Shhhh...I don't want to say anything but...

I have not eaten one bit of sugary candy, cookie, cake or otherwise for a whopping 8 days. I decided that blogging about my attempts was drawing too much attention to the issue and causing me to focus on the sugar more than I normally would. So, my goal was to go 10 days and I think I'll be fine. I won't say for one second that I have stopped craving sugar. I am DYING for a chocolate covered pretzel. Dying. Really. But, once you've gone this long what is 2 more days?

Easter candy boycott

As anticipated, I have inhaled too much Easter candy. So, I'm boycotting all sweets for 10 days. I know, I've tried this before. I'm on day 2. The chocolate covered pretzels are wooing me but I put them in the garage refrigerator so they are out of sight. With no obvious sweet eating events in the future, except for a child's birthday party, I'm probably okay for 8 more days.

Arugula

I know I've had arugula before in purchased mixed greens or in a restaurant salad, but I just bought a package of greens that is exclusively arugula, and I love it. How have I overlooked the flavorful vegetable? It is so good, I literally just had a salad as a snack.

Two months of packing my lunch!

While I have gone back to eating out for dinner once in a while, I am happy to announce that today marks two whole months of not eating out for lunch. Yay me! I actually was not thrilled with the lunch I brought today, but I am so against paying for lunch that I sucked it up anyway. I think breaking the pattern is the biggest deterrent, but hey, whatever works.

On the flip side, we did go out to eat for dinner. There was a special at a local restaurant where their regular crab cake entree is only $15 - reduced from $21. Of course, the kids had grilled cheese, which makes me want to go out to eat with my husband only. I hate spending $10 for two grilled cheese sandwiches. Sheesh!

How can my child just skip dinner?

I don't quite understand how my child can give up a whole meal out of spite for what I've cooked. And I refused to believe that sauteed chicken with cannellini beans and sun-dried tomatoes is that gross. Can't he find one redeeming piece to consume?

Tonight I gave up and just asked what they wanted and then went to the store. Tacos. Of course.
I bought the Ortega whole grain kit but it still has partially hydrogenated oil in it, even in if it is "0 grams per serving" - what a joke. I'll work on weaning them from the "crunchy" variety next. I will admit that the whole grain corn shells were pretty darn good and the whole wheat soft tortillas were pretty nice too. But can't anyone make something without hydrogenated fat? Please?

Eat a Rainbow of Veggies - Preschool Class

Today I did two 30 minute preschool classes on eating healthy. The first class I gave was for kids ages 3 to 5 on "Eating a Rainbow of Veggies." I started by talking about how vegetables and fruit grow, and I showed pictures of veggies growing on the farm. Then we talked about different colors of veggies and named various red, purple, yellow, orange, and green produce. I told them that fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that act like superheros in their bodies to keep them healthy. We ended by coloring a rainbow and I gave them a coloring page with a week's worth of rainbows to track their veggie consumption. The kids were awesome. They paid attention and answered questions and were super enthusiastic.

I didn't realize I was also doing a class for the 2-year old's until yesterday. Since I thought the veggie class was a bit tough for that group, I opted to read an Elmo book that is about having a healthy breakfast. That group was fantastic too. They practically sat on top of me and talked about the pictures and what they like to eat.

Even though I teach a weekly yoga class, I still miss this kind of teaching!!

(Giving up on the Sugar blog for a few days. My approach was not working and I need to re-evaluate for April.)

Reduce Sugar Challenge - Day 24

I'm not doing too bad with reducing sugar, but I feel like I'm eating more fat. I ate a whole avocado today. Sure, its mono-unsaturated fat, but I didn't need to eat the whole thing. I brought left over pasta for lunch, so I didn't have my normal big salad and I missed it.

For dinner we went out for Mexican food and I confess to having a Chimichanga, and now I feel icky. It was probably laden with trans fat frying oil and is slowly killing me right now. Logic was obliterated by a late dinner hour and the fact that we never get to go to this restaurant, which means I "needed" to have my favorite dish. GUILT for eating out, DOUBLE GUILT for the fried food.

And, of course, because we went out, the kids ate no veggies for dinner. The berry smoothie for breakfast and some green beans for lunch were the only saving grace. Apparently the orange and yellow veggies are not popular. Gotta work on that one.