7 Days No Sugar Challenge - Day 5

     Sugar Craving!  

     Do you believe in the saying that the body knows what it needs?  If that it true, then I can justify why my body seemed to be asking for sugar the whole day.  Even after finishing a big cup of Mango Black tea, I wasn't satisfied.  

      To answer my dessert craving, I made a Chia porridge with unsweetened applesauce, flax milk, chopped dates and lots of cinnamon.  My goal is to create something creamy, hearty, sweet and comforting.  To my delight, the end product came out good.  Okay, I confess, a hint of brown sugar could have made perfect.  But you know what?  I'm on Day 5 already so it's worth the sacrifice.  

       Lunch time, I had a nice bowl of Green Mung Bean Stew.  Lately, I have been making this recipe vegan/vegetarian by eliminating the meat and changing the chicken broth to either vegetable broth or plain water.  Even though the family is a big meat fan, we all love the new vegan version.

      At around 2 pm, my body seems to be asking for more sugar.  Since I decided earlier that I will go all out with this challenge, I forced myself not to touch any smoothie mix or protein bar I have on hand that I know has added sugar on it.  The only natural sweet thing I found in my pantry is the opened package of dried dates.  There's about 5 pieces left and I didn't hesitate to finish everything.  It was a big indulgence but it made me really happy.  We only live once right?

    Dinner time, I was not in the mood for a regular meal again.  My body was asking for something sweet again.   Guess what I found in the fridge?

      I had about 4 cups of ice cold watermelon for supper.  Even discovered how refreshing and addictive watermelon juice (yup that's the juice at the bottom of the container) can be.

       Who knew life without sugar can be sweet too?

- Roz

7 Days No Sugar Challenge - Day 2

      Temptation Day!

      Yesterday started really good.  Thanks to my growing tea collection, I was able to treat myself with a nice big cup of The Republic of Tea's Mango Ceylon . The strong aroma of mango made the tea somewhat sweeter naturally.  It matched perfectly with our family's breakfast of Sauteed Corned Beef with Onions and boiled quinoa. Since I forgot to take a picture of my meal, I used a photo of the dish which I took a while ago. As you can see, I didn't discovered quinoa then so the background was steamed white rice.  Still gluten free though. 

      We arrived home around 11:20 am from the kids' swim class.  They are a little tired for a big meal so I allowed them to have a snack while I do some writing.  Then, the first temptation came. While the kids were enjoying their food allergy friendly SUGAR cookies, they decided to offer me one because according to them "It tastes really good." I almost grabbed a piece when I saw the packaging.  I told I am thankful for the sweet offer but right now Nanay (mom) is not having any sugar. Since food restrictions are common in our household, it is no longer a big deal when one food has to be avoided.  Ah! That was close one though! 

      For lunch, I had the same as Day 1's which is Pork Menudo with quinoa.  I cook big batches remember?  

    The second temptation came after lunch.  The kids asked me if they could have dessert.  Both of my sons are actually underweight so I grab every opportunity to give them extra calories. What's for dessert? Melted semi sweet chocolate and marshmallows! Thank God Child #3 had a strong urge to try this new Vegetable Medley chips.  Not only is it food allergy safe, it has no sugar as well.  The sweet potatoes in it helped satisfy that sweet craving on the go.

       

      When we got back home from Karate class, it was time to prepare for dinner.  I've made this easy and well loved Indian Spiced Roasted Chicken.  Since I don't have hours to cook a whole chicken, I cut it in serving pieces before roasting. This reduced the cooking time to about 1 hour in the oven.  

      Since it was a busy day for all of us and I didn't have my afternoon java fix, I felt so tired after dinner.  Too tired to even think of dessert!  I easily fell asleep.  However, I was up a few times during the night. Is it due to sugar withdrawal?  What do you think? 

- Roz

      

Our First Week without Gluten, Egg, Soy, Dairy, Nuts and Peanuts Menu

       It's Friday and we made it!  First week of school and yes seven days of living allergy friendly.  Guess what?  It was not as bad as I thought it would be. The kids ate without any complains on what's on the table.  They even enjoyed their food as if nothing has changed.

       I know most of you are curious. Our household is now wheat, soy, dairy and egg free. So, what then did we eat? Actually, we did quite well. Here is a peek of our menu this week:

Breakfast
* Sauteed Corned Beef with Oven Baked Breakfast Potatoes
* Pork Vigan Style Longanisa (Sausage) with Rice
* Bacon and Rice
* Pancakes

Dinner
* Pork, String Beans and Peppers in Coconut Stew
* Mung Beans with Spinach Stew
* Rice Noodles with Beef Ragu
* Chicken and Tomatoes Stew
* Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaves and Bagoong Rice

Lunch Box /Snacks
* Marinated Chicken Nuggets
* Popcorn
* Rice Cereal Treats
* Corn Tortilla Chips with Salsa
* Snickerdoodle Cookies
* Tuna and Rice
* Fruit  Cups

      Just like any child with food allergies, my school age kids brought their own snacks and lunch.  They either picked something from the breakfast or dinner menu and 1 or 2 from the snacks.  Plus something from the fresh fruit basket --- apples, bananas, kiwi, peach, watermelon. Seems like a lot of food? Well, I am not joking when I said that my family are good eaters.  Don't worry, I will be posting the recipes as we go. 

     It has been a crazy week.  I have never thought and studied food as much as I did during my catering days in Jersey City.  At the end of the day, all the effort was worth it.  For now, I will have my break from cooking --- leftovers for dinner. 

     

                                          Chicken Wrapped in Pandan with Bagoong Rice

                                                 (inspired by a recipe of FitChefTrina)

      

- Roz