Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Can I make it 30 days without sugar?


So I shouldn't obsess strictly with what I can't have (SO very guilty of doing this), but should focus on what I can have.  It's amazing the grip that sugar has on my mind, even to the point of showing up in my dreams.  I did really well with little/no sugar yesterday. I only had a pinch of Stevia in my coffee yesterday morning and a small piece of 88% dark chocolate after dinner last night.  Why did it show up in my dreams last night? I don't know, but let me tell you how the dream went...its a hoot.

I don't know if any of you have seen the ginormous candy boxes (seriously, they're larger than board game boxes!) that are out for Mother's Day, but I had a dream that I received one for Mother's Day. My solution to having all this contraband in the house?  Send it to Russia with my husband, who was leaving to go there on a business trip (in the dream, not reality).  I have to laugh thinking about that because is that REALLY what I would do if I received such a gift? And since when does my husband travel to Russia? Anyway, the timing is funny and strangely ironic since most Moms will get some sort of chocolate for Mother's Day.  A tradition I think should be changed - but I'm trying to eat better, and if I can't have sugar, no one can :)

I'm starting to think that the menus provided for the 30 Day Challenge might just turn my families "meat and potatoes" thinking about food around.  My husband ate everything I made yesterday ( Moroccan Chicken, and Tomatoes & Cucumbers with a homemade vinaigrette dressing), and he (1) HATES tomatoes in almost any form, but especially fresh and (2) doesn't like squash in any form.  However, he not only cleaned his plate, he said that this is something we should make again.  So, hurrah for small victories!  A funny side note, the way that acorn squash looks after being roasted looks eerily similar to pineapple.  So when I served it, everyone bit into it expecting pineapple (I told them about the squash - promise!) and got squash instead.  The looks on their faces was priceless.

One of my best weapons when sugar cravings hit is unsweetened Trader Joe's Almond Butter. Just a little bit on a spoon and it zaps my cravings instantly - I tell ya, it's a miracle food :)  All that to say - so far, so good. I'm most concerned about the first week of this challenge anyway.  I remember it was the hardest when I quit smoking, so why would sugar be any different? 

As far as the challenge itself, I feel really good and the food is fantastic! Tonight's dinner looks even better than last nights - I can't wait!  I slept like a baby last night, something I haven't  done in months - so YAY Paleo!  It's not too late to join the challenge - simply visit http://savingdinner.com/ and click on the 30 Day Paleo Challenge graphic on the right side of the screen. My friend, Leanne, will get you fixed right up.

Let me know your experience with "going Paleo" and it could be featured in a future post.

2 comments:

  1. hmm, I'm going to have to get me some almond butter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really like Trader Joe's Unsalted Almond Butter, but you could most likely make it yourself if you have a food processor.

    Thanks for stopping by the blog :)

    ReplyDelete