I Have a Confession to Make...

I have a confession to make.

I am a big fat sugar-fail.

There are a thousand things I could blame it on, but it’s my fault really. The 2 weekends that we moved house were very stressful and probably not the best time to decide to ease back into sugar. It didn’t help that those weekends were also around Easter and if there’s one thing that can sway me better than most it’s a Cadbury Crème Egg (even if the new recipe for the yolk is absolute bollocks). I had one, and then two. I said no to Mum’s offer of a big hollow egg and then yes to another Crème Egg.

I got back on track but it really was (honestly) time to put just a little sugar back in my diet. It’s one thing to look after my health but it’s another to miss out on once in a lifetime flavours and textures in Europe because they will make me sick. That’s what sugar does to me – my body has been so empty of it that any small amount makes me sick. I don’t want to be trying gelato from the shop that invented it and then spending the afternoon regretting it. I needed to get my body used to small amounts, but still stay in control.

Um, yeah. Control.

Squish started baking goodies while home sick and bringing them to pre-Monty-and-NurseB-leaving get togethers. Some, like her sugar-free cookies, were safe. The Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies that turned up to work with Wozz (who conveniently lives with her and works with me) were not. Ah Squish, damn you for being so amazing in the kitchen.

By all means it is not Squish’s fault. I think it goes more back to moving into Monty and Nurse B’s house. When I went sugar-free, I stopped buying sugar. Even if I wanted it, there wasn’t any. At Monty and Nurse B’s house, I was suddenly alone with a pantry that included chocolate chip biscuits and hot chocolate mix and a fridge with juice and soft drink. It was cold, and there is nothing I love better for warm comfort food than biscuits dipped in hot chocolate. I ate the biscuits. All of them. Of course, I replaced them. Then I ate those too.

2 weeks later, I have a list on the fridge of everything we’ve eaten that needs to be replaced before we leave. 90% of it is sugar, and I ate it. Including the chocolate buttons from the baking shelf. I’m actually ashamed of it but I couldn’t not tell you because I promised to be honest. I have tried, I swear! I have still said no to things. I have made good choices. But once a day, I’ve made a bad one.

I sat at Courtney’s Dad’s house and nodded quietly as they offered biscuits to everyone and acknowledged that I was sugar-free but could have a treat when I accepted one. I wasn’t being dishonest by letting them say I was sugar-free. I haven’t given up. I will get back on track. I have to, because to be honest, I feel like crap. I’ve fallen asleep on the couch every night this week. I have a really bad headache today. I’ve slept in every morning. I feel stodgy and gluey and yuck. Imagine pouring buckets of gelatine into a previously free-flowing river. That goopy slow moving mess is me. It goes to prove just how much sugar affects me. And after weeks, nay months of people commenting how loose my jeans are and how silly they look, I bought new ones. They’re two sizes smaller than the last, and if I keep eating sugar they won’t fit for long.

Last week, I had my first Hot Chocolate this year. It might just be one Hot Chocolate to you, but to me it’s proof I’m letting myself down, going back on all this hard work. I’m becoming dependent on a sugar-fix mid afternoon and I didn’t work so freaking hard to end up back at the beginning.

Damn you sugar, we meet again. But I’m yet to see a sequel where the good guy lets the villain win.

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Sugar-Free Cookies!

This is another recipe from the lovely Squish. These look like muesli bars but they taste a thousand times better, they're not hard but they don't crumble and they're not dry. Holy Rock n Roll, they are amazing and I will eat any that come near me. Also if you want to add chocolate chips, the cookies turn out just as well, just not sugar-free. I also believe some successful experimentation has been done with Feijoas in place of Bananas.

Healthy Banana Cookies

Ingredients 

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method 

• Preheat oven to 175ºc. 
• In a large bowl, mash the bananas. 
• Stir in oats, dates, oil, and vanilla.
• Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. 
• Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.

A REAL Woman Would...

http://judgmentalobserver.wordpress.com

The following status has been doing the rounds on Facebook lately, people posting it as a joke - 


"A real woman always keeps her house clean and organized, the laundry basket is always empty. She's always well dressed, hair done. She never swears and behaves gracefully in all situations and under all circumstances. She has more than enough patience to take care of her family, always has a smile on her lips, and a kind word for everyone. Post this in your status if you too suspect that you might be a man."


Is it wrong, that as I read that status, I think warm thoughts, perfect, well dressed, pleasing-everyone thoughts, and at the punch line I am disappointed? It's not that I don't have a sense of humour, I get the joke and I do think it's funny. But I want to be that person it describes.

I'm so far from it too. I hate putting laundry away, My hair is a mess. I don't take as much pride in my appearance as I wish I did. I swear like a sailor and have very little grace. I'm extremely impatient and I have the beginnings of frown lines, not smile lines. Perhaps that's why I love the idea of that perfect woman, because she's everything I'm not.


She sounds like what I imagine a 1950's housewife to me. I've always been fascinated with everything 50's, from the music to the film stars, to the decor and the attitudes. I've always wanted to be a 1950's housewife. I love the dresses, the hairstyles, I love that their houses (at least in the movies) are always well kept and clean. I love that they entertain and that they have dinner ready for their husbands when they get home.

Not a good start to my no-swearing!

I know the ideal is unrealistic, and I know that as much as I strive to be a better person, there are some things I will never change. If I tried to force myself to like laundry and a perfectly clean house, I would feel trapped and miserable. It's nice to dream though isn't it? 


I really would like to stop swearing so much, it would be a start. Probably a start that will take awhile to get past the blocks!


Are you a Stepford Wife or are you more like me, making do with rough edges?

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Sugar-Free Fudge Brownies

Our lovely Squish has had amazing results on her health kick, having reached her first milestone and now well on her way to her ultimate goal. I couldn't be more proud, she looks amazing. Anyway, she has been supplying me with wonderful sugar-free recipes which make me infinitely happy because then I can indulge without giving up. So now you can too, because here is the first, and I'll give you another one next week.

*May not be a picture of sugar-free brownies

Fudge Brownies
 

Ingredients

• olive oil cooking spray
• 2/3 cup mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom
• 1/3 cups natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Forget A-Ha Moments, I'm About to Bliss-Out

Once again I failed miserably at following the Bliss challenge. But we already knew that right? Or at least made an educated guess to that effect. All was not lost however!

Monday: Nail Art Just Plain Nails

I absolutely love nail art. When I was 14 I owned yellow nail polish purely for painting the centres of daisies. I never considered myself a 'beautician-type' but when I needed some spare cash and decided nails would be a good side-income, those decorative inclinations came flooding back. A lot of my clients come especially for nail art and the chance of being one of a kind, so I do a fair bit of it on a regular basis, but what I really love are the big challenges, like a tropical island with real sand or a 3D Hello Kitty created directly onto the nail.

I didn't do anything spectacular on Monday but one thing that is really making me happy right now - I have real nails! Not the best thing to vouch for when I make my income from acrylics, but I am a nail biter from way back, so this is a big deal. I had acrylics on for awhile, so my nails had grown underneath. When we were in Napier 3 weeks back, I got bored and ripped them off (a BIG no-no, don't do it!). I borrowed a file from Courtney's sister and tidied them up, never expecting them to last. Although they aren't in the best condition due to how rough I am with them, I've kept them long for 3 whole weeks just by keeping chips and sharp edges filed. With nothing to pick at or play with, I ave no reason to bite them. You may scoff at the idea, but I'm super proud.

P.S. Monday was my darling Soul Buddy's 25th birthday and my nephew's first birthday, so big Happy Birthday's all round!

Tuesday Animal Rights 

Animal Rights are on the Bliss List because I love my furbabies and I'm a big supporter of the SPCA. Every year at Christmas I take a stash of towels and canned food down for them, so I thought I'd do the same. I'm a terrible person because I just didn't have time. That's a shoddy excuse, because out of everything I don't have time for, I should have made time for this. I guess I can start by telling you all to go here if you want to support the SPCA. A lot of family pets became strays after the Christchurch earthquake and SPCA branches all over the country are working to rehome them, because there aren't enough people in Christchurch that are in a position to adopt right now.

On the bright side, on Tuesday I did get to spend time with Squish, because we ended up doing her nails. We also did them in our winter pyjamas, which made me very happy. Winter pyjamas are as blissful as flannelette sheets, which is a lot.

Wednesday

...was a big old nothing day for me. I didn't do anything spectacular as a was mid-meltdown. Unless you call meltdowns spectacular.

Thursday Musicals

Oh how I love thee. I was thinking just today about London, one of our first stops when we get to Europe, and how we get to see Wicked at the West End. We're also seeing Lion King at the West End the night before we leave Europe to come home. I've already seen it in Melbourne and on Broadway. I hated the movie (Don't hate me, I just can't stand sad animal movies, which let's face it, all animal movies are) but I'm a little obsessed with the incredible spectacle that is the Lion King stage production.

http://www.chicagogigs.com

On Thursday I planned to watch the Sound of Music which I love almost as much as I love Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It didn't happen though, I was busy working with Miss Nails, but at least I had a good gossip. Thank goodness for day dreams, Wicked here I come.

Friday needed no reason to be Blissful other than that it was the end of a very stressful week. We went to a beautiful friend's 25th birthday drinks and made it home in one piece. Saturday was not much better. Pouring rain was lovely to wake up to but didn't help my chances of getting a hungover Courtney out to a Farmer's Market. I woke up feeling like I was hungover despite being 100% sober (and not eating the Cheesecake Factory mudcake that called to me at the party) and the day took a long time to pick up. I've been a ball of stress this week and topped with the headache I carried around all day, I decided to skip Courtney's brothers Welcome Home (from two months working in Noumea) party in favour of some much needed me-time. Courts was a bit disappointed but went off with his sister to the party without me. I'm glad I stuck to my guns. I got some more packing done, a bit of writing, and a lot of relaxing. Not the kind where you sit and watch TV or read a book, but the kind where you are left to your own devices, no distractions and you get stuff done. Bliss.

Sunday Roast

After talking about missing out on Sunday Roast's the other week, I bit the bullet and made it happen. I have a big-ass chicken to go with potatos, kumara, pumpkin and mushrooms. I'm making my world famous Chocolate Mousse and Blondie is bringing Feijoa Crumble, or so I've been told. Everyone who loved roast night when we did it every week will be there, along with a few new faces. Everything I love about life will be in one room this very evening and that is enough Bliss to cover my week in it's entirety. I can't wait.

What did you Bliss-Out on this week?

Bliss, Anyone?

I'm still failing at being Blissful. It shouldn't be this hard to be happy, right? Not that I'm unhappy per say, but my days are so busy, they're not being filled with my favourite things. Let's recap.

Gardening

www.onlinegardenertips.com

Monday I write 'gardening' in my book. Although there's not much point starting a garden at a rental house we won't be in for much longer, I thought maybe I'd go and find a nice plant or something and plant it into a nice pot. I love being in the garden or at the very least having lots of plants around me both outside and within my home. It didn't happen though, and to be honest I have no idea what I did on Monday after work. Not much, probably.

Cold Beer

This one I did achieve - kind of. My older sister and her family moved down south to Queenstown this week, a 2 hour flight away from us, and so Courtney and I met her at the Horse and Trap to say goodbye. It was nice being in a pub atmosphere, and Courtney had a beer, but I stuck with water and my share of a bowl of wedges. It was awesome spending time with her and I miss her and her partner and sons already!

High G's

As in, the musical note. This has a back story - I'll tell you whole story this week sometime - but basically, I just wanted to sing. I don't really like singing at home though when their are people around because I always feel like I'm annoying them. I don't sing quietly - I can't! So I try to keep it down when there are others at home. Even with Courtney I don't like to sing so much because then he makes a fuss over it and I hate fussing! Anyway, I didn't have a solo moment on Wednesday, so it didn't happen. I want to get back into lessons and singing in public when we get back from Europe though so I will have my chance.

http://barbecue-tips.com

Barbeques

Well, I had wanted to eat food cooked on the BBQ but instead, I put the BBQ itself on Trade Me. Not quite the same thing right?

Cooking

I felt like cooking something challenging and amazing, Julie and Julia-style. Instead, I had a nail client - at least it was the lovely Miss Nails to keep me company. I shall take this opportunity to wish my dear friend a ridiculously awesome birthday on Monday. I love you and I hope we are in each others lives forever and a day. Cooking can wait.

Dancing and Causing Trouble Good Food and Markets


You guessed it, didn't happen. I used to sing and dance around the house while I did the house work. Now I'm never home alone and our house isn't big enough to put music on away from the bedrooms like our last house was. I thought I would make plans to go out with the girls but then the ever present Nana in me reared her ugly head and I stayed home. I am boring. Sigh.

On the other hand, we did go our weekly breakfast date to the farmers markets and that was bliss. Great food, awesome atmosphere and wonderful company. Definitely the highlight of my week.

Sunday Roast/Entertaining


We used to have a tradition in my house of having Sunday Roast every weekend. It was open door and anyone could turn up. They knew that the more people that turned up, the less food there would be to go around, but we never went without. They also knew that no matter who turned up, it would be a good night. We created our own little family. We could rely on each other and love each other and never have to say it out loud, we just knew. We had the guitars out most nights, we played and we sang. We went through a phase of watching Iron Chef America every week and we would often start the night with the highlights of WWE.

http://de.academic.ru

I sometimes felt like Mumma Duck, cooking away amongst steam and splatter, people coming into the kitchen for a chat and more often to see when dinner would be ready. I loved every second of it. As I served everything onto the table and called the troops to eat, I loved watching them fight over the best bits and settle in on bean bags and chairs and couches and floor space, chattering away. It's exactly how I want my home to be when I have children, an open door, a place of solace, somewhere our friends and my children's friends can trust will always be there.

Unfortunately, we had to stop doing it while we save for Europe. I wanted to do a one-off repeat but Courts doesn't really like not knowing who will show up and not having his Sunday evening to himself. That's OK, it's not for everyone, there were nights when I wished I could go to bed early but knew someone would show up for dinner. 90% of the time though, it was my weekly bliss with my handmade family. I'll miss them while we're away.

Two Weeks of Bliss - Challenge Entry Two

Two more Bliss weeks have passed and I was so full of things to tell you about Melbourne that I haven't had a chance to wrap them up for you yet. So in the last 2 weeks, I've been blissed out on the following.

My Long Haired Boy and our Furbabies!

www.imdb.com

Monday of the first week we decided we needed some time to ourselves. We got fish n chips on the way home from work and ate them in front of the TV, completely home alone. I don't remember the last time we did that! Then we went to bed at 7.30pm and veged out in front of The Switch, cuddled up with each other and our furboys. I love having nothing to do other than be with Courts and to top it off I love the look on Toby's face when he's truly happy. He's so easy to please and a cuddle with Mum and Dad is damn near the top of his Bliss list I'm sure. PS. The Switch was full of plotline holes and as a movie it was rubbish, but if you're a Jen Aniston fan and want to be entertained and relaxed, it's worth a watch.

Sleep

Not a very interesting one, and I get so much more Bliss from an afternoon nap than a normal night, but at the end of a 14 hour shift, sleep is all I need.

Seeing the World

We all know the details of my trip to Melbourne but I just love the feeling of adventure and new experiences and the unknown and living!

www.thrashitoutonline.com

Slash

'Nuff said.

Sex, Drugs n Rock n Roll.

Not necessarily literally! I love the vibe of the idea of sex, drugs n rock n roll. It's a lifestyle, its a movement, and as much as I might love any or all of the individual components, it's about more than that. And I got it at Soundwave.

Long drives

Last weekend Courts and I decided to take a sunny afternoon and drive out to Pokeno, 45 min ride south of Auckland. If you haven't been privy to it's wonders, Pokeno is a tiny town in Waikato known for little more than it's Ice Cream store. They have 40 flavours, and scoops are super cheap. Plus you can buy 11 scoop cones if you really want a challenge! I used up my one-cheat-a-week on a scoop of Mochachino Ice Cream, followed by hot chips shared with Courts. There was a cold breeze blowing away the sunshine before it could reach us, but it was nice to take a time out and do something different.

Monday I worked late, till 9pm, and I was exhausted afterwards. No bliss.

www.wagamama.co.nz

Family

Tuesday Mum, my sister and her boyfriend, me and Courts, went to check out the results of our photo shoot the other week. We ate at Wagamama's Newmarket beforehand and then spent an hour or so going through photos and choosing the ones we want to keep. The reason I loved it though was because we had so much fun together, bantering and joking back and forth. Not often we're all together at the same time.

Pilates

Wednesday I treated myself to a Pilates session. I used to go 4 times a week and I LOVE Pilates. I stopped when I became single before I was with Courts, out of a need to save money and also because I wasn't in the right headspace to do anything but watch Shortland Street and eat chocolate. I miss it though, and if it weren't for saving for Europe I'd be back there, 4 times a week again.

www.manhattanstyle.com

I go to Absolute Pilates in Newton, Auckland and I'm loyal to the studio! The best instructors are Sam and Asho - Sam for a mean work out and a real burn, and for the best communication of methods to beginners. Asho for intense relaxation and stretching that opens you up. In saying that, I think finding the right instructor is very personal, you need someone that you click with, to get the most out of their instruction. The other instructors have years and years of experience, but if I had one of them instead of Sam for my first ever class, I probably wouldn't have gone back. That's no reflection on their skills as instructors but on my learning style and preferences.

Pilates is amazing, if at first you don't succeed, try another instructor! And do it at Absolute Pilates. I wish I could go back sooner! The receptionist recognised me straight away, as did Asho, which was really awesome. It made me feel welcome and not at all like 'that girl that quit'.

Inner Circle

www.imdb.com

'Inner Circle' is how I refer to my closest friends, the ones who stick by through thick and thin and go the distance. Thursday was monthly movie night at Monty and Nurse B's. Once again they impressed with their cooking and we watched Monkey Business, a 1931 film with the Marx brothers. I loved it, such a good movie! The humour still translates today. And of course the company wasn't half bad either!

Random Acts of Kindness

My older sister is moving to Queenstown in a month or so and is packing packing packing. It means we haven't caught up lately and I miss her! We didn't grow up together and have only known each other properly for a few years but it doesn't feel like that. She's family in every sense, we get on awesome, and I love her to pieces along with her partner and my 2 nephews. Anyways, Friday night on the way home from work, we muffin-bombed them! Like a photo-bomb, where you duck into the background of someones photo without them knowing... we ran up to her doorstep and left muffins to help with the packing.

Mini Skirts

OK, actually not mini skirts, daisy-duke shorts. Both make me equally happy, it's just that it's Mini-Skirts that are on the Bliss List. I'm not a big fan of pants, but only to the point that I prefer short shorts or mini skirts. I don't know why! That's just how I'm most comfortable. So I spent the whole weekend in daisy-dukes.

Mexican Food... oh and Birthdays, Inner Circle, Soul Buddy, Squish and Long Haired Boy.

www.huttrotary.org.nz

Did I mention that this weekend is my birthday?! The big 2-5. One of my bestest oldest friends is five years older than me almost to the day, his birthday is the day before mine, and so we celebrated together Saturday night with a Mexican Fiesta! We had potluck Mexican - enchiladas, tacos, burritos, chili, quesadillas, and chilli chocolate! Only problem was that I had come home from Muffin-Bombing on Friday really sick. I think I have a virus, I had the whole body-ache, weak, tired thing going on and a very weak stomach to match. The company was awesome and the night was really fun, I just wish I'd been able to enjoy the food! Mum brought over streamers, we had Mexican music, I saw one of my oldest friends for the first time in months (she's back from 7 months working in India) and the entire Inner Circle was there. Loved it!

Keepin on Truckin

sushantskoltey.wordpress.com

Sugar sugar sugar. Last week was Week 8. I'm finding this middle part of my 3 months mission to be very up and down. I will not think about sugar for hours and then bam. Need. Chocolate (Just say no, just say no).

We found out about this plant called Stevia that we want to try out. We're going to buy seeds from King Seeds and see what happens. Basically, Stevia is a plant that is naturally super super sweet - as in, 300 times sweeter than sugar. You can use the leaves if you either steep them like a tea to make a liquid or rip them up and put them straight into cooking. You can also get it in powdered form if thats easier for you. You make a cake, you need 1 teaspoon of it. Want a coffee? Sprinkle just a few grains.

It's completely natural and unrefined. It's a plant! You need far far less of it and some research shows it actually has medicinal properties - its GOOD FOR YOU! Yusssss.

Meanwhile, I kept a food diary. Skip to the bottom if you don't care, I'm mostly just publishing it so I am accountable. This week I ate - 

• 13 pieces of wholegrain toast (2.5%)
• 1 piece turkish bread (unknown)
  
• 1c roast potato
• 100g Kumara
• 2 poached eggs
• 50g Bacon
• 2 small breakfast sausages (unknown)
• 50g Edam Cheese 
• 100g Ham
• 100ml Vanilla Ice Cream (at Movies by Moonlight, 19.6%)
• 1 nut bar (22.9%)
• 27 raw nuts
• 1/4 cup Hollondaise sauce
• 2.5 avocados
• 1c guacamole
• 1 large mushroom
• 2 tomatos
• 1 Passionfruit
• 3 Olives
• 1 apple
• 1c lettuce
• 4 Plums
• 3/4 cup green grapes
• 25 prunes
• 3 Peach Muffins (made with honey)
• 2 Banana muffins (made with Honey)
• 2 tbsp Sunflower seeds
• 6 tbsp Honey
• 1 scoop hot chips with vinegar
• 1 Taco Salad - lettuce, tomato, chicken, beans, sour cream, guacamole, mayonaisse in a taco bowl. The only sugar would have been the mayonaisse. (unknown)
• 2 meals of Vermicelli with brocolli, yellow pepper, eggplant, bok choy, soy sauce (3%), honey, ginger. One day I had it with egg, the next with chicken. The egg one had beef stock (0.4%) and the chicken one had 1 Chicken OXO Cube (0.1%) between 3 servings (of which I had one)
• An egg, rice and vege bake that Natalie made
• 2 meals of a concoction Courtney made with Mince, rice, coconut cream, tomatos, capsicum and onion
• 5 Wholegrain buns (over 3 meals, 1.8% from memory) with spinach, tomato, turkey, camembert, salami, capsicum and cashew pesto, butter.
• 2250ml water
• 1 Sugar-Free V
• 50ml Peach Iced Tea (It was my Mums and I just wanted a sip to tide me over, 7.5%)
• 100ml Phoenix Cola - at work they got a free coffee for everyone. I don't like coffee, can't do Hot Chocolate, so I asked for a Coke Zero. This was the closest they could find, made with organic cane sugar. I tried to drink it, I really did. But for a combination of reasons - too sweet, too jittery, didn't want to let myself down - I gave to Courts after 2 or 3 sips (11%).
• 600ml Milk (4.9%, I haven't bolded it because its not added sugar, just natural lactose)
• 1 can Coke Zero 

http://iis.berkeley.edu/research

It's still not what I would call healthy eating. I think it's just closer to 'normal' than I used to be. The things that had sugar in them had an average of 7.64%. It's good, but considering I'm supposed to be keeping below 3% it wasn't great. The culprits were the nut bar, which I haven't bought any more of, sips of sugary drinks, which i just need to say no to, and the ice cream. It was only 1 scoop and it was once this week, so I'm ok with that.

I don't really like seeing my water intake up there. I know I need to drink more water, but I struggle. Rather than get my percentage down further, this week I'm going to focus on water. It will probably be easier to avoid sugar if I can get on top of that.

Any tips for making me want water? I've tried it cold, warm, hot, with lime, with lemon, with ice, in a bottle, in a cup... help!

How I 'Do' Sugar-Free - PART TWO

Part Two of my food diary! This is where I realised I needed to refocus. I highly recommend food diaries if you think you're eating healthy but you don't feel it, or you're tyring to lose weight and its not working! My Nutritionist always recommended them and I should have done one a long time ago...

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Breakfast - 2 slices of Pams wholegrain toast, 2.5% sugar. 1/4 small avocado, pepper, 300ml water.

Morning Tea - 3 Real Foods Corn Thins, 0.7% sugar. 2 tsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2.7% sugar. 3/4 cup diced Watermelon. 200ml Light Blue Anchor Milk, 5% sugar (natural lactose only, nothing added), mixed with 200ml Hot Water.

Lunch - Another serving of yesterdays Frittata, made with potatoes, broccoli, courgette, red pepper, carrot, egg, basil, salt, pepper and garlic. Also had 200ml hot milk (undiluted) as I have had chocolate cravings all day and I need to keep them at bay!

Afternoon Tea - 3/4 cup diced watermelon. 1 Nice & Natural Nut Bar (Original Flavour) 22.9% sugar (see yesterdays post for the reasons I eat these).

Dinner - Courts Chicken Burgers again because we've been doing overtime at work and these are quick and easy when we get home - 2 slices of Pams wholegrain toast, 2.5% sugar. 75g chicken fried in Soy Sauce, which is 3% sugar. Sliced beetroot from a can, drained. 1 egg, fried (no oil). 1 tsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2.7% sugar. 1/4 Onion, fried (no oil).

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Breakfast - Same as always, Avocado and Tomato on Toast.

Morning Tea - 1 Plum. 1/2 cup Easiyo Apricot Yoghurt, 14.6% sugar.

Easiyo makers are awesome! So much cheaper than 'normal' yoghurt and you can stock up on packets and not worry about them going bad within a few days. Yes, the yoghurt I ate today was well above my 3% threshold - you will notice I have not been eating the yoghurt often! I promise I have a good explanation - this is the last of the packets we had stock piled from before we went sugar-free.

With a big overseas trip looming, I'm not in the business of wasting food. But I promise you when I do the shop this week I'll be buying an unsweetened yoghurt. I'll be looking for either the Natural flavour (It's 5.5% sugar, but unsweetened, so it is all naturally occurring lactose, and I can flavour it with fruit) or one from the Low Fat range, because they are all unsweetened. They still contain around 7% sugar (give or take) but it is naturally occurring lactose.

Easiyo also do unsweetened Bio-Yoghurts, and, as I just found out, Ice Cream sachets which are less than 10% sugar. Above my 3% threshold, but within the generally recommended 10%. (Side note - half an hour after eating the sweetened yoghurt, I feel jittery and... weird. I guess its because my body is no longer used to sugar. Imagine what my body was coping with before when I was 'used' to it!)

Lunch - The last of the Frittata, made with potatoes, broccoli, courgette, red pepper, carrot, egg, basil, salt, pepper and garlic.

Afternoon Tea - 1.5 cup diced watermelon. 1 Nice & Natural Nut Bar

Dinner - OK, so we are extremely unoriginal but we had the same dinner again! Does it make a difference that its because we were using the last of the can of beetroot? Honestly, we don't normally eat the same thing for dinner every day!

Thursday 10 February 2011

Breakfast - Avocado and Tomato on Toast.

Morning Tea - 1/2 cup Easiyo Apricot Yoghurt, 14.6% sugar. My 'normal' morning tea is corn thins with a protein topping - either tuna, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or a small amount of Edam. Courts has been helping me get lunches ready this week so he chose yoghurt.

Lunch - Last night I used the crock pot to make a mash up of whatever we had lying around. I used the last couple of tablespoons of Brown Rice, some Quinoa, Lentils, Potatoes, Kumara, Capsicums, Carrots and Beef Schnitzel. I added a can of 4-Bean Mix (3.6% sugar), a can of Peas (3.5% sugar) and a can of chopped Tomatoes (3.5% sugar but all naturally occurring, nothing added). I seasoned it with some Beef Stock powder, Garam Masala, Soy Sauce (3% sugar), salt, and pepper. Left it over night and divided it up this morning into enough for 5 lunches for the two of us. Easy!

Afternoon Tea - Its shopping night tonight so stocks are low. I've run out of Nice & Natural Nut Bars and Nuts, so I'm having a few plums instead. 3, to be precise.

Dinner - We had a picnic at Mercury Energy Movies by Moonlight with Wholegrain Buns (less than 1% sugar) Smoked Chicken, Tomato and Beetroot (drained).

Dessert - Erm, yes - dessert. We won VIP seats at Movies in Moonlight and the beanbags we got to sit on came with free caramel popcorn, iced tea and ice cream. I didn't eat the popcorn or the iced tea! I wanted to, but I didn't. I did however, eat the Tip Top Vanilla Ice cream, 100ml, 19.6% sugar. Sugar-free fail! But, if I'm honest, that was the best Ice cream I have ever eaten. And I felt very weird and jittery afterwards.


Friday 11 February 2011

Breakfast - This isn't going to change. Occasionally I have Weetbix with yoghurt

Morning Tea - To be honest, I didn't eat. Courts and I work together and so we take breaks together most of the time. He had a meeting around morning tea time (to receive a PROMOTION! Yay!!) and I waited for him before I ate but by the time he had free time it was lunch time.

Lunch - Yesterday's crock pot meal again. Smaller serving, but with a slice of Wholemeal Toast. It kind of looks like mince on toast, so I thought Id try it, and it worked.

Dinner - We had dinner with friends, roast chicken, parsnips, potatoes, carrots, garlic, salad, bacon and a very small falafel (4% sugar). I had a glass of Coke Zero with it. SO good!

OK, so some of the things I eat are above 3%, and the yoghurt and ice cream were above 10%. Generally this can be put down to using up our pantry stocks but I don't always have this excuse. I need to refocus and make sure I only buy sugar-free products. Give me a couple of weeks and I'll update you on my progress!

PS. As with all my sugar-free posts, please note I am not a nutritionist or any kind of diet or medical professional. This is my experience, doing the best I can with the information I have. If you want professional advice, I highly recommend RealNutrition.

How I 'Do' Sugar-Free

I've had a few people ask - if I'm sugar-free, and yet everything has sugar in it - what do I eat?! So, I recorded everything I ate for one week. I intended to tell you how I 'do' sugar-free, but instead I learnt that I am still very much a work in progress.

I am doing a thousand times better. Previously, I would possibly have toast or Weetbix for breakfast, but the toast would be with Marmite or peanut butter or the Weetbix would be with sugar. Sometimes I'd skip it altogether and fill up on Milo at work, or spend money on a bacon and egg panini with mayo (full of sugar in the panini and the mayo).

Morning Tea would be reasonably healthy - if I ate it at all, but I'd have another Milo to go with it, or a hot chocolate from the cafe downstairs. Often our work supplies free donuts when we've had an achievement in the Contact Centre and Id happily take a second one if it was offered.

I was usually good enough to take my own lunch, but it was most likely quick and easy like cheese on toast. I make an effort now to make meals in advance. If I didn't take any, Id either have a kebab on rice, or Id just have chocolate from the vending machine - and probably another Milo.

I've always had Nut Bars for afternoon tea, usually with a piece of fruit, but it wasn't unusual for me to chase it with something from the vending machine if I hadn't already at lunchtime. Dinner was usually either cheese on toast or Burger King, because I was too busy to make a real effort. Now I make time and I'm much better for it. Oh and don't forget dessert! If it was up for grabs, I'd have as much as I could without looking greedy.

Pretty gross, right? Think of all that sugar, backing up my liver and poisoning my body. The worst part is, most people are doing the same thing. Maybe not in the same way, with the same foods, but definitely with the same poison. We just don't realise what sugar is in.

OK, so here is the first day of my food diary for a working week, Monday to Friday. I'll post the rest tomorrow and you'll see what I mean about being a work in progress!

Monday 7 February 2011

Breakfast - 2 slices of Pams wholegrain toast, 2.5% sugar, 1/4 small avocado, 1/4 large tomato, pepper, 300ml water.

I couldn't see an obvious sugar in the ingredients list of the bread, but thought Wheat Gluten might be it. I googled Wheat Gluten... Don't click this link if you want to look at bread the same way again!

Morning Tea - 2 Real Foods Corn Thins, 0.7% sugar. Normally I have 3, but Courtney dropped one of them! 2 tsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2.7% sugar. 200ml Light Blue Anchor Milk, 5% sugar (natural lactose only, nothing added), mixed with 200ml Hot Water. Its like drinking weak tea.

Lunch - Frittata made with potatoes, broccoli, courgette, red pepper, carrot, basil, salt, pepper and garlic. Each serving has 1 egg in it (6 servings per frittata). When I mix the eggs, I use water instead of milk. The cooking time is longer but the fat and sugar content is lower.

Afternoon Tea - 1.5c diced watermelon. 1 Nice & Natural Nut Bar (Original Flavour), 22.9% sugar.

The Nut Bars are full of sugar but much of the sugar comes from sultanas and raisins. The rest is from Glucose Syrup and Brown Sugar. They were recommended by the Nutritionist that helped me kick sugar last year (the second time I have done it, and the most successful thus far) so I have been eating them ever since. I am seriously considering switching them for mixed nuts, but nuts are so expensive.

Dinner - Chicken Burgers made from 2 slices of Pams wholegrain toast, 2.5% sugar. 75g chicken fried in Soy Sauce, which is 3% sugar. Sliced beetroot from a can, drained, 1% sugar. 1 egg, fried (on a non stick pan, no oil). 1 tsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2.7% sugar. 1/4 Onion, fried (no oil).

Healthy Food Guide says even though there is added sugar in canned beetroot, it's OK. When you drain the can you are left with only 1% refined sugar - the rest is naturally in the beetroot.

Courts invented these 'burgers' the other day when he saw the beetroot can and had a craving. We didn't have burger buns so he used toast, and we just put the chicken, egg, beetroot and onion in between two slices, with cream cheese on one side (since sauce is high in sugar). Its actually really good!

The Pieces Fall Into Place...

1st of Feb. You know what that means? ONE MONTH SUGAR FREE!

Since New Years, this is the sugar I have eaten -

• 1 Welshcake cookie
• 2 Hersheys Kisses
• 4 Ferrero Rocher
• 1/2 a Creme Brulee

...and low and behold I'm having a need-sugar day today! My first in about a week though, I've just realised. I managed to stay away even from milk or any of my normal substitutes until 1.30pm and now I'm drinking half-half hot water and hot milk, because the vending machine was whispering sweet nothings in my ear and it was either milk or chocolate!

In the last month, I have had headaches, digestion issues, light headedness and mood swings. It has been nowhere near as bad as last time I gave up sugar, when I also had split lips, split skin on my fingers, major break outs and full body aches, not to mention 3 periods in 6 weeks. To balance that though, once the worst passed, I have slept better, been more positive, more patient and more motivated. I feel generally lighter and healthier, and much happier.

As promised last night, I attempted a new recipe but alas it did NOT work out. Yoghurt is not a good sugar substitute FYI! Gluggy muffins - still edible but not shareable. That's my measurement of success - would I be happy sharing these with my friends? This time, a definite no! Hahaha oh well, next time!

Tonight I have a couple of nail appointments to do, so not much time for Bliss... I'm going to try and spend half an hour reading though because that is something I love and can do easily. In the meantime, I scanned in our current itinerary for Europe! Everything in pen is definite and everything in pencil is still changeable. The numbers at the bottom of each square represent riding hours, the toll charge for that day, kilometres to cover, and petrol cost for the day (petrol is above km) - all the estimated information is from ViaMichelin, a ridiculously awesome tool for planning travel all over the world.

I think you need to click on the picture below to see it full size and readable - please excuse spelling mistakes (I have no idea why I wrote the Whitesnake concert in as 'whitesnack' but I only noticed it post scan!)

Finding Motivation

Just a quick one today because I've spent all day working on putting all of our research on the site for you. I have managed to publish the first of three directory pages, listing all of the accomodation we will be booking. As we travel, I will do my best to keep up to date with reviewing each of the places as well.

Soon to come will be a directory of all the places we have an interest in visiting, and a directory of all of the transport options we will use. Hopefully this becomes a usable resource for future travellers so please refer your friends to my page if you know it might be useful!

An update on the Bliss List challenge... I'm still doing my best, but time is of course a hindrance. Last night we went to a BBQ with Courtney's Stepmum's family. I hadn't met them before and it was really lovely to be made to feel as welcome as I was. Just goes to show it doesn't have to be close family and friends for it to be a great time when people are open and welcoming.

Today I have literally done nothing. It is a public holiday in Auckland and it was lunch time before I knew it and started working on these pages. I'm stoked that I've finally posted one of the three pages I've been intending on since I started posting, but I wish I had forced myself to take the dog to the park or to bake something or to put music on for an hour or so. At 8pm I feel sluggish and lazy, maybe I will find a recipe to keep me occupied until Courts gets home just after 10pm.

Hopefully your weekend was awesome! I'm finding it so hard to get motivated to leave the house at the moment, the weather has been up and down and I've been distracted by 'things to do'. When I do leave the house I feel so much better, I just need to get better at actually doing it!

How do you motivate yourself to change your priorities?

The Snowball Effect

I know this blog is supposed to be inspirational, but I also want it to be honest. I am doing my best this year to be positive, happy, and to make the most of every day. I think some days just have to be off-days, and today is one of them.

It started off okay, I caught up on the TV shows I had recorded throughout the week, and when Courts got up we had scrambled eggs and I had some watermelon too. Since then, my food intake has gone downhill. I haven't cheated, let's get that out there! I remain sugar free. But the food I've eaten hasn't been great.

This morning after Courts went to work I did the mountain of dishes, I checked the blog, and I prepped myself for the day. I finally took all the decorations down off the Christmas tree (don't judge me). I jumped in the car to go and do the theory test for my Motorcycle Learners License but I was half an hour too late. I did the grocery shopping and some washing. I intended today to bake something to give away as a Random Act of Kindness this week, since RAOK's are on the Bliss List. I attempted to make sugar free Brownies but I think the recipe had incorrect quantities listed and it did not work out. I attempted to make Mushroom Soup and again it didn't quite work as planned.

Its silly though because I had a great morning with good food, and I had an hour or so home alone where I got to turn the stereo up and sing at the top of my voice, one of my favourite things to do. I'm going to put some of my slump down to my sluggish morning in front of the TV. I'm going to put some of it down to the rain and fog that is blanketing my house. I'm going to put a lot of it down to my own attitude letting one thing snowball into another.

I guess this blog is good for me in that without you all listening to me, I would have a responsibility to no one, and I could stay miserable. But because I have chosen to make my blog about positivity and new adventures, I feel a responsibility to you all to follow through on what I preach.  So I will pick myself up, I will wash all of the horrible sugar free brownie mix down with some clean cold water, and I will enjoy my night with good friends and my Long Haired Boy, who just got home from work soaking wet and cold but is still happy enough to be singing in the shower.

I will publish this so that you all know what I'm thinking and so that I can be held to my resolution not to let a bad day turn into a bad night! Thanks for being my inspiration, friends and strangers alike.

A Lesson in Temptation

Any time I mention being sugar-free, I get lots and lots of questions about it, so I thought I would do a weekly update on how I’m doing. It will also hopefully keep me in check if I know I have to tell you all about my ups and downs!

This year, I have eaten 1 homemade welsh cake, 2 Hershey’s Kisses, and 4 Ferrero Rochers. Everything else has been as close to sugar free as possible. Welsh cakes are biscuit sized and shaped but texture and taste-wise they’re like the love child of scones and shortbread. I had never had one before until a friend bought them to a picnic and to be honest I didn’t even realise what I was doing until Courts pointed out the sugar factor, but I tell you what, that little biscuit was SO GOOD.

The Hershey’s Kisses and Ferrero Rochers were all eaten on the same day while recovering from local anaesthetic and suffering a migraine. However, I had an entire box of each in front of me and ate 2 at a time over about 4 hours. The ‘old me’ would have had both boxes gone within an hour, so I’m not cut up over it.

Of the other foods I’ve eaten, some have had sugar content. It is ridiculous the number of things that include unsuspected sugar, and equally ridiculous the number of names sugar can be known by on an ingredients label. The highest number of sugar based additives I’ve counted in one item so far is seven. Seven! In a supposedly healthy muesli bar, for a total of almost 30% sugar. The sugar-added items I have eaten are things like canned peas (2.5%), corn thins (0.8%) and cottage cheese (2%) and I am definitely not fussed about percentages like that.

One thing that has really made sugar free life difficult is that little procedure I mentioned above. A little off topic, but as you can imagine, part of planning our trip to Europe is planning contraception. We will have no regular routine whatsoever and I know I won’t remember to take a pill. For various reasons the best option for us was one that is popular overseas but quite new here – an implant that goes in your arm and lasts 5 years (unless you take it out earlier). The procedure is simple, although a little stomach turning (perhaps not a tale for a blog about food!) and ultimately I now have hormones automatically releasing into my blood stream. Ladies, we know what that means – mood swings and chocolate cravings. In this case, chocolate cravings like never before!

Happily, I have not strayed. I have had hot milk instead of Milo, honey-muffins instead of cookies and fruit instead of heading to the vending machine. It has not been easy! But it has been worth it. When you are sugar free, life is immeasurably better. I wake up earlier, am happier, more patient, less moody, more tolerant, I feel lighter and I am more alert.

19 days in, it is still a huge struggle to avoid temptation but I would like to report a minor break through. In a week of wanting burgers, cookies, hot chocolate and anything with cocoa, a colleague was reheating pizza in the microwave at work. I looked over and, on autopilot, started to think how good it would taste. I stopped myself though, and realised that as the sugar reserves slowly leave my body, I don’t want it. The pizza didn’t appeal to me at all.

And that was my little bliss for the day, because it leads me to Good Food, more experimentation with Cooking and much more happiness with my Long Haired Boy.