Almost One Week!
That's right ladies and gentlemen! I have been [refined] sugar-free for 5 whole days!! It has been a struggle, but the choice to say no has been easier than I thought it would be. I don't do well in the areas of self-discipline. You probably have noticed that through my [many] failed attempts at at exercise regimen! (Speaking of - I think I got a little bored with P90X... so Steven bought us another one- should be here soon! But I'll tell you more about that later). BUT I am quite proud of the fact that I've almost made it a week considering:
Friday: we had a 70s themed office party with an assortment of delicious treats, including one of my favorite candies: STARBURST!! (And my favorite soda: CREAM SODA) After the party the delicious goodness sat out in a common area to taunt me all day. I resisted their calls.
Saturday: Birthday party for a friend held at the bowling alley. This one was fairly easy to resist, because I was distracted, but there was a delicious cake and sodas present. I made a strike!
Sunday: Lunch with some friends. Chocolate chips were present. I prevailed. (I even had dinner at Olive Garden and said no to the delicious chocolaty mints they give you when you leave. AAAH!!)
Today: At work with leftover goodies from the party Friday. I think I hear the starburst calling me again. Wait. I'll settle for my whole-wheat honey cookies. Win.
As I venture down this [refined] sugar-free, I will share with you, from time to time, some delicious (and super healthy) things I have discovered. As time goes on I hope my sugar tolerance goes down... so that I will find not-so-sweet things perfectly fulfilling. I made a cake (had the texture of a banana bread or something similar) that was delicious! (my husband even thought so!!) I got the recipe from the Whole Foods Market. But it was great.
Sweet Potato Apple Cake
Ingredients
Natural cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sucanat (can also use brown sugar)
1 egg 1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 (3/4-pound) sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an (8-inch) baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. In a second large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until well combined. Stir in apple, sweet potato, vanilla and walnuts and then add apple mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.
Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until cake pulls away from the edges and is deep golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Set aside to let cool and then cut into squares and serve.
I made an icing to go on top too to give it a little more pizazz. I found the recipe online somewhere and it was made to go on cinnamon rolls. It tastes kind of like vanilla yogurt.. but is tasty on this cake!
1/2c light sour cream
2 tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla
(Mix all ingredients together!)
Friday: we had a 70s themed office party with an assortment of delicious treats, including one of my favorite candies: STARBURST!! (And my favorite soda: CREAM SODA) After the party the delicious goodness sat out in a common area to taunt me all day. I resisted their calls.
Saturday: Birthday party for a friend held at the bowling alley. This one was fairly easy to resist, because I was distracted, but there was a delicious cake and sodas present. I made a strike!
Sunday: Lunch with some friends. Chocolate chips were present. I prevailed. (I even had dinner at Olive Garden and said no to the delicious chocolaty mints they give you when you leave. AAAH!!)
Today: At work with leftover goodies from the party Friday. I think I hear the starburst calling me again. Wait. I'll settle for my whole-wheat honey cookies. Win.
As I venture down this [refined] sugar-free, I will share with you, from time to time, some delicious (and super healthy) things I have discovered. As time goes on I hope my sugar tolerance goes down... so that I will find not-so-sweet things perfectly fulfilling. I made a cake (had the texture of a banana bread or something similar) that was delicious! (my husband even thought so!!) I got the recipe from the Whole Foods Market. But it was great.
Sweet Potato Apple Cake
Ingredients
Natural cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sucanat (can also use brown sugar)
1 egg 1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 (3/4-pound) sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an (8-inch) baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. In a second large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until well combined. Stir in apple, sweet potato, vanilla and walnuts and then add apple mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.
Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until cake pulls away from the edges and is deep golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Set aside to let cool and then cut into squares and serve.
I made an icing to go on top too to give it a little more pizazz. I found the recipe online somewhere and it was made to go on cinnamon rolls. It tastes kind of like vanilla yogurt.. but is tasty on this cake!
1/2c light sour cream
2 tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla
(Mix all ingredients together!)
I've GOT to try this one day--but I don't know how I will ever manage to give up chocolate...I would have to have a lot of resolve--so maybe TRYING it wouldn't work at all (since I'd have to DO it) Once I can find some healthier alternatives around here, I might give it a go...
ReplyDeleteIts really not that difficult.. the hardest part is just walking away. Its easy at home b/c we dont have much anyways. But when we're out and around it, it's a little more challenging. Tonight we're having an ice cream party. Im packing some fruit to eat - and maybe some yogurt. Im better off without the ice cream anyways!
ReplyDeleteOOH -I found some chocolate at Mountain People's that is Organic and made with UNREFINED sugar. It's $3.50 for a hershey sized bar, but I might just buy one for "trying it"s sake.
Oh, so I could cheat with sugar in the raw? I can get a whole bag here for $1!!! In that case, I TOTALLY think I could do this...
ReplyDeleteSugar in the raw is definitely better than regular sugar! Im not 100% about its refined-ness... havne't read up on it.. but its a start! $1 Woa. Thats so cheap.
ReplyDeleteNot to keep commenting like crazy--but it's not like I can just hang out with you one afternoon to discuss our eating habits :(--but I noticed yesterday that a lot of the baked goods here MAY be baked with sugar in the raw IF you know where to look. I had a really grainy chocolate chip cookie yesterday that made me suspicious of this. If so--SCORE!!!
ReplyDelete