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Sugar Challenge: Days 9 & 10 {Enchilada Recipe}

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Carly

No sugar yesterday or today. But today was different than it has been.

Today I was PISSED about it.

Without birth control, I’ve noticed that around the time I get my period, I feel weak, exhausted, and HUNGRY. It’s the kind of hunger that doesn’t feel satisfied, even when you’ve just eaten a full meal. It’s the kind where you think, “Huh. That was fine I guess. But I could keep going.”

So, I’m thinking I might have my period soon.

Craig and I went out to dinner, because in order to make dinner here I would have had to clean a pan, and the thought of cleaning the pan made me want to cry because it felt like so much work.

So, out we went!

I ate. A lot. And then all I wanted was a hot fudge sundae with a giant piece of cake and maybe some Reeses Pieces. Is that so wrong?

It’s the strongest craving I’ve had so far. Let me tell you, it was unpleasant. Fortunately, Craig was there and I could talk out loud about it: “All I want is ice cream! And cake! And I’m not going to have any! And I reeeeeally want to! AAARGH!”

Talking out loud is helpful for me, even when no one is there to listen. I find that talking out loud helps me solidify my thoughts. I’ve been using it as a strategy sometimes when cravings arise.

I have a wonderful recipe for you for enchiladas. This was so good – I took a bite and decided it was definitely one to repeat in the future.

Avocado and Pinto Bean Enchiladas
adapted from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan
4 servings

9-10 6-inch tortillas (corn, whole wheat, whatever)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
2-2 1/2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 cup raw cashews, lightly crushed
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 medium avocados
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups prepared enchilada sauce (I found some without sugar at the grocery store)
3/4-1 cup prepared chili sauce (I couldn’t find chili sauce without sugar, so I used about 1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot)
1 cup vegan cheese, grated (optional. I used regular cheese since I’m not a vegan)

Warm tortillas, either in the microwave for about 1 minute (flip halfway through) or in a 400-degree oven, covered in foil, for 5-10 minutes. Either way, preheat oven to 400.

In a frying pan on medium heat, add oil, onions, chili powder, cumin, allspice, salt, and pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add mushrooms, beans, and cashews and saute for 5-6 minutes, tossing once or twice. Immediately toss in lime juice and remove from heat to slightly cool.

In a large bowl, mash avocado and salt. Add veggie saute and lightly mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, mix sauces together. Pour half of sauce evenly over bottom of a 9×13 pan. Place 1/4-1/3 cup avocado-veggie mixture in center of each tortilla. Roll tortillas up, tucking in sides as you go, and place seam-side down in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over top, and cover with foil. Bake for 16-18 minutes, uncover, and bake for another 4-5 minutes, until bubbling around edges. If you’re using cheese, sprinkle it on the enchiladas 15 minutes into the baking process, then bake uncovered for another 6-7 minutes to melt.

And please enjoy :-)

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge: Days 7 & 8, and Week 1 Thoughts

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Carly

I’m still here! The last couple of days were super busy.

The Challenge continues. I have managed to avoid sugar for the most part, and I’m a little bummed because my favorite salsa has added sugar :-( Not much, but it’s there. Any good salsa recommendations that don’t have sugar? There must be a ton of them, right? I’ve been buying the same kind of salsa for years, so I’m out of the loop.

On Sunday (Day 7), I made breakfast for Craig and myself. An egg scramble with onions, leftover asparagus, neufchatel/goat cheese combination, salt, and pepper. Also bacon, because bacon makes everything awesome. He had some toast, both of us had some coffee. Delicious.

Later, we had dinner with family for my birthday (which isn’t until June 5, but my family has other stuff going on until then, so we celebrated with them early). We went to a middle-Eastern place, which was PERFECT for going the sugar-free route. I had some tabbouli mixed with hummus, chunks of feta, olives, stuffed grape leaves dipped in plain yogurt, and a kofta (tastes like the best hamburger you’ve ever had) kebab.

The only thing I didn’t partake in was the pita bread. Then they brought out some pieces of baklava for my birthday, but I didn’t have any. I don’t think anyone even noticed that I wasn’t eating it.

By the way, I love baklava. I looked up some refined sugar-free recipes for it online, and it looks like there are some that only use honey and don’t have a sugar syrup in them. Good news for me! If I try one out, I’ll be sure to share.

Who am I kidding? I will be trying one out, and then I will share.

Yesterday (Day 8) was Memorial Day here in the U.S., so everyone was off work. We had a great day and got to see some family. For dinner, we barbequed some amazing chicken sausages in assorted flavors and ate them with sauerkraut and this really great mustard.

At the end of the first week, I have some thoughts to share.

  • This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but didn’t have the motivation to do. I’m not sure exactly how the switch happened, but I imagine my reasoning on a teeter-totter. On one end, there’s the part of me that wants to eat sugary treats often. On the other, the part of me that is afraid of what the sugar is doing to my body and how it’s affecting my PCOS symptoms. For my entire life, the part of me that wants to eat sugar all the time has been heavier, so to speak, and the teeter-totter shifted toward that end. Lately, my fear has been winning out, so it’s shifting toward that more and more. So… I guess my motivation comes from fear? Which is kind of sad, but true.
  • I like how I feel without refined sugar. After the first few days, I’ve felt more awake and clear-headed. Porter wakes me up really early. I’ve been feeling so much more willing and able to get up with him, even though I’m sleepy. My energy level seems higher in general throughout the day.
  • Not eating sugar seems to make it easier for me to make choices about food based on what I actually want; not what I think I want. It’s easier for me to listen to hunger and fullness cues, too, and I haven’t had any blood-sugar crashes (that shaky feeling of hunger).
  • I’ve found that allowing myself things like pure maple syrup, raw honey, and coconut palm sugar makes it easier to avoid the sugars I tend to have problems with. Knowing that I can still bake myself some cookies or scones if I want gives me peace of mind, as weird as that sounds. If I thought I could NEVER have those things, it would drive me crazy. Some people find that they develop cravings for sugar if they have sweet things; for me it’s the opposite.
  • My skin seems clearer and less oily. I can’t tell yet if it’s because of the lack of sugar or if it’s just where I am hormonally, but I’ll keep you posted.

Totally changing the subject, I really like this:

Hope you’re having a great day!

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Posted in life stuff, natural health, naturopathy, pcos, personal, sugar challenge, thoughts. Bookmark the permalink.

Sugar Challenge: Day 6

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Carly

Craig has been out of town for work for the last two weeks, and he came home today! It’s so nice to have him back here.

We went out to dinner at this great restaurant near the house. Going out to eat is something I was concerned about when starting this whole thing. Just like anything else, I think it will get easier the more I do it.

The trick is planning.

Assuming you know where you’re going… I realize I’ll be going out to eat spontaneously with others sometimes, and won’t necessarily have a chance to check the menu beforehand.

Usually, it’s the case that I know where we’re going and have a chance to check the menu online.

Some places list ingredients, which is great, but many don’t. In that case, you can always call to check.

I think the most challenging food items are sauces and dressings. So many of them have added sugars. For me, the best part of a dish is often the sauce, so having to skip it will, and there’s no better way to say this, suck.

However, I’m finding that the way not eating refined sugar is making me feel just might be worth it. More on that tomorrow.

Tonight, we ate some tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole. I ordered a bunless turkey burger with a salad for dinner.

It was great! I enjoyed everything and didn’t feel like my meal was missing anything. And after dinner, I felt pleasantly full rather than stuffed to the point of feeling vaguely ill. So that’s always good.

And ending the evening with last week’s Game of Thrones (I was waiting for Craig to watch it) was even better. I can’t get enough of that show.

If you have been avoiding sugar, let me know how it’s going for you! :-)

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge: Day 5 {granola recipe}

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Carly

Today went pretty well. I had a hankering for something sugary in the afternoon, but was able to remind myself to ride it out, and it passed within about 15-20 minutes.

I have a recipe for granola for you that comes, once again, from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health. Stay tuned; I have another recipe from them coming in the near future. I hope they take my blatant plagiarism as a compliment.

Granola
makes 8 cups – 16 servings

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey or pure maple syrup (I went the syrup route)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (I imagine almond extract would be lovely as well)
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts (any kind you want – I used pecans and sliced almonds)
6 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons brown sesame seeds (I omitted this, because I didn’t have any)

Preheat oven to 325.

In a small saucepan on low heat, warm the oil, honey/syrup, and salt. Stir in vanilla.

Mix nuts, oats, and seeds in a large bowl. (At this point, you could add some unsweetened coconut, cinnamon and/or other spices, etc. if you want.) While stirring, slowly pour in warm mixture, and stir until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.

Spread granola on an un-oiled baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes; stir after about 20 min. Remove from the oven, stir to prevent clumping, let it cool, and store in a closed container at room temperature. After it cools, you could add some dried fruit (without sugar added, of course!) and mix that in.

It was GOOD. Sweet enough, but not TOO sweet. Nutty, crunchy, delightful.

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge: Day 4

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Carly

There are so many reasons why Craig is great. I was reminded of one last night: He’s very down-to-earth. Grounded. I talked to him about what I wrote yesterday. His response was, “I know how you get when there’s something you want to do. You get excited and want it to happen right away. Just remember that this is a good idea, and even if it takes a long time, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

Indeed.

Day 4 was successful! I didn’t have any cravings for sugar, which has pretty much never happened in my entire life. I felt tired/sleepy, but I don’t think that had anything to do with the lack of sugar. It probably had more to do with the fact that I woke up at 5 to take Porter to the dog park before an early work day. If he doesn’t get routine exercise, he whines and paces and generally drives me nuts.

If you have a Whole Foods near you, check out the hot bar. I had a fantastic lunch from there. They have signs posting all of the ingredients in the food, so it’s easy to make sure there isn’t any refined sugar. I picked up some Indian-spiced cauliflower, smokey collard greens, beans and rice with a little sausage, and a piece of tasty chicken. Yum.

I made some granola with pure maple syrup to eat for breakfast and snacks. Recipe coming soon…

For your enjoyment, here is a wikiHow page on how to be a hairy woman. I love that this exists. You go, Internet.

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge: Day 3 (plus a recipe, an update, and some thoughts)

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Carly

Today kind of sucked. It started off strong, but at about 3pm, I started getting some major sugar cravings. They subsided a little later, but then I was crabby and HUNGRY. So hungry. I was trying to make myself wait until “dinner time”, then thought, “That’s silly. I’m hungry now.” So I started dinner in the oven. While I was waiting, I ate some Saltines.

Ok, I ate a lot of Saltines.

I think I was hungry, craving sugar, cranky, tired, and started eating crackers just because they were there. Fruit would have probably hit the spot more.

What I had for dinner the past few nights:

Greek Vegetable Pie
from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health, which, by the way, is phenomenal.
Serves 6

Feel free to switch out the vegetables and dill with whatever other veggies/herbs you want!

For Crust:
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup kalamata olives

For Filling:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cups asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and green tender parts), thoroughly rinsed* OR 3 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
1 cup diced red bell peppers
3 oz neufchatel or cream cheese
1 cup crumbled feta
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
Ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Pulse the crust ingredients in a food processor, or you could use a blender, until crumbly. Set aside.

Warm the oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add asparagus and salt. Cook for 5 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in the leeks or onions, and cook for 3 minutes. Add bell peppers, cover, and continue to cook 5-6 min more, til vegetables are tender. Place neufchatel or cream cheese on top of vegetables, cover, turn off the heat, and let sit for several minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, press the crust mixture into a lightly oiled 9-inch pie plate.

Stir the cheese throughout the vegetables. Add 3/4 cup of the feta and the eggs, dill, and black pepper to skillet and mix well. Spread the filling in the piecrust and top with remaining feta.

Bake until the filling is set and golden, about 35 min.

*A note about leeks. I, for whatever reason, never had leeks until I was an adult. If you’re like me and have had little experience with them, let me warn you that they are dirty. I don’t know what it is, but grit gets in the leaves, and they can be difficult to clean. I find that slicing them before cleaning, then rinsing them in a collander helps. It allows me to see the dirt more easily and make sure to get it all. It was way easier than trying to do it without slicing first.


(I know, I’m a totally awesome photographer.)

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

I want to switch subjects and talk to you all about something that has been weighing heavily on my mind. It doesn’t feel honest for me to hold this back, given that this has become a place where I share so much with you.

It occurred to me today that I haven’t talked about the documentary in a while.

I have a confession to make. I am completely terrified of the documentary.

This is something I’ve been wanting for so long, and it’s been built up so much in my mind, and I feel like if it doesn’t happen exactly the way I want, I will be devastated.

No pressure or anything.

I’ve recently gone through some significant changes at my job, which involve different responsibilities and a LOT more work. I feel like I’m buried in paperwork some days. Paperwork hangs over my head, and I feel how I felt in school when a project or a paper was due. It’s an adjustment. I’m sure it will get better with time. Right now, I feel somewhat overwhelmed.

And then, trying to film a documentary is so.much.work. More than I ever thought. I’m scared of the fundraising. What if I don’t get any funding? What if no one is interested? What if I can’t get it together and just do this thing? What if this doesn’t happen? I fear that I would be disappointing so many people, myself included. I fear that I will feel ashamed and regretful.

Even typing that raised my blood pressure a few notches.

I want so badly for people to hear our stories and understand where we are coming from as bearded women. I want our voices heard. I want everybody to know what amazing, kind, hilarious, compassionate, wonderful people we are. And I have always felt like film would be a fantastic way to do that.

And, I also want to take care of myself.

I’m trying to sort all of this out and breathe. It’s on my mind just about every day.

As always, thank you for being here, for your support, and for being you.


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Sugar Challenge: Day 2

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Carly

You guys, I am sleepy.

It’s a pleasant sort of sleepy, and I didn’t feel exactly NOT energetic today… but I did feel like I needed enough of a boost that I stopped to get some coffee.

Thinking I was being smart, I ordered an iced latte with soy milk. Well, lesson learned. It was only when I thought about how to sum up my day for you guys that I thought, “Huh. I should probably see if the soy had any sugar in it.”

And it does. It’s disguised as “organic naturally milled evaporated cane juice”, but it’s right there nonetheless. It’s a fairly minimal amount (6 grams per 1 cup), particularly given that I probably had about 1/4 or 1/2 a serving of it, but still.

It was a reminder that if I’m going to do this, like really do this, I will need to be careful. It’s not just about avoiding candy bars and cake. Sugar is E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.

On the other hand, I’m not going to beat myself up over soy milk. This is a process.

Back to the sleepiness. I imagine this is a direct result of avoiding refined sugars. I also haven’t eaten any unrefined sugars in the last couple of days, other than fruit. I’m hoping the sleepiness will subside with time. Fortunately, I haven’t had any headaches or crankiness (yet…).

It’s 9:35 and I’ve been struggling to keep my eyes open for the last hour and a half, so I’m going to bed.

How was your day?

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge: Day 1

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Carly

Success! No sugar today.

Not even a little.

Honestly? I feel pretty good. Sleepy, but good. I was craving something sweet immediately after dinner, and I had a few minutes of panic. (Did I really get rid of all the sugar in the house?!?!!!!)

But then, things settled down. I waited, digested dinner some more, and it was fine.

What I ate for breakfast this morning:

Berry-Banana Smoothie
serves 1

1/2 cup milk of your choice
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used nonfat Greek, which added some thickness, but any kind would be good)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup mixed frozen berries
1 medium banana
A big handful of spinach (yes, spinach. I promise you won’t even notice it’s there aside from how it looks)

Put all ingredients in a blender, and BLEND! :-)
Feel free to swap the berries for some other fruit if you want. If it’s frozen, you won’t need to add ice cubes to the mix, which I find waters down smoothies. You can also switch the olive oil up with some flax oil or other healthful oil you might have on hand.

Hope you all had a great day!

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge: Getting Ready

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Carly

I spent a decent amount of time over the weekend preparing for the 30-day Sugar Challenge.

First, I did a sweep of the kitchen to toss or give away the things with sugar.

The dog seriously just popped into the picture like that.

Included: Granulated sugar, powdered sugar, Luna bars, chocolate chips, the rest of a bar of chocolate, packaged instant oatmeal, York Peppermint Patties, chocolate and vanilla whey protein, chocolate milk.

Some is going in the trash, and some is going to our neighbors upstairs.

I started cleaning out the kitchen thinking, “I don’t think I have all that much…” But then I started looking at ingredients on things and realized that I eat far more sugar than I think I do. I probably missed things that will reveal themselves as we go.

I planned some meals to eat throughout the next week, and tested a few out today!

While this is definitely not a food blog, I think it will be helpful for those of you joining me (and maybe interesting to those who are not?) to know what I’m eating throughout the days. Sharing recipes and ideas can’t hurt, right?

Good luck to those starting the challenge with me tomorrow! And, good luck to myself. I have a feeling I may need it…

If you want to join in the Sugar Challenge at any time, please feel free! Introduce yourself in the comments if you like, and welcome!

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Sugar Challenge

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Carly

So, we all know sugar isn’t great for us, right?

It’s especially not great for those of us with PCOS.

I’ve read and heard a lot about this topic over time, but I just finished this informative article that breaks it down. From the article: “Sugar causes a rush of insulin within our bodies, and that rush causes quick spikes and then quick drops of our blood sugar. Because insulin is a hormone, it affects our other hormones, causing a cascade of issues surrounding imbalanced hormones. When we have to much sugar in our blood, our livers turn the excess into a lipid, which then shuts down a gene called Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), which reduces the amount of SHGB protein in the body. This particular protein plays an important role in the amounts of testosterone and estrogen available for the body to use. It also depletes the body of vitamin B which is an essential nutrient for fertility and ovulation.”

Remember when I went to see the naturopath, and she told me that I shouldn’t be consuming more than 20 grams of sugar per day (not including fruit)? Turns out, that was very difficult for me. I quickly, and shamefully, abandoned that. It was overwhelming for me, and I found that counting sugar grams made me want to eat more sugar. No good.

So then I went to see a new doctor, who was fantastic by the way, and she gave me an optional prescription for Metformin. I took it for a few weeks, but then stopped. I felt like I was using the med as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted (read: chocolate cake daily), which isn’t the purpose and not the best plan ever.

Since then, I’ve just been doing what I’ve done forever, which is eat a lot of sugar.

So… Nothing’s really changed.

But I want it to, and I also want to do this as naturally as possible, and without medication if possible.

(If you are taking meds and it’s working for you, keep doing what works! These are just my personal preferences and thoughts.)

When I eat a lot of sugar, I feel lethargic, I get headaches, and I feel irritable. I recognize it’s a problem, and yet I have a very difficult time NOT eating sugar.

It’s time I listen to what I tell my clients: In order to change, you have to CHANGE.

Here’s what I’m thinking: 30 days with no refined sugar, which will hopefully continue beyond 30 days. Each day, I’ll post here about how it’s going. I’m not going to strictly stick to the 20 grams per day rule (because, as previously stated, it was driving me a little nuts), but I AM going to make great efforts to not eat refined sugar.

Trying to stay away from sugar means trying to stay away from processed foods in general, but if I do eat something processed, I’ll be on the lookout for the sugar codewords on the label, listed here.

I’m not quite as concerned about small amounts of raw honey and pure maple syrup, because I don’t eat a lot of those foods and they’re in their natural states. I don’t crave honey and syrup like I crave sugar.

My plan is to take the next few days to get the refined stuff out of the house, make a meal plan for the week, and then start this thing in full force on Monday.

Anyone want to join me? PCOS diagnosis not required :-)

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