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.