So far, we've cut HFCS, refined flours, desserts, and refined sugars. This week we cut out quick breads. That basically means any bread that is made without yeast including breakfast breads, muffins, cereals, and even crackers.
The author of this ebook we got this detox from didn't specify tortillas in this section and I think it is supposed to be included in it, but my husband is Mexican and would have a conniption fit if I cut tacos and burritos out for a month. In his family, they eat tortillas the same way my family ate sandwich bread.
Anyways, this week hasn't been too difficult. The hardest part of this week has been dealing with my "hormonal" cravings. I gotta say, all I've wanted for the past few days is a very big rich chocolate brownie. Ugh! I seem to be meandering through my kitchen every hour or so looking for something to satisfy my sweet craving. The only thing that I seem to be able to find is some homemade applesauce.
About a week and a half ago I took my daughter to pick some apples at our local orchard. They had granny smiths and jonagolds, so we got both kinds. I took them home unsure of what exactly I wanted to do with 10 lbs of apples, but I decided pretty quickly to make applesauce.
Here's my recipe for healthy craving killer applesauce:
10 lbs apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean (cut down the center)
Put everything into a pot and add about 1 cup of water. Let it simmer for 3-4 hours while stirring occasionally. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Mash the apples or you could run it through a food processor in batches if you like it pureed. This yields about 3 1/2 pints of applesauce. The vanilla and cinnamon compliment each other very well. There will be specks of vanilla throughout and it tastes almost like apple pie filling, but with NO SUGAR!
Next time, I think I won't mash the apples and I'll make it into a filling to top with granola. Yum!
What healthy alternative do you use to control your bad food cravings?
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Sugar Detox Week 4: No Refined Sugars
Suddenly I feel like my titles are very negative. I considered changing them to be positive (like the ebook I got this detox from), but I decided that I like to be different. Sometimes doing what is good for us, just isn't a lot of fun. Well, at least not the kind of fun we're used to.
I think it's safe to say that no one likes all change. I for one enjoy moving, redecorating, shopping for a new wardrobe, but I don't like changing my patterns. That is for sure! This process that my kitchen is going through has required me to embrace the stores I once hated and hate the stores I once embraced.
I once despised "health food" stores because of their ridiculously high prices on items that I could buy elsewhere and their lack of brand options. For example: I can't buy Rapadura at Trader Joe's. All they have is Trader Joe's brand turbinado. If I'm going to pay the same price, I want Rapadura. Now, I drive a minimum of 10 miles one way just to go grocery shopping at these stores. I have an even better understanding of the role certain chemicals, pesticides, etc. play in my current health problems now, so I'll make the drive and spend the money and it's all for good health.
I once LOVED Wal-Mart simply because I could "price match" everything and only go to one store. Now, I only go there if I couldn't find it at the "healthier" store and I absolutely have to get it. It is also right down the street from my house. In fact the 2 closest grocery stores to me are both Wal-Marts!
I'm also purchasing groceries through coops and online grocery companies now. I never wanted to do those things before simply because I didn't want to schedule my day around picking up groceries. Now, I have all the time in the world to wait for a semi truck and unload it for my groceries.
That said, now down to this week's change. This week we cut out refined sugars. That meant that my husband switched to Rapadura in his coffee and tea (I already switched) and I used a lot more money's worth of sugar in my pancakes.
My husband was so good too! He took his OWN sugar to his men's group because he knew there would be coffee. Such a proud moment! And on top of that, I drank coffee without sugar at IHOP because I forgot to bring my own. On top of that, I had them give me milk for my coffee. Have you ever read the ingredients in those non-dairy creamers? They have water, corn syrup, a bunch of sodium somethings, vegetable oil and at the very end is says it contains soy and milk. Milk? In a non-dairy creamer? Ok, that's another issue all together.
Next week (a.k.a. tomorrow) we start week 5 of our detox. Week 5 begins 'No Quickbreads'. That even includes crackers. It's basically any bread that doesn't use yeast (or sourdough). It doesn't specify if tortillas are included in that, but we are going to keep them simply because I doubt my husband can go a month without "Mexican" food.
In honor of our next step in the detox we had pancakes for dinner. I know, what a bad mommy! But let me just tell you that these are awesome pancakes! Whole wheat and made with Rapadura. My daughter and I enjoy topping them with raw butter and homemade jam made with honey! This recipe is so good that I'm going to share it even though it isn't soaked or sprouted. You could totally try making it with sprouted flour, I just didn't want our last pancakes for a month to turn out funny. We wanted to enjoy every last bite ;-)
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Makes 6-8 servings (I make a half batch for our little family and we have extras)
Dry Ingredients
2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/3 c. Sugar (I use Rapadura, in case you didn't notice. LOL)
1/2 tsp. Salt
Wet Ingredients
2 1/2 c. Milk
2 Eggs
1 Tbl. Vanilla
2 Tbl. Oil/ Melted butter (I like coconut oil)
Instructions
Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together separately. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir just until mixed. Pour onto a preheated pan. Oil your pan first if needed (I use a seasoned stainless steel pan, so I don't need oil). Flip when bubbles begin to appear on the wet surface. Let cook about half as long as the other side took.
My husband enjoys topping these with butter and maple syrup. My daughter and I eat them with butter and jam. They are actually so sweet that I like to just eat them as is as a quick snack (kind of like a cookie!)
Anyone else making changes lately?
I think it's safe to say that no one likes all change. I for one enjoy moving, redecorating, shopping for a new wardrobe, but I don't like changing my patterns. That is for sure! This process that my kitchen is going through has required me to embrace the stores I once hated and hate the stores I once embraced.
I once despised "health food" stores because of their ridiculously high prices on items that I could buy elsewhere and their lack of brand options. For example: I can't buy Rapadura at Trader Joe's. All they have is Trader Joe's brand turbinado. If I'm going to pay the same price, I want Rapadura. Now, I drive a minimum of 10 miles one way just to go grocery shopping at these stores. I have an even better understanding of the role certain chemicals, pesticides, etc. play in my current health problems now, so I'll make the drive and spend the money and it's all for good health.
I once LOVED Wal-Mart simply because I could "price match" everything and only go to one store. Now, I only go there if I couldn't find it at the "healthier" store and I absolutely have to get it. It is also right down the street from my house. In fact the 2 closest grocery stores to me are both Wal-Marts!
I'm also purchasing groceries through coops and online grocery companies now. I never wanted to do those things before simply because I didn't want to schedule my day around picking up groceries. Now, I have all the time in the world to wait for a semi truck and unload it for my groceries.
That said, now down to this week's change. This week we cut out refined sugars. That meant that my husband switched to Rapadura in his coffee and tea (I already switched) and I used a lot more money's worth of sugar in my pancakes.
My husband was so good too! He took his OWN sugar to his men's group because he knew there would be coffee. Such a proud moment! And on top of that, I drank coffee without sugar at IHOP because I forgot to bring my own. On top of that, I had them give me milk for my coffee. Have you ever read the ingredients in those non-dairy creamers? They have water, corn syrup, a bunch of sodium somethings, vegetable oil and at the very end is says it contains soy and milk. Milk? In a non-dairy creamer? Ok, that's another issue all together.
Next week (a.k.a. tomorrow) we start week 5 of our detox. Week 5 begins 'No Quickbreads'. That even includes crackers. It's basically any bread that doesn't use yeast (or sourdough). It doesn't specify if tortillas are included in that, but we are going to keep them simply because I doubt my husband can go a month without "Mexican" food.
In honor of our next step in the detox we had pancakes for dinner. I know, what a bad mommy! But let me just tell you that these are awesome pancakes! Whole wheat and made with Rapadura. My daughter and I enjoy topping them with raw butter and homemade jam made with honey! This recipe is so good that I'm going to share it even though it isn't soaked or sprouted. You could totally try making it with sprouted flour, I just didn't want our last pancakes for a month to turn out funny. We wanted to enjoy every last bite ;-)
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Makes 6-8 servings (I make a half batch for our little family and we have extras)
Dry Ingredients
2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/3 c. Sugar (I use Rapadura, in case you didn't notice. LOL)
1/2 tsp. Salt
Wet Ingredients
2 1/2 c. Milk
2 Eggs
1 Tbl. Vanilla
2 Tbl. Oil/ Melted butter (I like coconut oil)
Instructions
Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together separately. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir just until mixed. Pour onto a preheated pan. Oil your pan first if needed (I use a seasoned stainless steel pan, so I don't need oil). Flip when bubbles begin to appear on the wet surface. Let cook about half as long as the other side took.
My husband enjoys topping these with butter and maple syrup. My daughter and I eat them with butter and jam. They are actually so sweet that I like to just eat them as is as a quick snack (kind of like a cookie!)
Anyone else making changes lately?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Sugar Detox Week 2 & 3: No White Flour & No Desserts
So... I got a little busy last week and couldn't do an update on week 2 of our current detox. Week 2 was No White Flour. Now we're on week 3, which is No Desserts. Let's start with last week since it was rather eventful.
On Sunday last week my husband basically had a melt down because he thought there was nothing to eat in the house and he couldn't go get a burger or burrito to ease his hunger pains. If this detox teaches us nothing else, it will at least teach us to wait for our food because preparation takes time. We are having to get accustomed to making food when we are hungry, or at least preparing it. That was the first problem of the week.
On Monday last week I spent the entire day in the kitchen making "snacks" for my family because apparently fruit doesn't count as a snack. Who knew? Oh what a day it was! I then proceeded to spend the rest of my week trying to keep up with my family's appetite.
The biggest problem that we seem to run into is that we run out of bread pretty quickly. I make our bread, so it is a 4 hr process for me to make some more bread. I plan to begin making the dough in larger batches so that I can freeze the extra and just thaw it when we need more bread, but I've been holding off until I have made some sprouted flour.
Another difficulty I have run into is that I have yet to find a decent tortilla recipe that doesn't break a part when I try to make a burrito. I guess I get to experiment with that next!
This week we began no desserts. No big deal for us, at least at the moment. I have found myself craving chocolate bars lately, but that could always just be a hormonal thing :-) No desserts is any form of dessert including candy. I've been getting my night time sweet fix with a little bit of fruit and some raw yogurt.
Next week we will be removing all refined sugar from our diets. I've basically done that already, but there are still a few things that I'll need to make adjustments on. That also means that I need to go buy some more organic unrefined sugar for our pancakes and oatmeal. Don't worry, that'll be omitted soon enough!
As for right now, I'm working on perfecting a couple things so I can do some how to's and I'm currently photo recording my first attempt at making sprouted wheat flour. Stay tuned for things to get interesting VERY soon!
In the mean time, how often does your family eat dessert and what is your favorite kind?
On Sunday last week my husband basically had a melt down because he thought there was nothing to eat in the house and he couldn't go get a burger or burrito to ease his hunger pains. If this detox teaches us nothing else, it will at least teach us to wait for our food because preparation takes time. We are having to get accustomed to making food when we are hungry, or at least preparing it. That was the first problem of the week.
On Monday last week I spent the entire day in the kitchen making "snacks" for my family because apparently fruit doesn't count as a snack. Who knew? Oh what a day it was! I then proceeded to spend the rest of my week trying to keep up with my family's appetite.
The biggest problem that we seem to run into is that we run out of bread pretty quickly. I make our bread, so it is a 4 hr process for me to make some more bread. I plan to begin making the dough in larger batches so that I can freeze the extra and just thaw it when we need more bread, but I've been holding off until I have made some sprouted flour.
Another difficulty I have run into is that I have yet to find a decent tortilla recipe that doesn't break a part when I try to make a burrito. I guess I get to experiment with that next!
This week we began no desserts. No big deal for us, at least at the moment. I have found myself craving chocolate bars lately, but that could always just be a hormonal thing :-) No desserts is any form of dessert including candy. I've been getting my night time sweet fix with a little bit of fruit and some raw yogurt.
Next week we will be removing all refined sugar from our diets. I've basically done that already, but there are still a few things that I'll need to make adjustments on. That also means that I need to go buy some more organic unrefined sugar for our pancakes and oatmeal. Don't worry, that'll be omitted soon enough!
As for right now, I'm working on perfecting a couple things so I can do some how to's and I'm currently photo recording my first attempt at making sprouted wheat flour. Stay tuned for things to get interesting VERY soon!
In the mean time, how often does your family eat dessert and what is your favorite kind?
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