Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year

And here we go again:
Getting In Shape for the Summer, once more.

New Year Resolutions...
I'm not big on those - they tend to go out the window by February.

Challenges?
I'm always ready for a new one.
Are they always successful?  Depends what we call successful. I find them successful as long as I gained something out of them.
Are they perfect? No. Almost never.
:)

Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Longest Time

It's surely been a long time since I posted...
I did not forget - I was simply too busy fixing up the house. In  fact, I still am but I thought I should drop by just for a moment and share how I was coping during this time food-wise.

Amy's frozen foods were a Godsend if a bit pricey. On the days when I had no hope of cooking a meal, I alternated between those and my own frozen supplies.  The latter ran out a couple of weeks ago, I am now trying to rebuild my stocks:). I am anxious to get back to my usual routine - during this time I have acquired a few wonderful cookbooks and I am eager to try new recipes.

Exercise really suffered.  I made it to the gym and/or yoga studio maybe 3 times in the past 5 weeks. I was most certainly on my feet all day but that is not the same...
I should be back to more regular workouts by next week.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The End

... of the Challenge, that is:)
Oh, those mini chocolates will taste delicious ...
but I  don't really need it right now:
just had some fabulous oatmeal with baking chocolate, almond butter, flax/chia seed, a couple of dried plums and a tiny bit  (less than a teaspoon) of maple syrup.
Amazing!!!

(Can you tell I was really hungry?)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A SURPRISE

This morning, as I came in from the cold, I wanted to make a nice Carob drink. I was bargaining in my mind that one teaspoon of honey is not going to hurt me or the challenge...
When the drink was ready I tasted it before reaching for the honey and much to my surprise, it tasted really sweet...

I usually have yogurt in the afternoon or in the evening.
My latest discovery:
Greek yogurt, 0% fat, plain with fresh pomegranates. DELICIOUS!
( I may have posted about this previously)

I've been continuing the challenge, just got really busy to post...

Monday, November 7, 2011

Continuing The Challenge

My worst crime was eating in a Thai Restaurant this weekend. (my first time ever:) )
I tasted the sugar in the dipping sauce, so I stopped eating it after that...
Otherwise, I'm doing fine.
My oatmeal was sweetened by a half banana (from the freezer).
I found a  good recipe link .
Then there is this one:) It looks good...
And, of course - this one. I made this before: excellent.  It's high in calories but each of those are good for you:)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Day 3, A Couple of Slips And Recipes

Not perfect, but not bad either... Yesterday, I accidentally had a cup of coffee with a spoonful of sugar. (My son brought it and he forgot about the sugar free challenge) I'm OK with it. I got over my "all or nothing" attitude.
 Today was another day and, since I made some Quince Cheese on Wednesday which is taking its sweet time to dry (pun intended:) ) I had to check it today, so I gave it a mini taste-test. I think that amounted to about a teaspoon of sugar again... :)
 On a positive note: I prepared Alex's Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples.  The only difference:
I peeled both as they were not organic. The result: delicious!

I make a similar "recipe" -

 Butternut Squash With Pears

1 butternut squash - peeled, seeded, chopped
2 Bosc Pears (or more) - peeled, seeded, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
Cinnamon (sprinkle liberally)

My friend tells me, apples are equally good for this recipe.

I just had this urge to try the above with some Carob powder... I think it would be good.:)


Friday, November 4, 2011

Day 1 and 2 -Sugar free

It went well:)
I glanced in the direction of the jar that holds the tiny pieces of Swiss chocolate...  but, never opened it.

Frozen banana slices helped  sweeten my smoothie.
Breakfast was a rush - those muffins really helped.
It's actually helpful to keep sugar out of morning meals as it kind of sets the pace for the day.

I'm going to create a savoury snack today. What?  I don't know yet... but  I'll post.:)

Good ideas:
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/savoury-mini-muffins-with-two-flavourings.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/healthy-recipes/sugar-free/main.aspx

I tried the Savoury Mini Muffins - Gruyere/Sage version. Very good but next time I'll cut down on the salt.

Another nice treat:
Greek Yogurt (0%fat) - with some fresh Pomegranate. You don't miss the sweetener!