I know you are singing this song now. Gotta love that hair.
I am not one of those people that eats or craves a lot of sugar. I prefer a nice salty snack over a sweet one most of the time. However, there are a few things I either eat that have added sugar, or that I add sugar to. When I say sugar, I mean honey, maple syrup, sugar, or any other form of sweetener.
Laura over at Mommy Run Fast is having a sugar detox challenge this week, which not only includes added sugars but processed foods as well. This does not include fruits or naturally sweet foods, thank goodness, because in that case I am not interested. We all know how much fruit I eat on a daily basis.
At first I thought that it wouldn't be very hard, as like I said, I am not a sugar person anyway and I usually eat pretty naturally already. But there are a few things that I have pinpointed that may be a little harder to give up than I think.
1. Coffee creamer: I love the vanilla flavored creamer. It's full of things I cannot pronounce. At work we have Coffeemate plain creamer, which is also full of weird things. I will be using either cream or nothing in my coffee this week.
2. Almond Milk: I am not a huge milk fan, but almond milk has "natural flavors" as one of the ingredients (among other things). Not so natural. However, even skim milk has some weird things floating around in it. So I am considering using regular milk or yogurt in my oatmeal this week to see how it goes.
3. Splenda: I confess; I use Splenda. Don't hate me. I use it both in my oatmeal and my coffee at work (where I don't have flavored creamer). I will sometimes use brown sugar or honey but either way, this week they are out. I always add fruit, but this week I may have to add a bit extra.
4. Sweet nuts: Sometimes when I DO have a little sugar craving, I go for some maple almonds, or cinnamon (and sugar) almonds, or my favorite, coconut (and sugar!) almonds. I will just stick to plain almonds for now (which is not a problem).
5. Running fuel: Gu and gels and chews are basically all just processed sugar. So for next weekend's trail race, I will be using dried fruit or baby food as my fuel. I have done this before and it has worked out great, but the dried fruit is a bit sticky.
6. Nutrition bars: I don't eat these very often but do like to use them in a pinch from time to time. However, most of them are loaded with added sugar. I did find out that Larabars do NOT have any added sugars (source: apple pie flavor).
I am not a huge fan of cutting things out entirely; I am much more a fan of everything in moderation. However, this is more of an experiment to see what things I may need to eat less of or maybe substitute with something just as good or better. So...what's on the menu? Lentils, navy beans, beets, acorn squash, quinoa, veggies, fruits, nuts and chicken: all things that I cooked or roasted in the oven yesterday. I will check back next week to let you know how it goes!
Are you doing the sugar detox? What would be the hardest thing for you to cut out sugar-wise? What about processed food-wise?
I am not one of those people that eats or craves a lot of sugar. I prefer a nice salty snack over a sweet one most of the time. However, there are a few things I either eat that have added sugar, or that I add sugar to. When I say sugar, I mean honey, maple syrup, sugar, or any other form of sweetener.
Laura over at Mommy Run Fast is having a sugar detox challenge this week, which not only includes added sugars but processed foods as well. This does not include fruits or naturally sweet foods, thank goodness, because in that case I am not interested. We all know how much fruit I eat on a daily basis.
At first I thought that it wouldn't be very hard, as like I said, I am not a sugar person anyway and I usually eat pretty naturally already. But there are a few things that I have pinpointed that may be a little harder to give up than I think.
1. Coffee creamer: I love the vanilla flavored creamer. It's full of things I cannot pronounce. At work we have Coffeemate plain creamer, which is also full of weird things. I will be using either cream or nothing in my coffee this week.
2. Almond Milk: I am not a huge milk fan, but almond milk has "natural flavors" as one of the ingredients (among other things). Not so natural. However, even skim milk has some weird things floating around in it. So I am considering using regular milk or yogurt in my oatmeal this week to see how it goes.
3. Splenda: I confess; I use Splenda. Don't hate me. I use it both in my oatmeal and my coffee at work (where I don't have flavored creamer). I will sometimes use brown sugar or honey but either way, this week they are out. I always add fruit, but this week I may have to add a bit extra.
4. Sweet nuts: Sometimes when I DO have a little sugar craving, I go for some maple almonds, or cinnamon (and sugar) almonds, or my favorite, coconut (and sugar!) almonds. I will just stick to plain almonds for now (which is not a problem).
5. Running fuel: Gu and gels and chews are basically all just processed sugar. So for next weekend's trail race, I will be using dried fruit or baby food as my fuel. I have done this before and it has worked out great, but the dried fruit is a bit sticky.
6. Nutrition bars: I don't eat these very often but do like to use them in a pinch from time to time. However, most of them are loaded with added sugar. I did find out that Larabars do NOT have any added sugars (source: apple pie flavor).
I am not a huge fan of cutting things out entirely; I am much more a fan of everything in moderation. However, this is more of an experiment to see what things I may need to eat less of or maybe substitute with something just as good or better. So...what's on the menu? Lentils, navy beans, beets, acorn squash, quinoa, veggies, fruits, nuts and chicken: all things that I cooked or roasted in the oven yesterday. I will check back next week to let you know how it goes!
Are you doing the sugar detox? What would be the hardest thing for you to cut out sugar-wise? What about processed food-wise?
I have never done a sugar detox. I could see the benefits of really cutting it out for awhile but I just haven't gotten around to doing it. The hardest thing for me to give up would definitely be my creamer for my coffee! Besides that, I really enjoy these San Pellegrino carbonated beverages, like the limonata is my favorite. I am sure those have plenty of sugar in them!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to sign up but yes I'm doing the detox! I love me some artificial sweetener! I try to stay away from it as much as I can but my coffee isn't the same without it...and I'm not the same without coffee!!
ReplyDeleteI'm on the sugar detox as well. Since the first time I tried this, I haven't craved/enjoyed sweets the way I used to so I'm thinking this time around will be easier...at least I hope!
ReplyDeleteI have 2 Costco mega bags of Splenda in my pantry I stopped using ages ago. Suppose I should ditch em already.
I am definitely not doing the sugar detox, but I love how thoughtful you've been about removing what limited sugar was already in your life. When I was pregnant, Sweets and I started paying closer attention to processed foods. One of the nastiest culprits was the creamer he was putting in his coffee. Since then, he buys half and half. Also, we switched what milk we drink to Kalona's Super Natural (http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/), because it's pasteurization porcess is at a lower temp than most brand milks and they don't homogenize our milk (we skim the cream off the top ourselves!).
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem with sugar is that we always have some chocolate candies hanging out around the house. can't give it up. outside of that I'd just have to look and see what else has sugar in it. bread maybe? I don't use it specifically anywhere else like in coffee (black) or oatmeal (rasins, flax & banana).
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to see how it goes for you!! I'm surviving day one so far... a bit more snacking this afternoon than usual to replace my usual dark chocolate, but I'm hanging in there. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could ever give up fruit, which is one big thing that's kept me from doing an intense detox. But good luck to you with this one, and I'm sure you could do it!
ReplyDeleteI could definitely benefit from this, although I'm MUCH better than I used to be with sugar. I eat a little processed sugar, but mostly fruits or natural sugars in plain yogurt, greek, etc. I think cutting out fruits would make me feel really deprived and not happy. Plus, I love having banana and frozen blueberries in my oatmeal or on my cereal in the morning. Good luck!
ReplyDeletenot all people are conscious with the food they eat. good thing you posted something like this it will be beneficial to everybody.kudos
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I think it would be hard to have dried fruit during long runs.
ReplyDeleteI hate the flavored coffee creamers - I used to love them, now I think they're nasty.
I do love some flavored almonds. And I do eat protein/snack bars often. So that would be the area for me to focus on. But, I think I'm pretty good at keeping it in moderation.
I've never done it, but I've read that it's pretty easy to make your own almond milk, if that's something that interests you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI love fruit, the first pic remind me the happy harvest time.
ReplyDelete