NEW HERE? READ ME FIRST

My family started this "No-Sugar-No-Flour" (NSNF) challenge in August 2009. I posted a lot of background and "how to start" info in those first few posts. To better understand WHAT we are doing and HOW we are doing it, please take a few minutes and go back to the ARCHIVES and read the first four posts beginning August 2009.

We started strong in '09, had great success, but got too confident and quit too soon. Valuable lesson learned. We've "started back" twice since then and also had success, but were not as dedicated as needed. So here we are in summer of 2012 and we are starting again. We've had our ups and downs but we have not given up. We are going to put our story out there to help make us more accountable and hope you support us.

My 2 teen girls will be blogging as well so my only rule is you have to BE NICE! If you can't say something nice, GO AWAY. We hope to inspire someone but this is our journey. You are welcome to join us and support us but it's hard enough without having naysayers. Love us or leave us... there's no in between.

We welcome your prayers for success!!
Jennifer

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Jennifer here!
Wanted to give you a menu update for today.  I felt like I was running a taxi service today - 4 different pick-ups and drop-offs for kids so it was not a regular breakfast/lunch/dinner day.

My Breakfast
A big ol' glass of unsweet tea with Stevia with a NSNF Strawberry Muffin. (see recipe tab)

Lunch
In between 2 carpools, lunch was a snack - I had a handful of Tostitos chips (not "nutritious" but allowed on NSNF since they are made with CORN, not flour - always check the ingredients label.)

Dinner
Baked chicken and homemade macaroni and cheese. (and to be honest, it was the *worst* mac and cheese I have ever made!!!  Threw all the leftovers away. I usually can ROCK some mac and cheese!)  I always make mac and cheese from scratch since the store bought stuff is full of chemicals.  My mac/cheese is elbow noodles, eggs, milk, and cheddar baked in a casserole dish.  I put a whole chicken in the oven during carpools and it was all ready when I got home.

I drink a LOT of ice tea every day - unsweet with Stevia drops added - and that takes care of many of my cravings.  Tea is my coffee.  When I brew it at home, it is half regular Lipton black tea bags, and either half white tea bags or green tea bags. White tea bags give it a light taste and white tea is super healthy!

I want to mention Stevia.  We buy the bottle of Stevia DROPS.  Kroger sells it in the natural section in a dark brown glass bottle and sometimes there are flavors.  I always buy plain and we add the drops to our tea.  I do NOT use Truvia because there is sugar in that.  I use straight Stevia which is a natural sweetener made from a leaf, not chemicals.  I have not tried to cook with it, though you can.  The drops are super concentrated so I'd have to do some research to figure out how much to use.  I could not live without Stevia drops for my tea.  The bottle is about $12 but it lasts us a month with most of the family using it many times a day.

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Emily's eating schedule was abnormal today too mainly since she slept until 1pm.  Her "breakfast" wasn't until mid-afternoon.

"Breakfast after lunch" - 2 pieces Ezekiel toast with butter

Snack - Apple
Dinner - Baked chicken and macaroni and cheese with a sugar-free popsicle for dessert
Snack - She has a friend spending the night so they are now making air-popped popcorn and playing cards.

Sugar-Free Popsicle and No-Sugar Added fudgesicles are items I will "splurge" on for the kids. They fit into the NSNF plan.  Even though these have artificial sweeteners, it's an exception I make so the kids aren't completely deprived from "ice cream".  Occasionally, I will also purchase Breyers "no sugar added" ice cream as a treat too.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I try not to buy "sugar-free" items regularly since that really means chemical sweeteners take the place of sugar and I don't want to add all the chemicals to our bodies but the ice cream/fudgesicles are the exceptions I make.  Here's what I get:
 

Emily created a YUMMY lemonade today that I'm EXCITED about!!  I love it when we find new things made in a healthier way.  She added lemon juice to water (about a 3-to-1 ratio) and then she added Stevia to sweeten it and it was really good!!  It is tart, but I like it that way. 

Thanks for following us!  Would love your comments and questions!
Jennifer

2 comments:

  1. Elbow noodles don't have flour?

    Stacey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good question - let me clarify... Dr. P said we could have pasta sparingly as long as it's durum semolina pasta. the ingredients on the box actually don't have the word flour, but say durum semolina. It's a low glycemic index food but we don't eat pasta more than 3x a month. Hope that helps!

      Delete

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