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.

Peanut Butter Lentil Bars

I tried these Peanut Butter Lentil Bars that are protein packed.  The kids liked them mostly for the raisins.  We didnt have vanilla so I substituted almond extract which gave a pleasant cherry taste to the dried fruit.  Very filling.  I plan on making them again.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Lentil Granola Bars

Makes 10 granola bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried red lentils
1-3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter, such as almond butter)
1/2 cup finely chopped dates (or other dried fruit, such as cranberries or raisins)
1/4 cup chopped almonds (or other nut, such as pecans or peanuts)
1 tablespoon honey (or other sweetener, such as agave or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond extract)

Directions:

Pick through lentils to remove any debris, then place in a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly in cold running water. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add 1 to 1-1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the water has absorbed and lentils are cooked through. Transfer lentils to a bowl and mash with a fork (they may already be slightly mushy as red lentils don’t hold their shape as well when cooked). Let cool slightly.

Add oats, peanut butter, dates, almonds, honey, and vanilla to the bowl. Mix thoroughly until well combined (you may find it easier to use your hands). If you like sweeter granola bars, you may wish to taste the mixture and add more sweetener if desired.

Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer lentil mixture to the pan and press with your hands into an even layer. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then slice into bars (cut in half, then cut each half into 5 bars). Keep bars wrapped in the refrigerator.

Veggie Plates, Cornbread, and Brussels Sprouts

I need to make up veggie plates like this more often. They really are a lifesaver for those last few minutes when I'm making dinner, and the boys are bugging me because they're ready to eat RIGHT NOW! We got some purple carrots and mini sweet peppers in our Bountiful Basket the other week, the boys loved them. As well as the grape tomatoes that were on sale at the store. They grab handfuls of them and stuff their cheeks.

I adapted Mom's Sweetest Cornbread recipe to make it 100% whole grain. I also reduced the sugar a little. The cornbread was a little darker and a little denser, but other than that I could hardly tell the difference. I'll probably keep tweaking it to see how little sugar and oil I can get away with.

SWheatest Cornbread

Combine in medium bowl:
3/4 c. corn meal
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbl. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine in small bowl:
1/3 c. oil
3 Tbl. melted butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. milk

Combine all above ingredients.
Pour into greased 8-inch square pan.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 35 minutes.

For muffins: Spoon batter into 18 to 20 greased or paper-lined muffin cups.
Fill 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

We also got Brussels sprouts in our Bountiful Basket. I've tried roasting them before, and we didn't care for it. This time I roasted with bacon, because everything tastes better with bacon! It did taste better, but still not good enough to convince me to buy Brussels sprouts again. Anyone have any tips for preparing Brussels sprouts or a favorite way to cook them?

Sesame snacks

I found this idea online. Make a muppet on a plate out of fruits and vegetables. Our most recent one was Elmo (red head [cherry tomatoes, strawberries], orange nose [carrot], dark mouth [red grapes], white eyes [yogurt or ranch dressing], dark pupils [blueberries]). We've also made Oscar the grouch out of broccoli and green pepper and Cookie Monster out of blueberries. You can let your creativity flow and make other favorite cartoon characters. Sometimes George gets excited about carrots and ranch dressing, but he always gets excited about making a Sesame snack!

Pizza Bites

We found this recipe in a magazine, I think it was Parents', like the July issue maybe? We made it for a snack a few weeks ago, and today George asked for pizza bites. I couldn't figure out what he was asking for, but then he mentioned it was from a magazine. So we had this for lunch today (I made bigger pizza bites for me, on whole wheat bread).

Ingredients:
Triscuit crackers
tomato sauce
mozzarella
assorted veggies (broccoli, red pepper, we also did green pepper and pepperoni today)

Top the crackers with the toppings, put them in the toaster oven or under your oven broiler for 2 to 3 minutes and enjoy!