In the effort of full disclosure, I think I ate more sugar in December than several other months combined. The holidays make everything seem so special (and my mom is an AMAZINGLY GIFTED baker/candy lady). Now, I probably ate significantly less sugar than the average American - I didn't eat treats at every meal or plates of sweets at a holiday party; I don't drink soda, and I hate sugary alcohol drinks. Except wine. But wine has a tiny amount of sugar so whatever. I only went crazy by my own standard and probably no one else's.
Now that you know where I'm coming from, I will share my thoughts on day one -
Spaghetti sauce
I went grocery shopping, which hasn't been done in three weeks. I needed food. Specifically, I craved whole grains and colorful veggies. Yes, I crave these things when I don't have as many as I usually do. I like having the option of pasta, so sauce hunting I went. Trader Joe's was closed so I went to Fred Meyer. I headed into the natural section, thinking that would be my best shot. Also, I don't really use too much of the rest of the store anyway. I read every label and found that only 1/3 of the organic sauces had no added sugar. These varieties cost about twice as much as the kinds with sugar. Ever since watching Fed Up, I started paying more attention to added sugars, so I had an idea of what I was walking into, but come on! This is why, even when we want to do better, our country stays so sick. People go and assume this food is a good choice, and it's still full of extra sugar we don't need.
(Ok, yes, I could make my own sauce. And maybe I will do that more often. Buying it is just so much easier. Blah blah excuses).
Bread
I do make bread from scratch, but homemade bread does not store particularly well. Or last long - especially with 3 roommates involved. I like to buy bread sometimes and keep it in the freezer so I can make toast. Toast recipes. Yum. Anyway. Besides the obvious choice of Ezekiel bread, I wanted to do something else because one of my favorite brands, Dave's Killer Bread, was super on sale. It comes in several varieties, and boasts in whole grains, nuts and seeds. Of maybe six varieties, there was only one that had no refined sugar in it. I did buy a variety that contains molasses, because it's January. But February looks like it will be Ezekiel, homemade or nothing. Oh wait. I'm doing that cleanse in February. Different rules all together. Back to the bread of the day. I understand bread making, and that sugar can play a role in activating the yeast. And I enjoy a good honey wheat bread as much as the next gal, especially if I'm the one who made it. But I have made plenty of breads with NO SUGAR. It's possible, people. And it's delicious. And not poison.
Other than that, it's day one. You can do anything for a day, right? Not much else to report. I saved about $2.50 by not buying chocolate chips today. Lara bar makes bars with nothing but fruits (including dates!) and nuts, so no added sugar there. Yum!
I am already a bit nervous about next month, but as I told Elizabeth, I think doing no sugar will be easier on the cleanse, because there will already be limits and plans. I have NO CLUE how Eve (Year of No Sugar author) and her family did this for an entire year. They deserve a prize, for sure.
I was only going to blog occasionally, and definitely not today, but I wrote it out in my journal and it was long so here it is. I hope that not every post will be this long. If so, it will be a long month for you.
Quote from Fed Up
"They say skinny feels better, but me, I think food tastes better"*
*I hope everyone knows this is supposed to be funny. It's based on Kate Moss who one time said "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". Maybe she had a tattoo? I don't know. This quote is uttered by an overweight teenager and is probably better if you watch it. Which you should do anyway. This particular quote is featured in the bonus section.
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