Sugarbusters - Week 2

Done!

My two-week sugar fast should really be retitled and called two weeks of madness. Tyler and my kids kept asking when it would be over. And frankly, I am a little relieved to have it over. I have really missed my ice cream and chocolate.

This past week I gave in to my cereal with 7 and 8 grams of sugar. I also hosted book club at my house and didn't want to be a rude hostess, so I indulged in one cookie, with CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

Friday night was date night and we ended up at Chuck-a-Rama. When Tyler first suggested it, I said no way. There was no way I was going to be able to walk out of there without dessert. But I did. I discovered a sugar-free chocolate chip cookie which didn't taste too badly. The sugar-free vanilla pudding was not as great. 

Yesterday Ash and Kiersten made my all-time favorite, chocolate chips cookies and I couldn't resist. Only one though.

This no sugar diet has had it ups and downs and has been a real eye opener. The biggest thing I've learned is how easy it is to eat things with sugar and how hard it is to eat healthier alternatives. AND that it's okay to have a treat. But just one and not four or five helpings. Sugar has invaded everything. I really have to plan what I'm going to eat and have stuff handy for when I get snacky.

I can see myself doing this again, just not right away.

I am a canner

Hi!

My name is Missy and I am a canner.

It's true.

I've become quite domesticated this fall. Canning was never something that interested me. But ya know, it is kind of satisfying to stand back and look at my beautiful bottles that are going down on my shelf for the winter. Last year I tackled peaches and this year I added apples to my repertoire.

So, what DO you do with a box of apples?

Dried apples, of course.

Ya, that got old after a week. Drying takes a long time.

I tried making apple jelly. I had it once and remember it being so delicious. Well, I learned that jelly can be kind of tricky. It didn't seem to be setting up, so I figured I just needed to boil it longer than the minute the recipe was telling me to. And I was right. It turned out great with a tint of red because I chose the lazy way and didn't peel my red apples.

I made apple pie filling bars for Grandma Leary's 90th birthday party. Oooh la la. They were most excellent. BUT, I've been good this week. I brought leftovers home and haven't had a single one all week.

Today I made apple pie filling while the snow fell, and [tangent coming] can I just tell you how much I've been wanting hot chocolate these past two days. I'm afraid that next week when I've conquered this crazy no-sugar diet, I may just have a huge relapse and stuff myself silly with everything I've denied myself [end of tangent].

There are still apples left in my box. Some apple crisp just may be in the works tonight.

In case you were interested in those apple pie filling bars (I never did get the correct name for them), here's the recipe:

Fruit Pie Bars

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 ½ t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
3 c. flour

2 c. pie filling (or any fruit, sweetened and thickened)

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs. Add almond, vanilla, and flour. Spread 2/3 of the batter onto greased cookie sheet. ( I just use parchment paper.) Spread pie filling over batter. Drop the remaining batter by spoonfuls over the top of the filling. Don’t worry that it doesn’t look pretty. It will puff up. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Just until the edges are a light golden brown. After you take it out, let it cool then drizzle icing over the top.

Icing:

1 c. powdered sugar
1– 2 T. milk

Sugarbusters - Week 1

The rules for last week:

(Monday through Friday, weekends were optional which I chose to do)

• no soda, diet soda, energy drinks, sweetened fruit juices/ drinks

• no sweets, candy, or desserts

• no added sugar (in coffee/tea, or on cereal, etc.)

• no cereal or oatmeal with more than 6 grams sugar per serving

• no sweetened milk, milk products, or yogurt

So how did I do?

Not too bad.

Monday: It was hard. After lunch I really was craving something sweet. The apples I've been drying really helped and I made some popcorn. Later in the week when I went grocery shopping, I bought some mixed nuts. Those have been a life saver.

Wednesday: I broke. I needed milk for my Grape Nuts. At 12 grams of sugar per serving, milk is a huge hidden sugar food. Who knew? And you know, Grape Nuts are pretty nasty without a sprinkling of sugar on them. Again, when I went shopping I bought some Silk almond milk with 0 grams of sugar. It was surprisingly good and definitely a keeper.

Friday: I again faltered on the cereal. I had one of my favorites, Cinnamon Pecan Special K with 7 grams of sugar, but this time with almond milk. So I figured I may have eaten more sugar in my cereal but I saved by having no sugar in my milk. AND, it tasted way better than the Grape Nuts breakfast.

That night I had 2 of Papa Murphy's cinnamon wheels with 10 grams of sugar each. Oh, they were sure good and sweet.

A huge bag of my favorite peanut M&Ms have been sitting in the pantry, OPENED, all week and I haven't snitched even one. In fact I haven't had anything chocolate all week which has got to be some kind of personal record for me.

Saturday: I bottled apple jelly and I had to try it out on some rolls.

Sunday: We had a birthday party, and again, I had to try out my dessert to make sure it was going to taste okay since I've never made it before. At the party I allowed myself one dessert which I never do. I will usually take several and eat them all.

I may not have eliminated sugar entirely last week, but I sure made a great start. I'm on to a new week.

Kiersten held out for three days and then caved when we got home Wednesday night and her dad had made ginger snaps. But she's on board again for this week.

My cravings have definitely diminished and I don't find it as hard to turn the sweets away. I've been drinking a lot more water and I haven't had any little headaches this week which I'm pretty sure was attributed to all the sugar I was consuming. I've been a lot more conscientious about how much sugar is in the food I'm eating, and I'm sure my kids think I'm some kind of a sugar Nazi and can't wait for all this to be over. Sunday dinner at our house always includes Koolaid. I'm not even sure how this little tradition started. So yesterday I had the Koolaid maker use 25% less sugar and no one could tell a difference.

I strongly believe in moderation in all things, even sugar. After this week is over I don't plan on being as stringent, but I do hope to keep the sweet stuff in check and start using less sugar in my recipes.

Prayer

Prayer

Prayer's really important.

You can use it everywhere.

If you're in a situation,

The thing to use is prayer

If you're in a hard time,

And you think that no one cares,

Don't get in a bad mood,

Just say another prayer.

--Nathan Leary

October 2012

*He wrote this for a requirement for his Faith in God in cub scouting

Sugar-free for two weeks

The other day I visited my sister Katie in her office at Rhodes Bread where she works in the human resource department. I was there to celebrate her birthday with my mom and sisters.

Isn't she just darling!

While I was waiting for everyone to show I noticed that the employees had the option of signing up to go sugar free for two weeks. I thought that was not for me. No soda, cookies, cakes, candy, sweetened juices, or anything with more than 6 grams of sugar, etc.

But I did think about for the next couple of days and even asked my family if anyone might be interested in doing it with me. Kiersten approached me one morning and said she would try it.

Tonight at dinner we started looking at what we were having for dinner and the sugar in each thing. Pretty soon it turned into a science experiment that Kiersten is going to do for the science fair. BONUS!

So starting Monday Kiersten and I are going to start our little experiment. This should be interesting to see if I feel any different, if I lose a little weight, if I have the will power to stick with it.

First paycheck

I think she needs to take some of that and first get a haircut,

and then she owes some of that to her Grandma Jules.

She's the one who put out all the dough for piano lessons

and Kiersten and I get to reap the rewards.

Are you awake up there?

That was the classic quote after spending 34 hours in the car traveling to and from Edmonton, Canada last weekend.

My mother-in-law wasn't making sure the driver was awake. She merely wanted the radio turned on! Tyler either obliged or serenaded us with his Coyote song.

Whoo, yip, whoo, yip, whoo. Whoo, du, yip, whoo, yip, whoo, whoo.

All week I stewed about going and made the final decision when I was able to get my Primary responsibilities taken care of. Then Tyler called from the airport to say he was finally on his way home after a long week away, and we hung up. I immediately called him back to tell him I was going to Canada for the weekend and he decided to tag along.

It was so good to see these guys and meet little Ames. He is an absolute doll. (I might have pilfered a few pictures that I didn't take.)

I became well acquainted with all the rest areas. It's a long drive! . . .

Even for Mrs. TomTom, our navigator, who finally called it quits after 26 hours, and even if it really wasn't her fault. She'd just assume we "turn around as soon as we are able" and head back home.

The Saturn we drove had a possessed cruise control. Unreliable. We all suspect it just wanted to get us there and home a little faster.

Three hours from home and I saw my Uncle John at a gas station in Idaho Falls at 7:30 am on a Saturday. At least I'm pretty sure it was him walking out of the convenience store. I'm still waiting for confirmation on that.  

The Canadian border guard was not an especially happy fellow. I asked a simple question about bringing kids next summer and would they need a passport. "In MY country you  . . . yada, yada, yada. It's YOUR country with the problem."

Thank you, sir. And try to have a better day. I never really did get my question answered by him. Nor did I dare ask for a REAL stamp in my passport.

We had a much different experience talking to the American guard on our way back.  And unless the government changes things between now and next summer, children 16 years and younger only need a birth certificate if traveling with parents.

Tyler learned he's not quite to fast at Sudoku as he might have once thought. He and his mom participated in quite a few Sudoku tournaments where he got burned. I quietly bowed out after the first round. I've attempted 2 puzzles I found in the paper this week and wasn't able to complete either one. Maybe the 5 star difficult rating just isn't my skill level :)

Amber and Aaron were perfect hosts for the 18 hours we were there. They showed us their new home and the myriad of projects they've tackled, like a whole new kitchen makeover.
We took a walk to see their river.

They fed us wonderful food. I'm sure it being Fast Sunday had a little something to do with that. My favorite (besides the fresh carrots from the garden):

Peach Goodness

I don't really know what it was called. I just know I couldn't stop eating it and took several pieces for the road. I'm definitely going to need that recipe.

Thank you Amber and Aaron for inviting us. Can't wait for next summer.

Pretty exciting day

Mission age for young men has changed from 19 to 18 years upon graduating from high school and young women may serve at age 19 instead of waiting until 21.

I felt that Heavenly Father heard an unspoken prayer of mine. All three of my boys are born later in the school year which, until today, meant they would have to wait an entire year from graduation before leaving on their LDS mission.

This was something I was never excited about. I would have preferred that they leave soon after graduation and not have that year to wait.

And now . . . it is so possible that there could be a joint farewell for both Kiersten and Erik who are only a year apart and will turn 19 and 18 within 4 days of each other should they both decide this is something they would like to do.

Then throw Cousin Scott into the mix. He lives next door, will turn 18 early in the school year and will have to wait until graduation to go. Now you've got three cousins who could potentially be leaving and serving at the same time.

We were all pretty giddy when we heard the news.

Our other exciting news is Uncle Matt, my brother, is going to be a daddy today. Yippee! Last night my sisters, mom, and I drove to Logan for a baby shower and a couple of hours after we got home, Angelene's water broke. We can't wait to meet the little guy and hear what they finally decide to name him. I love that our family is growing!