Anyone up for a (added) no-sugar challenge?

[mightybee]

I saw this on another board. The idea is to cut all added sugars from your diet for 10 days. Im really curious to see if i can stick to it and how I'll feel after. My diet is pretty good, but I'm not happy with the increase in processed, snacky foods I've been purchasing for convience and to satisfy Dylan's picky palate. I like the idea of only cutting added sugars because no way am I doing a cleanse where I can't have milk for my coffee!

This is the one that looked reasonable to me:
www.today.com/health/nosugartoday-everything-you-need-know-t26301

Anyone want to join me? I'd love the support! I think I'm going to start July 6th so I can have the week/weekend to meal plan and grocery shop. If you'd like to join, maybe we could use this thread to brainstorm meals, snacks, etc. and then have a new thread for support once we start.

[versed]

This is interesting - I'm going to think about joining you!

Although, would consuming all the sugary items in the house until then be bad?

[mightybee]

Jun 28, 2015 7:13:51 GMT -5 versed said:

This is interesting - I'm going to think about joining you!

Although, would consuming all the sugary items in the house until then be bad?

Well, I think it would be smart to get rid of any temptation before starting. Whatever that looks like ;-)

[aylafsu1881]

I would love to do it but I think I will have to wait. I am needing all the ice cream with this preg.
I did something similar when I cut out soda and it was amazing how good I felt after kicking all that sugar.

[nursedesi]

Awesome. I'm in. I so need to this! My hardest thing will be giving up cereal for breakfast. When should we start?

[somethingcleverer]

I'll try! I have cut out sugar previously and it did feel really good. I'm just going to miss it in my coffee

[heatherbee]

I'll join but under the condition you won't kick me out for keeping my coffee with sugar. it's the first week of summer school teaching and I need it. My students need me to have it too .

[mightybee]

Jun 28, 2015 9:19:25 GMT -5 nursedesi said:

Awesome. I'm in. I so need to this! My hardest thing will be giving up cereal for breakfast. When should we start?

nursedesi I was thinking of next Monday the 6th to give time to plan out meals, snacks, and grocery shop. And because I will want fried dough on July 4th. But I'm open to whatever works best for everyone!

[xanthepants]

Well I'm cutting out gluten so essentially I'm cutting out all processed foods as much as possible for a while so the 10 day thing is probably doable for me. I can probably coincide that part of it with yours. I'm doing the gluten thing as soon as the cake and cupcakes run out because .... Well I'm not stupid!!! Heehee.

[mommymadness]

I want to and probably need to do this but I don't know that I have the will!! I LURVE all the SUGAR!!!

[mightybee]

I'm excited to have you guys join!

As we prepare for the 10 day challenge, I thought we could share some challenges we anticipate as well as some ideas for meals and snacks. Being prepared will help us be successful!

[mightybee]

Challenges:

Finding replacements for my nightly sweet craving.

Being aware of hidden sugars in unexpected places (condiments, canned beans, etc).

Getting Dylan on board with some of the added sugar-free stuff. One motivator to do this challenge for me was seeing how D's consumption of prepackaged foods and treats has increased. Because he's picky and convenience food is convenient, I've seen myself buying more and more of this stuff. It's really made me think hard about my role in giving him a healthy diet and teaching him about eating healthy. My diet is pretty good, but I would love it if I could incorporate more healthful foods into D's diet instead of relying on the more processed stuff simply because I know he will eat it. It's hard! I know he won't eat everything, but I'm hoping for a few small victories.

[britbratjf]

Jun 28, 2015 9:00:57 GMT -5 aylafsu1881 said:

I would love to do it but I think I will have to wait. I am needing all the ice cream with this preg.
I did something similar when I cut out soda and it was amazing how good I felt after kicking all that sugar.

Uh yes I've been eating ice cream every night with this pregnancy. But I did do the healthy thing & switch to frozen yogurt....

[britbratjf]

mightybee it's not a no sugar recipe but I make these protein bars that Dagny loves & I feel like they're at least a lot healthier than store bought granola bars.

Melt together 1 cup honey & 1 cup peanut butter, stir in 3 cups of old fashioned oats, spread in an 8x8 pan and refrigerate overnight. You can cut them into small bars & store in the fridge for quick snacks. I add a few chocolate chips to mine too

[nursedesi]

I'm quickly starting to spazz about this! My bread has hfcs in it, my mayo has sugar in it. I have no idea what I'll eat.

Eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Home made mac and cheese for lunch? Pasta, shredded cheese and milk.

Then steak or chicken for supper.

[paddyb]

Good luck to all of you, I just don't think I could do that! Although I should work on cutting it back at least a little.

[pinkluna]

Jun 29, 2015 16:00:58 GMT -5 paddyb said:

Good luck to all of you, I just don't think I could do that! Although I should work on cutting it back at least a little.

This! 

mightybee I do have a rec for a non-sugary drink if you get tired of water and feeling fancy: La Croix naturally essenced sparkling water.  I picked up the pineapple strawberry flavor at Target recently and it's great for a "treat". 

[mightybee]

Food ideas are mostly just ideas and not recipes. Have to make sure to read labels on any canned/bottled/packaged foods!

Breakfasts:

pumpkin baked oatmeal (no brown sugar, add frozen blueberries)--this has been my breakfast staple for a while now (except I keep the brown sugar and sometimes top it with maple syrup!). I usually keep half in the fridge to reheat and eat during the week and freeze the rest for the following week.

hiddenponies.com/2013/12/baked-pumpkin-oatmeal/

plain full fat Greek yogurt and berries and nuts (I wish my regular grocery store carried full fat yogurt! Will have to make a separate trip to the fancy store...)

hard boiled eggs

I am really hungry in the mornings so I will probably eat a few things from this list.

Lunches:

kale salad with quinoa and nuts and fruit and egg/chicken (need to find a dressing recipe I like without any honey/syrup)

leftover dinner

Dinners:

stuffed peppers
lettuce wraps
meatloaf (what to top instead of ketchup or BBQ?)
fish
steak
burrito bowls
taco salad
Cobb salad
chili
lentil soup
zucchini boats

Snacks:

nut butter and apples
cheese and fruit
cottage cheese
air popped popcorn
smoothies (spinach, avocado, milk, berries, banana)
veggies and hummus/bean dips
fruit fruit fruit

[mightybee]

Jun 29, 2015 15:24:04 GMT -5 nursedesi said:

I'm quickly starting to spazz about this! My bread has hfcs in it, my mayo has sugar in it. I have no idea what I'll eat.

Eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Home made mac and cheese for lunch? Pasta, shredded cheese and milk.

Then steak or chicken for supper.

I found this menu plan and just started perusing it. It's more strict than just cutting added sugars, but there are a bunch of recipes/meal ideas.

www.cleanprogram.com/media/files/dr-oz-clean-detox-manual.pdf

[roo1582]

I was at first thinking maybe I would join in, and then I start thinking about how miserable I was doing my GD diet and I'm out. I was deprived enough for the 4 months...

[somethingcleverer]

I think my biggest challenges will be condiments and my night time snacking. I'm going to really have to think about breakfasts that don't have sugar in them. I do make the "fluffy oatmeal" recipe with the bananas and chia seeds so I can add fruit etc. to that but I usually sweeten it a little more. Then the kids like craisins in theirs which has added sugar. My other go to breakfast was fiber one cereal with milk.

I'm thinking of trying to make my own no sugar ketchup because while I don't plan on having the kids follow this diet I have been thinking about how they get added sugar at all meals, in the form of jelly or ketchup or in sunbutter.

[mightybee]

Please share any recipes you find for the ketchup somethingcleverer. I saw a crock pot one of Pinterest. I want to make some and then sneak it back into a ketchup bottle! I feel the same way about the added sugar in their meals--it can really start to add up.

What is fluffy oatmeal?

[somethingcleverer]

This is the oatmeal recipe I'm talking about. I feel like every food blog I read had some version of this a few years ago.
www.katheats.com/kaths-tribute-to-oatmeal

[somethingcleverer]

I think I'm going to try this ketchup recipe. I've had a lot of luck with her recipes before.
chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/08/05/healthy-ketchup/

[mightybee]

If you want a little extra motivation, check out the documentary Fed Up on Netflix. It's about how the food industry (and sugar) is the cause of our obesity epidemic. The 10 day sugar detox is a challenge posed at the end of the movie. I really enjoyed it.

[somethingcleverer]

mightybee I'm watching Fed Up now and it's really giving me a lot to consider about what I'm feeding the kids. I just put away the frosted flakes Tim bought the kids and I think I'm going to switch Shane's juice boxes for small water bottles for his drink at camp. I always thought the kids are pretty well but when I add up the sugars it's way more than i think they should be getting.

[mightybee]

Jul 2, 2015 22:04:27 GMT -5 somethingcleverer said:

mightybee I'm watching Fed Up now and it's really giving me a lot to consider about what I'm feeding the kids. I just put away the frosted flakes Tim bought the kids and I think I'm going to switch Shane's juice boxes for small water bottles for his drink at camp. I always thought the kids are pretty well but when I add up the sugars it's way more than i think they should be getting.

Those were my thoughts exactly somethingcleverer! It was an eye opener to see all the places sugar is added. And the idea that sugar is addictive really makes the way food products are marketed to kids pretty shady. I'm now more aware of my role in providing D with real food and teaching him about nutrition.

I thought the part on how the focus of Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign shifted from changing the composition and delivery of food products to exercise was interesting. The food industry is powerful!

I was also surprised to see how many families rely almost exclusively on premade/processed food. And the thought that a lean hot pocket is a healthy choice over a regular hot pocket blew my mind! I see how the solution starts in the kitchen is really the answer.

[mightybee]

For those still up for the challenge, enjoy a holiday weekend filled with treats!

[somethingcleverer]

The hot pocket part made me so sad. I see it all the time at work and it really just comes down to eating real food all the time.

I'm kind of struggling with how to handle Shane. He has food allergies is really picky and won't eat meat. Is he at the age where I should just say here's what I made eat it or go hungry?

[mommymadness]

Jul 3, 2015 11:45:57 GMT -5 somethingcleverer said:

The hot pocket part made me so sad. I see it all the time at work and it really just comes down to eating real food all the time.

I'm kind of struggling with how to handle Shane. He has food allergies is really picky and won't eat meat. Is he at the age where I should just say here's what I made eat it or go hungry?

This is kind of where we are with Benjamin. He is just getting so fussy with food and eating. I think part of it is he just doesn't want to sit and eat. Also, he says he doesn't like pretty much anything I serve but won't even try it. The last few meals he has actually been trying a few bits and he says he likes them. He still doesn't eat much, but taking it as a small victory.
We used to always make him a sandwich if he didn't eat supper, I think he is tired of sandwiches, and I'm tired of making them, so we are at a stand off!