Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

sugar-free challenge

Day 15: Halfway There!

By

Welcome to day fifteen of the Sugar Free Challenge!

We are now officially halfway through with the challenge! Wahhoooo! Great job everyone.

Here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: High Protein Cookie Crisp Cereal.

Lunch: Heart-Stopping Chicken Salad. Vegan Option: substitute chickpeas for meat.

Snack: an assortment of fresh fruit, veggies, and a bar of unsweetened chocolate (if you don’t like unsweetened chocolate, substitute a small handful of nuts).

Dinner: Hobos. Take a piece of ground beef and roll into a patty. Top with peppers, potatoes, onions, and carrots and wrap in foil. Bake at 375* for one hour. Tastes great drizzled with dijon mustard or Homemade BBQ Sauce. Vegan option: Two Cans and a Potato

Dessert: Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce with Cinnamon

New Workout

The Exercise Challenge changes this week. For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 50 crunches, 10 squat jumps, 15 pushups, 20 1-legged calf raises (10 each leg).

This option is for those who do not exercise regularly and would like to jump start their new year with an easy exercise routine. Each round of exercises take just a few minutes to complete. It would also be wise to add a bit of cardio to your day like walking, jogging, bike riding, or jump roping. Right when you get up in the morning, during lunch breaks, or before bed would be an excellent time to complete this routine.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

How has the challenge been going for you so far? We are halfway through, so how do you feel?

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

Day 14: Breakfast All Day Long!

By

Welcome to day fourteen of the Sugar Free Challenge!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Not only does it wake your body up and give you energy for the day, but “breakfast” food, in my opinion, has some of the tastiest recipes. I categorize Breakfast food into  categories: Eggs, Oatmeal, Pancakes/Waffles, and Baked Goods/Pastries. Each “Breakfast” today will feature one of these categories.

Here is your Breakfast Sample Menu for today:

Breakfast #1: Mini Frittatas. Starting your day with protein, like the proteins found in eggs, has been shown to keep you more full throughout the day, and give you more energy.

Breakfast #2: Baked Banana Oatmeal. Oatmeal lowers cholesterol, helps burn fat, reduces risk of diabetes, regulates bowel movements, reduces blood pressure, and reduces risk of heart disease. You can also get your daily dose of oats by making Oat Cakes, Pumpkin Spice Latte granola, Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal, or Chocolate Monkey Tail Oatmeal.

Breakfast #3: Bitter Chocolate Waffles. Pancakes and Waffles are a bit time consuming to make during the weekday mornings, so why not have it for dinner? Also try One Size Fits All Pancakes and Grain-Free Pumpkin Pancakes.

Breakfast #4: For your dessert tonight, have a breakfast-inspired Oatmeal Raisin Bizookie. I have tons of different baked good recipes, so check out my recipe page above for more ideas. Some of my favorite include Smacaroons, Breakfast Bread, Grain-Free Pecan Sticky Buns, and Grain-Free Banana Bread.

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 30 crunches, 15 squats, 10 pushups, 20 calf raises.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Have you ever eaten breakfast for every meal of the day?

What is your favorite breakfast recipe? Please share!

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

Day 13: Friday the 13th and Lucky Green

By

Welcome to day thirteen of the Sugar Free Challenge!

Eeek! It’s friday the thirteenth-better find a four-leaf clover. Today’s menu will include lots of green because green is the color of clovers….so green is lucky?

Here is today’s green sample menu:

Breakfast: Ultimate Veggie Omelet made with lots of green veggies. Or how about some Green Pancakes?

Lunch: a big green salad drizzled with ginger-miso dressing

Snack: Green Pistachio Butter spread on anything you wish (how about on top of green celery?).

Dinner: Socca pizza topped with Green Pesto and Green Grilled Veggies.

Dessert: Green Mint Chocolate Chip Shake.

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 30 crunches, 15 squats, 10 pushups, 20 calf raises.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What are your favorite green recipes?

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

 

Day 10: A Day of Vegan

By

Welcome to day ten of the Sugar Free Challenge!

While I am not a vegan, I know many of my readers who are. Each day I give vegan options for the sample menus, but today will be a complete day of vegan meals. Enjoy!

Here is today’s Vegan sample menu:

Breakfast: Whole Grain Breakfast Bread

Lunch: Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Pecans 

Snack: Roasted Chili Lime Nuts

Dinner: Dairy-Free Supreme Nachos

Dessert: Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream Sundae

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 30 crunches, 15 squats, 10 pushups, 20 calf raises.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

If you are vegan, would you mind sharing with us why you decided to become vegan?

If you are not vegan, do you still enjoy vegan meals? What are some of your favorites (feel free to provide links)?

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

Day 7: Sugar Makes Us Fat

By

Welcome to day seven of the Sugar Free Challenge!

We are officially done with one week of the challenge. How is everyone feeling about their first week of sugar-free?

Today’s Reason to be Sugar-Free: 

The single largest source of calories for Americans comes from sugar—specifically high fructose corn syrup. Just take a look at the sugar consumption trends of the past 300 years:

-In 1700, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.

-In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per year.

-In 1900, individual consumption had risen to 90 pounds of sugar per year.

-In 2009, more than 50 percent of all Americans consume one-half pound of sugar PER DAY—translating to a whopping 180 pounds of sugar per year!

Today, 32 percent of Americans are obese and an additional one-third are overweight. Compare that to 1890, when a survey of white males in their fifties revealed an obesity rate of just 3.4 percent. In 1975, the obesity rate in America had reached 15 percent, and since then it has doubled.   —Dr. Johnson via Dr. Mercola

Here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: Saturday Morning Pancakes! Why not have some Gluten-Free Green Pancakes? I promise they taste delicious, and you get the extra bonus of some Vitamin A and K.

Lunch: Spicy Tomato Cure. There are a few sick siblings in my house, and the cold and flu seems to be circulating. If you or a loved one is sick, fill ’em up with this cure. It helps sooth the throat and stomach while killing bacteria and viruses.

Snack: Apple Crisps with Peanut Butter Hummus Dip

Dinner: Quiche with Flourless Crust

Dessert: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 10 crunches, 5 squats, 5 pushups, 10 calf raises. Today’s the last day of this exercise-tomorrow the reps increase!

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

How has your first week of sugar-free been? Have you stuck to it? Tell me about it!

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

Day 6: Sweet or Savory

By

Welcome to day six of the Sugar Free Challenge!

I received a comment the other day that provoked me to think more about sweet and savory. I believe that eating “savory” foods like salads and stir-fries makes me crave less “sweet” tasting foods. My usual day of eats, however, combines the two. Some sweet some savory.

Here’s today’s “Sweet and Savory” sample menu:

Breakfast: Savory Mini Frittatas in any flavor you choose! Vegan Option: Pumpkin Spice Latte Granola

Lunch: Savory Fresh Salad with Ginger-Miso Dressing

Snack: Sweet Bowl of Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce

Dinner: Savory Garrick Stuffed Steak with side of salad or sauteed vegetables. Vegan Option: Homemade Spring Rolls

Dessert: Sweet Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 10 crunches, 5 squats, 5 pushups, 10 calf raises. 

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What are your thoughts on sweet vs. savory meals? What does your normal day of eats entail? What do you crave?

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist.