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!