

1/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice (I had two really juicy lemons and used them up)

1.5 Tablespoons of Tahini (found usually in the asian food section of your store. It's sesame seed paste)

3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

Put it all in a food processor (I did mine in the medium sized Ninja Pro canister) like so:

 Then you pulse it and this happens:

BOOM! HUMMUS! And it was SO GOOD. I'm never buying hummus again. 

I have lots of facebook friends who make their own lotion. Hummus, granola & chicken stock are just child's play. You can totally do this. Or you can still buy it all at the store. No judgement here. But this tastes so much better. Just saying. 

Peace, Love & Granola,

RT

Cooking with Kids: Honey's Chicken Salad

There are certain things that remind me of summer, and chicken salad is one of those things. It's hot outside, you're spending time by the pool, at the park, or at the beach. You open up the cooler and pull out ice cold chicken salad. Yes time. 

I might be a chicken salad snob. I usually don't like grocery store chicken salad. There's always something wrong. I have certain chicken salad rules that put me in the position of making my own or eating my moms. Chicken salad must:

1. have something crunchy in it. Celery or onion or pickle. It can't all be mush.

2. have something sweet in it. Grapes, dried fruit, apple, etc. 

3. can't be too creamy. It's like too much dressing on a salad. All you taste is dressing. Gross. 

4. none of the above apply to a shredded chicken salad. Those are a category all their own. I recommend the chicken salad from Brown Bag Deli or Nielsons Deli for examples. 

This one is going to be short and sweet. We have a sick 10 month old in the house who happens to also be getting in three top teeth and this mom needs some sleep. If you prep the chopping, etc. this is a great recipe to make with a helper. Essentially it's a lot of dumping things into bowls followed by stirring. Kids get that kind of stuff. 

Honey's Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

8-10 pickled okra, sliced

1/2 a small onion, finely chopped (about half a cup)

2 large stalks of celery, finely chopped (about half a cup)

1 cup of red grapes, cut in half (I used a cup and a half because I like the sweet)

1 apple, cut into small pieces

1/4 C chopped walnuts

1 whole chicken (I just pick up a rotisserie chicken)

1/2 C full fat mayo

1/2 C regular sour cream

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Salad is great because you can make it into exactly what you want it to be. If you like more grapes, put more grapes in. If you want it saltier, put in more pickles or okra, or whatever. Make it once to see what the flavors are like and then adjust accordingly. What I love about Honey's Chicken Salad is the light curry flavor in the dressing. Next time I might add more Curry Powder to bring it out. 

 So here's what you do... take your chicken and shred/chop it. I hate having a chicken salad with huge bites of chicken. So I do a combo shred and chop. It makes it so that with each bite of chicken you have room for the other ingredients to sneak in. 

After you have taken your chicken apart, chop, slice and cut everything else and throw it in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix your sour cream, mayo, curry, and garlic. The sour cream really cuts the richness of the mayo. I might try this again with some greek yogurt taking the place of a portion of mayo, but today I was a traditionalist. Once you have the dressing mixed and it tastes the way you want, dump it into the bowl of ingredients and stir. 

Stir and taste and stir and taste, etc. Adjust the flavors you feel are lacking. Chop more of this, add a pinch of that, do what makes it taste best to you. It's your chicken salad after all! It won't last long. This is a great one!

If you want a bonus, take the chicken carcass and drop it in a pot. Fill with water and boil to make homemade chicken stock to freeze for rice, pasta, soups, beans, or other recipes. Our little rotisserie carcass was not thrown out. If you want to cut the fat from your chicken stock, put the cooled stock in the fridge overnight and spoon the fat off of the top the next morning before putting it away.

** Not So Sweet May Update - it seems like lots of other people are giving up sugar recently. I'm a trend setter. This is the halfway point. And not to be undone, it is also nation cookie day. Jerks. Here is where I am:

It is getting easier. I am happy to say that. I am getting used to turning to fruit instead of junk sweets.

My energy is the biggest tell. It used to be so hard to get out of bed. Now, even if I have a horrible night's sleep, I can get up more easily and get my day going. This is huge. 

Again with the not as bloated, but I have also lost two real pounds. Not water weight or fluctuation, real pounds. 

So we are going along. The smoothies are what has made this doable for me. They are sweet and I sometimes imagine they are milkshakes. I will keep them forever and always. It is giving me a daily dose of fruits and veggies that I wasn't getting before. 

Hope y'all are seeing some positive differences. It's so hard. 16 more days!

-RT

What I Really Want for Mother's Day

Last night I dreamed a dream about eating cupcakes. There. So that's how Not So Sweet May is going. Let's move on.

You see a lot of these "What I really want for Mother's Day" posts this time of year. And most of them go like this: "to go to the bathroom alone," "to sleep in," "to not have to cook anything, all day," "a quiet bath," and this year I saw a few "to be completely alone for 24 hours." Mothers work hard and they deserve to want what they want for Mother's Day. Wanting these things does not mean you love your kids less than anyone else. Moms for moms over here.

I often dream about having a day completely to myself. A day where I can read an entire book, leave the house without worrying about naps or bottles, and get dressed without making sure I can throw what I'm wearing in the wash to get spit up out of it. After some thought, and a second child, I realized that Mother's Day is not really a day for me. It's a day for me AND my kids.

What do I remember about Mother's Day? Usually, my memories involve getting dressed up and going to brunch with my maternal grandparents and most of my mom's 6 siblings, their spouses, and my cousins. We were always a large crowd. The grand presentation of homemade gifts, the hallmark cards passed around the table, and the dessert. Afterward, we came home, got comfortable and had a pretty normal Sunday. Then I wondered how I would feel if my memories of Mother's Day consisted of my mother being alone while we did something with my Dad.... and when I put it that way it didn't sit well. 

As a parent, I spend a lot of time trying to create memorable experiences for my children. Things they will look back on and think of fondly. The funny thing is that most of my fond early memories with my mother were normal occurrences, or daily routines. I remember looking at her blond hair from the backseat of her car as we drove from here to there. You know the sound that a leather steering wheel makes as you complete a turn and let it glide back into position through your hands? I remember that. And I was fascinated by it. I couldn't wait to be able to drive so that I could turn a steering wheel just like my mom. 

I remember the round rug that used to be on the floor of her bathroom. I would sit there and watch her get ready for dinner with my father, an evening with friends, or a business outing in the city. There are great 1980's details like the way she used a curling iron to perfectly sweep her bangs to the side, and her favorite shade of Clinique lipstick. (It was Watermelon and has since been discontinued, but it could make a comeback!) She would sometimes ask me to help fasten her bracelets, and I would sometimes beg her to stay home instead of leaving. After she left I'd go back into her bathroom, sit down on the round rug and breath in her lingering perfume. It was Yvonne LaFleur from an eclectic shop of the same name in the Riverbend area of New Orleans. 

These memories are warm in my soul. They are forever rooted there. The feeling of being driven is a feeling of being cared for, being taken along for the ride. Witnessing the ritual of getting ready taught me the importance of taking time to dress up when the occasion calls for it. The time to be a woman, wife, friend or sister for the day or evening, and take a short break from being someone's mom. The times when my mother was likely not trying to make me feel specifically cared for or to teach me anything, those were the times that I learned and remembered.

What I really want is for Mother's Day to be day one of another new year as a mother. This year I resolve to be happy. To create a foundation for these basic moments to one day serve as a beautiful memory for my children. To make the day to day tasks more sweet for all of us. To spend time letting my 10 month old crawl all over me and not worry about spit up. To play whatever game my 3 year old wants to play. To appreciate my husband for the ways he provides, supports, and helps me to be a better mother. AND I also really want to sleep in. 

Happy Mother's Day to my mom. Through her daily actions she continues to teach me what being a mother is about. I love you to the moon and back.

My two best girls.

The Sugar Addict Quiz, Something for your Sweet Tooth & Something to do tomorrow night

I want some chocolate right now.... bad. But here I am. Eating pecans and pretending they are not pecans. Here is how my first six days have been going:

First, I never realized how mindlessly I eat. I had some idea of it, but midday Saturday I was standing around waiting on someone and I picked up a cookie and took a bite of it. And I was chewing and thinking about my breakfast smoothie and then I was like "OH shit" (I'm being honest about the moment) and I spit cookie on the floor. I really picked this cookie up without even thinking and ate. This was a big wow moment for me. I wasn't hungry, I was just eating because I was waiting. 

Things you already knew made into a fancy graphic!

  Second, I am not over the cravings BUT I can get through them. I think about eating something sweet a lot of times a day. Mostly after meals and mostly when I haven't had enough water. And it's worse when I'm at work because something sweet is more accessible. I'm hoping this craving sweets will get better in the next week. 

Third.... I am FULLY not as bloated. I feel slender in the midsection even though I am eating like normal, or maybe more than normal to curb the cravings. But I'm still sticking to 95% real, whole foods, and that has helped me so much in life to stay at an appealing weight. I should start working out again. It's been... three years plus 40 weeks of pregnancy = 2010. 

Fourth - I have not had any caffeine because I haven't needed it. I have had so much more energy. That's been a big thing that was easy to tell from the start. I don't have the roller coaster up and down with my energy. I'm really loving that and it's making a big difference in my days at home with the kids. Everyone is happier. 

So all good things so far except that I would LOVE to get to the bottom of a 1/2 pint of ice cream right now. I made cookies for Landon's teachers last night and it was smelling delish. I went in search of a sweet treat without sugar and with some healthful elements. Great for Not So Sweet May or a really good option for the kids when they want a treat. 

Ingredients:

3 mashed bananas (ripe)

1/3 cup apple sauce

2 cups oats

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine and bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes

And if you are up for some fun, I have found a mostly dramatic sugar addiction quiz online. I guess I'm not as bad as I thought. Take your quiz here.

On a non sugar related topic, I will be signing on to the Recipe for Success Instagram account tomorrow night posting live photos from their Fashion Gene Awards at Tootsies. Recipe for Success Foundation is dedicated to combating childhood obesity by changing the way our children understand, appreciate and eat their food, and by educating and mobilizing the community to provide healthier diets for children. It is a cause near and dear to my heart. So if you live in Houston you can still BUY A TICKET for the fashion show, or the fashion show plus dinner. Because of generous sponsors, 100% of proceeds will directly benefit Recipe for Success. And if you cannot attend, be sure and follow their Instagram page and like everything you see! 

And if you aren't following Raising Texas on Instagram yet, you should be.

Throw any other sweet (but not sugary) recipes my way and good luck this week! 

-RT

Not So Sweet May

Welcome to Not So Sweet May! It's been an interesting first day. I knew that I ate a decent amount of sugar daily, but I didn't realize how mindlessly I did it. For my specific Not So Sweet May, I am staying away from as many processed sugars as I can find, and some naturally occurring sugars for at least the first 2-3 weeks.  What are natural sweetners? The best and most simple definition I have come across is from Food Renegade. Simply put (by her): A natural sweetener is one that a person could reasonably expect to grow, harvest, and process themselves without the use of added chemicals, enzymes, or expensive machinery. Think things that grow on trees and bushes, maple syrup from maple trees, honey from bees, etc. The reason why this difference matters is because your body processes natural sugar differently than processed sugar. 

From Examiner.com: A natural sugar is unprocessed by chemicals and other refined processes, and so still contains the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and fibers it was ‘born’ with. As in other raw foods, the elements just listed allow the body to recognize the sugar as a real food and digest it normally in the digestive tract. This means it will end up in your blood stream, which, if you’re not diabetic, would generally be preferable as your body will deal with the sugar accordingly.

A processed sugar is devoid of pretty much everything except the sugar/fructose or other concentrated sugar derivatives. This means it is considered foreign to the body and is thus digested by the liver and turned to triglycerides and stored as fat. Too much of it will make you fat, and also your body is not recognizing it as food and you’ll still be hungry, making you eat more and voila, around in circles you go!

I don't want to be a total downer because I love sugar and dessert so much, but if you want to know the super scary truth about what daily refined sugar intake can do to your body, click here. 

So let's move on. During the first part of the month I am going to try and avoid some of the more concentrated natural sugars like dried fruits, honey & maple syrup. I really want to try and get my taste for super sweet sugars out of my system. I am also staying away from "sugar free" products, because that isn't going to cut my cravings and I want the benefits of the natural sugars. 

One big hurdle this month is going to be my typical breakfast of Cascadia Farms Organic Chocolate Os. Mornings are hectic with two young kids, so I made a plan a few weeks ago to combat this: Smoothies. I made a slight investment in the Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender and I started making smoothies the day it came. I really love this product because it is super easy to clean and I discovered that it is AMAZING for making baby food.

The other great side effect of making a smoothie for breakfast: my kids both want to eat it. I make enough for me, our 3 year old and for our 9 month old as well. Landy has hers on the side of her eggs or waffles, Will has his with a few organic Os to keep him busy while I throw it together. 

I'm not really following any secret recipes. I usually throw in a handful of spinach and whatever fruits or veggies I have on hand. Sometimes Greek yogurt, sometimes coconut water, sometimes almond milk. Frozen fruit is a great addition to give it more of a treat feel, and I love a dash of cinnamon to give it some more flavor. If you are looking for smoothie inspiration, I am finding it all over Instagram.

A breakfast smoothie for everyone.

Some of my favorite combos plus chai seeds.

 Tonight I did dinner on my own, and had a big lunch, so I am having a two smoothie day. While I made my dinner I made baby food for tomorrow. I keep falling in love with this stupid blender system.

Dinner on the left, baby food on the right

Dinner and baby food after

I can already tell that this is going to be a great month for finding ways to keep our entire family eating more real, natural foods. I feel like I learned a lot just on the first day. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I'm excited about how I'll feel in two weeks. If you've joined in, hope your first day wasn't too bad. This weekend is going to be tough. We have a family get together and those always include dessert. For daily updates be sure to follow the Raising Texas Instagram account and #notsosweetmay.

I'll be dreaming of chocolate cake tonight, but I've got some great recipes coming up this month that should help curb your sweet tooth. 

More to come next week!

RT