Conquering a Refined Sugar Addiction

Back in October, a dear friend of mine told me she was on a sugar fast. She gave up all refined sugar for one month and only used honey to sweeten foods, because she was lacking natural energy. She said that she would fall asleep doing homework and always felt tired. After giving up sugar, she felt more energized, felt better, and (I believe) lost weight.

I had struggled with my weight for awhile. Nothing major, mind you, but I knew I was pushing my ideal weight and I also felt that I wasn’t making right eating choices. Whenever I ate, I often chose highly refined products (convenience foods), and foods with lots of carbohydrates, and I was not eating enough fruits and vegetables. I thought that perhaps I would try a sugar fast for a week, but I forgot about it with all of the sumptuous treats of the holidays.

The wake-up “moment” for me came after our pastor preached a sermon about our health. He discussed the fact that neglecting our health is a subtle sin, that God wants us to be healthy (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and that being healthy is more important than losing weight. After church I announced to my Mom that I was going to go on a sugar fast for a whole month. I didn’t think that much about it, which was probably good! I couldn’t chicken out on such short notice!

So on January 3, 2011, I began my sugar fast. My purposes in going through this fast were: 1) to show that God was more important to me than refined sugar, 2) to learn to eat more whole, natural, and healthy foods, and 3) to lose weight as a bonus.

I learned so much about so many things during my sugar fast! I learned that I always have to read food labels, because I would have never imagined that refined sugar would have been added to things such as beef bouillon cubes, and garlic salt; I learned that I don’t like the taste of honey in hot teas; that I actually like avocado (Did you hear that, Bia? I actually like it!); and that store bought bread cannot even begin to compare to homemade whole wheat bread. It is so much more filling and tasty! I learned that homemade pizza is also waaay better than frozen, store-bought pizza; that Truvia is bitter, but agave nectar is even sweeter than sugar and has a lower glycemic index; and that I feel better when I am not filled up with artificial sweeteners and highly refined sugar.



Our family started having vegetable nights once a week. Some family members were skeptical, but we all enjoy it now!



Here are a few examples of my daily menu during my sugar fast (I wrote down everything I ate to help me see whether I was eating a balanced diet.)

January 5, 2011

Breakfast:

1 fried egg

1 pumpkin muffin (homemade)

1 orange

1 cup of milk

Lunch:

2 slices of homemade whole wheat bread with butter

1 apple

Snack:

3 carrots

1 serving of homemade hummus

Dinner:

1 serving of pasta

1 serving of crock-pot chicken and tomatoes

1 serving of salad

1 serving of Italian vinaigrette (homemade)

1 cup of milk

1 bottle of water



I love a good omelet any time of the day!



January 12, 2011

Breakfast:

1 shredded wheat biscuit

1 serving of sugar-free cereal

1 serving of honey (to sweeten the cereal a bit)

1 cup of milk

1 pumpkin muffin

½ banana

Lunch:

2 slices of whole wheat bread with butter

(Can you tell I’m not much of a lunch person?)

Snack:

1 apple

1 slice of cheddar cheese

Dinner:

1 seasoned chicken breast

1 serving of salad

1 serving of rice

1 serving of fresh pineapple

1 cup of milk

1 bottle water



Another favorite meal for any time of day: a homemade muffin, cheese, and apples!



January 27, 2011

Breakfast:

1 ½ hard-boiled eggs

1 light wheat roll

1 serving of unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon

1 cup of milk

Lunch:

2 whole wheat pancakes with honey (I used powdered milk in this recipe)

1 serving of natural peanut butter

1 apple

Snack:

1 serving of carrots

1 serving of hummus

Dinner:

½ filet of fish with homemade mayonnaise sauce

1 serving of whole wheat pasta

1 serving of vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, and corn)

¼ of an avocado

1 serving of tapioca pudding

1 serving of homemade granola

1 bottle of water



Whole Wheat pancakes with natural peanut butter and agave nectar.



As you can probably tell, my diet isn’t absolutely perfect, but it is a work in progress! And I saw results: I lost 5 pounds and felt SO much better. I had more energy, I didn’t get as many headaches, and I paid more attention to what I was putting into my mouth.

Now, to share some of my delicious recipes! Probably my staple for the fast was whole wheat bread. I have grown to love homemade bread so much that I have only eaten store bought bread once since my fast ended. It truly doesn’t taste good anymore. I have a very dear friend who sells homemade whole wheat bread that is sweetened with honey, but I sometimes made my own using this recipe:

Whole Wheat Bread

¾ cups of warm water (110°F)

1 teaspoon of rapid rise yeast

1 egg

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, or natural sweetener of choice

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of flour*

1 cup of whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix all wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Knead for 8 minutes. Let rise for 50 minutes. Knead again for 8 minutes. Let rise for 30 minutes. Shape into loaves. Let rise under a wet towel for 20 minutes. Bake in preheated 375°F for 20 minutes. Enjoy fresh out of the oven if possible! There is nothing better in this world than fresh, warm bread! (Makes 1 loaf)

*This can be all purpose flour, or whole wheat flour depending on your taste.*

Another favorite in our family is homemade pizza. We had never made our own pizza regularly, until we found this simple recipe from a friend. The only difference is we used a bit more yeast and substituted honey for the sugar and I omitted the garlic salt when I was on my fast (see my previous mention of garlic salt.) We also made her sauce recipe, and they are both very tasty! We will now be using this recipe every other week for our Friday pizza night.



No, we don’t usually eat this much pizza on a Friday night! Two of the pizzas were for the family, one of the smaller pizzas was for me, and the other small one was to bring to our friend’s house for my Mom’s birthday (since I couldn’t eat the pizza they were eating.)



I love to have a good muffin for breakfast, but I don’t have time to make fresh muffins every morning. My solution: make a large batch, stick them in the freezer, and thaw them as I wanted them! I have experimented with many muffin recipes; some have flopped and others made it into our recipe binder! Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Muffins

3 ½ cups of white whole wheat flour(I use half wheat/half white)

1 teaspoon of salt

2 ½ tablespoons of baking powder

1 cup of peanut butter (use natural peanut butter for sugar-free muffins.)

½ cup of honey (or agave nectar, maple syrup, or sucanat)

2 tablespoons of flax seed, ground (I used 2 eggs instead.)

3 cups of water

½ cup of mini chocolate chips (carob chips or nuts makes a good substitute)

Mix dry ingredients. Blend in peanut butter until the mixture is grainy in texture. Mix honey and water and add. Mix to blend. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased muffin cups. Bake 22-30 minutes at 400°F. Enjoy! (Makes~6 large muffins)

One of my favorite snacks is a slice of homemade bread with hummus! Hummus is also good with crackers or carrots. Here is our family’s hummus recipe:

Hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (Optional: reserve liquid)

½ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of garlic salt (with parsley flakes)

½ teaspoon of oregano

Paprika

Blend well in food processor. If you like your hummus thinner, add the reserved liquid from the can of chickpeas. Blend until it reaches desired consistency. Or just make it without the excess liquid! Put into bowl and sprinkle with paprika. Keep refrigerated. Use in 5-7 days.

Since I ended my sugar fast, I have continued to avoid certain foods that are high in refined sugar and continue to make wise food choices. I plan to go on another sugar fast very soon—and this time, I’ll be joined by other family members! (look for posts about that in the future!) And look for more favorite family recipes on our blog soon!