Day Three

Woke up with a headache today. Went away after this morning's coffee smoothie. Guess that solves that mystery.

Today's lunch:

Last night's spinach tomato and cucumber salad with some pouch chicken and 1/2 avocado.











Today's dinner:
Marinated flank steak
The old reliable spinach, tomato and cucumber salad with home made vinaigrette dressing
Steamed cauliflower


Flank Steak Marinade
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 c olive oil
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 T garlic powder
3 T dried basil
1.5 T dried parsley
1 t pepper
Slightly altered from recipe that can be found by clicking on the recipe title above.
This made much more than was necessary for one steak so I saved it for future use.

Day Two

I decided that my nagging headaches of yesterday were due in large part to a lack of caffeine. So I took my daughter's advice and had some cold coffee ready this morning for my breakfast smoothie.

Here's the recipe I used (also from my daughter):

Coffee Banana Smoothie
Handful of ice cubes
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup cold coffee
1 scoop unsweetened protein powder
1/2 banana frozen
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Since I'm new to this kind of diet, I wasn't thrilled at the first sip. But by the end it was fine.



Skipped lunch, went to work out, went to the grocery store where I discovered that Cheez Its White Cheddar Crackers are Zero Sugar! Yippee! Can't sit down and snarf down a whole box but I can add them to my Approved Snack List. Also had an orange.








Dinner was boneless skinless chicken thighs, oven roasted kale, and a spinach tomato cucumber salad.
So far, so good.

How's it Going?
Pretty well, actually. I feel energized and feel confident that this is doable. Sugar cravings can be relieved by eating a piece of fruit.

A Day of Firsts

Today I will do a couple of things for the first time.

Thing 1: My first kale smoothie. This is straight from the Zero Sugar Diet book.

How Green is My Smoothie?
1/4 cup silken tofu
2 kale leaves, stems trimed
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbsp chia seeds

Note: I skipped the chia seeds because I have concerns about diverticulitis. But that's for another day.

Tip: My health-conscious daughter advised me to slice the banana and freeze in a plastic bag overnight. Good move.

Note to self: Run the blender on liquefy unless you enjoy chewing on bits of greenery as you drink.

Verdict: Not something I'd daydream about but OK.

Thing 2: Going to attend the  Natural Living Expo. Might even attend a workshop or two.

Attended the expo and two meditation workshops. Came home (starving!) and had a nice spinach salad with grape tomatoes and chicken from a pouch.

Then I became very drowsy and took a 2-hour nap. Wonder if it was because of the verrry relaxing meditations or because my body was craving sugar?

Yikes! It's 7:30! Need to make dinner.

Chicken breast and roasted cauliflower. I've decided crispy brown cauliflower is one of life's pleasures.

Experienced a nagging headache this evening. I googled it and it seems it is possible that it is as a result of sugar withdrawal. Considering I used to start every day with a glass of orange juice, which I discovered has 22g of sugar in just 8 ounces, I'm sure my body is wondering what the heck is going on!

Really enjoying the opportunity to preview and review books courtesy of NetGalley!

Embarking on a 14-day Zero Sugar Adventure

Starting tomorrow (Sunday Sept 24) I will begin an eating program that eliminates all added sugar for 14 days.
I know I'm a sugar addict so I will be interested to see how hard this is for me. Apparently I should expect the first week to be the hardest, and to feel better and experience reduced cravings during the second week.
I'll use this blog as a sort of journal to record my progress.

Proud to have joined NetGalley as a reader / reviewer!

Secret Daughter

This is a story about stark contrasts. We meet two families whose every day lives could not be more different. One family is struggling to escape the overwhelming poverty in India, and the other is a married couple in America-- both doctors, one Caucasian, one Indian -- who are unable to conceive a child.

Gowda gives us a window into India -- a country and culture  practically defined by contrasts. The fabulous luxury of the rich versus the crushing and endless poverty of the poor. The murder of female babies versus the three-day celebration of the birth of a baby boy. Add to this the contrast between the life of a woman in India who gave birth to an unwanted baby girl and the Stanford-educated couple who are unable to conceive and you may wonder how these families are at all similar.

Their life experiences intersect through the power of maternal love and the inevitable heartache and joy that comes with it. Add the pretty significant wrinkle of adoption and you get the stories of Kavita and Jasu in India and Somer and Krishnan in California.

I appreciated the insight into the Indian culture -- seeing American culture from the Indian perspective was eye-opening in itself -- but I also gained insight into the emotional toll of adoption and (surprising to me, anyway) the aftermath of adoption.

Given the above, I might have given it 4 stars except that the writing was just average.