Still Going........

It has been an interesting journey so far.  The Sugar Busters life style has been an amazing shift in our family.  We have had cheat days on the weekends and everyone looks forward to them.  I've even got the kids trained.  If someone offers them something sweet, they'll look at me and ask if today is a "cheat day".  

I have noticed a significant difference in the kid's well-being.  They don't have their cranky ups and downs, and they're not as "crazy" as before.   On weekend birthday parties they'll feel sick after all the sugar consumption which is awesome because they know its because they've consumed too much unhealthy crap.  They pick apart our meals and ask, "Is this healthy?", which of course I reply YES!, and they seem proud to be eating healthy food.  I've also started scheduling cooking days where they help me prepare the dish.  They LOVE this extra one-on-one attention and brag about the "healthy" meal they've made.  

I've had a lot of fun figuring out how to make healthy alternatives to the snacks they love.  For instance, we make our own popsicles now.  We blend up fruit, yogurt, peanut butter and orange juice and they are delicious.  I eat them too.  Yum!  Another favorite has been our home made pizza; made with whole wheat flat bread, and whatever toppings we feel like.  The kids help me make them and gobble them up.  

Last weekend I went to New Orleans with my Mom for my cousin Jules' amazing wedding. I DID NOT stick to my diet at all.  I lived it up with shrimp po'boys, jumbalaya, beignets and gumbo.  I also walked for 3 days straight seeing all the sights in between each meal, so I think I evened out a bit (lol).  But I have to say, having cheat days makes it all worth while, and I don't feel so deprived.  

So all in all its been a great change.  I'm going to start up loading recipes.....I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do it.  =)  

First Week.....

Well I got through my first week.  It wasn't so bad.  I had very little energy and also took that week off from exercising.  I had a lot of mid day cravings for sweets but the dark chocolate bites got me through it. Yay for dark chocolate!! Getting use to reading the labels has been a chore but now that I know what to stay away from, my shopping adventures have been a lot easier.  Today is day two of getting back on my exercise routine (with my old friend Jillian Michaels) and I feel great!  So the idea is that now that I don't have all that excess fat stored in my cells (from all the extra sugar) my body will be burning the fat from my body, right?  Well, that's the idea and I'm interested to see if there's a big difference. 


 My kids have been pretty darn good about it.  They do like their "old french fries" more than the new baked sweet potato ones but they still eat every one on their plate.  They DO NOT like the plain yogurt no matter what I add to it (and neither do I) so I've been putting it in smoothies with fruit and a scoop of peanut-butter.  It's delicious!!  Jaron's lunches take longer to put together because all the packaged stuff is out but so far no complaints.  An average lunch has been a chicken salad sandwich with tomato, fruit/veggies with ranch, hard boiled eggs, black olives, cheese, a fruit bar snack and 100% apple and water......give or take a couple items in that list.  I've also started sending him with warm lunches (sometimes left overs) of (wheat) spaghetti or (wheat) mac'n'cheese with tuna and peas.  He likes getting a warm lunch mixed into the routine.  I have kept their Ovaltine which does have sugar.  I'm going to try a whey chocolate protein dry mix and see if they mind it.  My vanilla protein mix is okay on the ingredients so we'll see how the chocolate one goes.  I also let them have bananas.  I know they have a high glycemic index but I was reading a lot of a diabetic's diet and I read that bananas are ok in moderation.  I actually had my first banana a day ago.  


I DID CHEAT!!  I have a half of a muffin (for Jaron's Muffins with Mom at his school) and I had a beer....yes I did.  And my banana of course.  I haven't experienced head-aches or insane cravings just that first week of feeling weak.  


Justin and I also watched the movie Food Inc. for the first time and it was so eye opening.  If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend it!  Here's a little scary statistic for you.......out of the all the children born after the year 2000, one in three will become diabetic.  


FYI .....Organic veggies and fruit are pretty easy to find but meat and eggs are harder.  Costco has organic beef and eggs and both are delicious and reasonable in price.  Fresh and Easy has a lot of organic items as well.  I was not sold on organics until after I saw this movie......so watchers BEWARE! 

Sugar Busters Grocery List/Shopping........

So I was able to get everything I needed from Fresh and Easy and Trader Joes.  It took a loooooong time to read the labels, so prepare on an all day event without the kids if possible.

I also got all my fresh produce from a Farmer's Market in Irvine.  My Hubs and I are also on an Organic shift as well so you'll see a lot of organic items.  I am currently looking for a decent Farmer's Market out this way. A friend suggested one in Corona off Foothill and another in Norco off Main??  Anyone been?

Anyways here it is: (Trader Joes in Red / Fresh and Easy in Green/ Produce )

Carbs:

Wheat Pasta

Brown Rice

Cereal: Nature's Path - Flax Plus & Kashi's Go Lean Crunch

Kashi's Trail Mix Granola Bars

Fruit Bars (from Trader Joes - see pic)Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grain Bread 

Plain Quaker's Instant Oatmeal

Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa....as long as its 60% cocoa)

Organic Shells and White Cheddar Mac&Cheese (Wheat / see pic)

Sweet Potato Chips

Sweetners:

Blue Agave Nectar (Love in my coffee. Tastes in honey.  Also put on kids waffles)

Truvia (still tastes like fake sugar. I'm not touching it, but Hubs will)

Coconut Palm Sugar (Love!! Taste like a mix of white and brown sugar. Great on oatmeal!)

Dairy:

Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt

String Cheese

Cheddar Cheese sticks

Heritage Organic Milk

Protien:

Canned Tuna

Canned Organic Chicken

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage

Hummus Dip

Organic Peanut Butter (no added sugar)

Organic Black Beans

Produce:

Soy Beans (frozen)

Sweet Potatoes

Onions

Pears

Carrots

Celery

Cucumbers

Olives (canned)

Tomatoes

Broccoli

Freeze dried fruit 

Organic Apple Juice 100%

Organic Tomato Sauce (No Sugar)

I've added a lot of pictures so you can easily find these items.  There's also a picture on my main page.

Cheating.......(on Sugar Busters)

 Just a small something I want to throw out there and talk about......Cheating.

The more I think about this diet (starting in 4 days) the more questions keep popping up in my head.  Am I doing it indefinitely? Am I going to have cheat days? Am I going to try to control everything that goes into my children's and Husband's mouth.  What about when we're invited over to someone's house for dinner or a birthday party?   So much to think about.

I cannot control my Husband or my kids intake at work and school.   My Husband is a fireman and has to eat what is being cooked.  He could take less of the starchy foods and avoid the ice-cream but the rest cannot be avoided.  He is also an avid runner and will continue to have his Cliff Bars, Gatorade and Shot-blocks.  But when he's out there running 5, 8 and 15+ miles almost everyday, I can't argue.

My kids have their snacks at church and school and their occasional cupcakes for their friend's birthday parties, and I will not be a stickler on that either.  I don't mind putting myself out, but I refuse to do the same to others.  Which also answers my question about dinner parties and birthday parties.  I will not refuse a meal that somebody put the time and effort into making me.  I just plan on taking less of the starch and more of the veggies, if possible.

What I can control is what I make at home, which is essentially 90% of my kid's diet and about 75% of my Husband's.  Not too shabby.

The other thing I haven't figured out yet is my kid's consumption of Ovaltine (1 tablespoon) per day in their milk, in the morning.  They look forward to this every morning so it my be another cheat for them.  

And last but not least.......Fake Sugar.  I have a family of heart problems.  Nothing major; no medication needed, BUT my brother's Cardiologist insisted to stay away from fake sugar, that its really bad for the heart.  After spending 31 years of never eating it, I think it tastes like the chemical poison it is and WILL NOT EAT IT!!  So I'm on the search for a sugar substitute that has a lower glycemic index.
So far I'm considering Coconut Palm Sugar or Agave.  Any thoughts?

P.S. Also, I'm going to set up a recipe folder for all of us to add recipes to.  You can just send me your recipe via email, and I'll post it with your name attached.

Stay tuned for my grocery shopping adventure.  I'm dreading the initial pantry/fridge clean-up but it must be done.

Sugar Busters

Okay, so a lot of us Crossroads peeps went to Taleah's Sugar Buster class at church and WOW....eye opening!!!  For those of you who are new to this, here's a quickie......

Sugar Busters is like a diabetic's diet, eliminating all refined sugars from our diet.  The book (which I recommend getting on amazon) explains how we Americans are poisoning our bodies (and our kid's bodies) with TOO MUCH SUGAR, hence the obesity plauge, and the many other health problems we're facing today, i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and lets face it.......tiredness, crankiness and FAT!!

The basic No-list will consist of getting rid of your refined sugar items (the obvious cookies, candy, ice-cream), corn and corn products, white anything (bread, rice, pasta), and sadly potatoes.

The good news is, you can still have so much yummy, savory food......steak, butter, cheese, ranch, nuts, beans, fruit, veggies, wheat pasta/bread and my two favorites.......wine and dark chocolate!!  YES!!!

There is so much more details to learn about which is why I recommend getting the book.

Anyways, my family will be starting this diet in May.  We have a week to eat out pasta, fruit snacks etc, and then the rest gets donated to our church's food pantry.

I'm starting this blog because (as Pastor Chuck said) it is better to make radical changes when doing it in a community.  So here, we can share recipes, ideas, questions, complaints and progress.

So whose with me? =)