linking up with Jenna at Call Her Happy
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Some of you may already know that I gave up sugar for the month of January, and this post is proof that I lived to tell about it. I eat way too much sugar, and after the sugar overload the holidays, baked goods and treats from piano students and stocking-stuffers I just felt gross. I knew I needed to take a little break from the sweets and learn to realign my cravings. It was hard, it was painful, I had some nasty headaches and was crabbier than usual the first couple days.(ok, the whole month.) I may have cheated on the weekends (oops), but eventually I did get used to not eating sweets all day long. And, surprise, surprise, I feel way better because of it.
I didn't give up ALL sugars. I still ate fruit and dairy and other foods that contain naturally occurring sugars. I really just gave up desserts, sweets and treats. Because I wasn't eating my usual copious amounts of chocolate, scones and ice cream everyday I had to come up with some new favorite snacks and treats. And here they are.
1. Dates and other dried fruit. I love dates all the time. But when I'm not eating sweets dates become the most wonderful delicious after dinner treat in the world. Also good are dried cherries and apricots. That's what I used to treat my withdrawal headaches. Be careful though, some dried fruit has sugar added to it. Check labels!
2. This tea:
It's a decaffeinated black tea with vanilla in it. So it smells sweet but doesn't actually have any sugar. I put some cream in mine and it's almost (actually not really) like having a cup of hot chocolate at the end of the day.
3. Plain yogurt with fresh fruit and my favorite granola recipe.
4. Cashews. Five weeks ago you would not have found any nuts on my list of treats. But cashews are actually a pretty sweet nut. They're good and filling too, so they really help satisfy cravings.
5. Toast with this jam.
This jam is totally sugar free. It's so good. And eating toast with jam and a cup tea just feels so good and British. Amiright?
So, there you have it. Now it's February. Praise the Lord! I'm still going to try to take it easy on the sweets, especially during the week. But I did make this cake from The Pioneer Woman for a Super Bowl party we went to and have been happily eating the left overs all week.
Who else is cutting back on sugar? What have you been snacking on?
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