No Sugar Day

Yesterday I saw a link on Facebook about a woman who decided to go a year without any added sugar (there were a few exceptions, once a month treat for birthdays and such). Her whole family joined her challenge and she wrote a book about it. And apparently, yesterday she organized a "Day of No Sugar" challenge, to promote said book. I saw this last night, when I had already eaten my meals for the day, so I thought I'd give the challenge a try today instead.

 breakfast: 1 banana, 1 orange, 2 scrambled eggs
George and Allen had sugary cereal. I tried to convince them they wanted me to cook something for them. After they saw my plate though, they changed their minds and ate some of my eggs, and Allen had some of my orange. Note to self: next time, just start cooking something. Then after they see it on the table and still decide they want something else to eat, that's ok.

 lunch: leftover homemade turkey noodle soup and salad (no dressing)
pretty much any store bought salad dressing has sugar, and I was famished, no time to whip something up. If I had a lemon, I would've squeezed some fresh juice over it, but I forgot to put lemons on my grocery list. The soup actually had a tiny bit of sugar in it because I used canned cream of chicken soup in it. I checked the label and there was sugar way down near the bottom of the ingredients list. Usually I don't use the cream of chicken soup, but I don't have as much time to cook up a substitute (still adjusting to life with a newborn).

 afternoon snack #1: plain yogurt with fresh strawberries
I couldn't resist the big 4 pound container of strawberries at Costco. They looked so good and the price was pretty good too (yes, they also tasted so good).

 afternoon snack #2 (to tide me over while I'm cooking dinner): carrot sticks
These were conveniently waiting in the fridge. I had chopped them up yesterday or the day before.

 Dinner: fajitas
I checked the tortillas, no sugar (it's probably going to be a while before I get back into regularly making my own tortillas). My fajita chicken marinade calls for taco seasoning mix and sugar. I omitted the sugar. My taco seasoning mix had sugar, so I found a sugarless recipe online and it was pretty quick to mix it together. The fajita mix definitely tasted different, but still good. I served it with homemade refried beans (that I had in the freezer), fresh pico de gallo, lettuce, avocado, cheese and sour cream. Another slip up, after my first fajita, I checked the salsa, it had sugar. So I omitted the salsa on my second helping.

Dessert: peanut butter balls
I didn't eat these because they're like 50% added sugar, but yesterday I had promised the boys I would make them today. Peanut butter (added sugar) mixed with crisp rice cereal (forgot to check, but almost certainly has sugar), powdered sugar (sugar!), and chocolate chips (more sugar). I have seen recipes for healthier balls of sweetness (using dates) but I haven't tried any of them yet.

Definitely a helpful challenge, to make one more mindful of reading labels and being aware what may be hiding sugar. I make my own pizza/lasagna/spaghetti sauces, but they all include a little sugar. I could cut that out. I usually bake my own bread, but I also always add honey and/or molasses to sweeten it. Lately I have cut back on how much sweetener, but I will try making bread without any honey or anything and see if anyone notices.

Turkey, Potato and Rosemary Frittata

So my friend Lizzie does this challenge every February. It's called Run Swim Bike Cook, or Ironman meets Iron Chef. The challenge is to do the equivalent of an Ironman (run 26.2 miles, swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles) spread out through the month, plus a weekly cooking challenge. 

I read about it last week and thought, "Maybe this year will be the year I participate, but just the running and cooking, maybe a little biking." And then I forgot about it until yesterday, so last night I planned my breakfast dish with rosemary (the first cooking challenge).

This was my first time making a frittata. It was not hard, and it was faster to cook up than I expected. On Sunday I cooked a turkey dinner, so I decided to use some of the leftovers. And what goes better with turkey than potatoes?

I didn't think I would have time to make this before Carlos left for work, because I really wanted to get a 3 mile run in this morning (so now this month I've run 5 miles). Luckily, he was still asleep when I got back from my run . As I started cooking, Allen kept asking for a cookie and George was furious that I was not making French toast for breakfast. I kept Allen at bay with craisins and gogurt. But George was not to be calmed. When it was done, he refused to sit with us. It wasn't until after Carlos left for work (and after much crying and yelling and knocking chairs over) that George calmed down and I asked him if he wanted to open up a new box of cereal from the pantry. He did, so I prepared him a big bowl of cereal. He started eating it, and I noticed there was a small piece of frittata left on Allen's plate, so I offered it to George. Surprisingly he took it.

This is a direct quote from George after his first bite: "Cook some more tomorrow." After his second bite, he said, "It's super, super good." Then to make sure I had heard him, "Mom, it's super, super good!"

I thought it was good, but not THAT good. I forgot to season the potatoes while they were cooking, and I was going to add some garlic too. I probably could've put more rosemary in as well, and of course I'm sure it would've tasted much better with fresh rosemary. I just don't really have much space near a window to grow herbs indoors. Also, my frittata deflated quite a bit as it cooled. It turned out quite thin, but still tasty. I think next time I'd up the proportion of filling to eggs. Still, not bad for my first try.

Turkey, Potato and Rosemary Frittata
Serves 4-6

olive oil
1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced
5 eggs
1/2 t. salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 t. dried rosemary
1/2 c. chopped cooked turkey

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, spread in a thin layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until golden and crisp on the bottom. Turn and cook until the second side is golden. Transfer to a plate with a paper towel to drain off the excess oil.

Preheat the broiler. Beat the eggs and spices together until smooth. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat another 2 T. olive oil over medium heat. Spread out the potatoes and turkey in the skillet, then quickly pour egg mixture over it. Reduce heat to low and cook until the bottom is set. Sprinkle a little more rosemary on top, then place under broiler for 30 - 90 seconds until the top is finished cooking. Cut into triangles and serve, with a squeeze of fresh lemon on top if desired.

"Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..."

So I shall post about what we eat at the beginning of the day, BREAKFAST.

We have this every day and never grow tired of it even in the summer. Love it! I make a double batch of this for Brian and me and serve with almond milk.

Banana Berry Oatmeal

1 cup of water

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed

A dash of cinnamon

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 banana, sliced

Boil water, add oats, flaxseed and cinnamon. Once cooked, add blueberries and banana. 

Clara likes to make pancakes. Her favorite are the Sweet Potato Pancakes. We make a full batch and freeze the leftovers to be microwaved on future mornings.

Quick Mix

(equivalent to Bisquick)

5 cups flour

3 ½ cups whole wheat flour (I do half whole wheat and half white flour)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 ½ cups instant nonfat dry milk

1 Tbs. salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

Mix together ingredients.

Put in airtight container. Label.

Store in a cool, dry place and

use within 10 to 12 weeks.

Pancakes

2 cups Quick Mix

2 cup water

2 eggs

Applesauce Pancakes

2 cups Quick Mix

1 cup sweetened applesauce

1 cup water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

Sweet Potato Pancakes

2 cups Quick Mix

2 cups water

1 cup mashed cooked dark-orange sweet potatoes

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Waffles

2 cups Quick Mix

1 1/3 cups water

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Spicy Pumpkin Pancakes

2 1/3 cups Quick Mix

1/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs