About my sugar fasts...

When I started my weight-loss journey six years ago this month, I intentionally eliminated treats and foods with added sugar for the first eight weeks. I'm so glad I did that. Not only did it free up calories for nutrient-dense foods, but it gave me a benchmark to look back on.

Now when I start a 30-day or 15-day sugar fast, I can always look back and say to myself, "Hey, you have gone eight weeks without treats. You can do this for 30 days or 15 days."

At the beginning of this year, I set goals to do five sugar fasts this year: two 30-day fasts and three 15-day fasts. So far, I have done four of them, leaving only a 15-day fast to complete my goals. For this post, I'm not going into all the health benefits of leaving off sugar for a period of time. I think most of those benefits are well known. But I think the benefits extend beyond even the health aspects.

Each time I complete a fast, I do have a feeling of accomplishment. It may be a small accomplishment, but I still reached a goal. And a little discipline can also extend to other areas. Little goals combined with discipline result in a consistent effort that produces lasting achievements.

As for the benefits I've received from these sugar fasts...well it's my hope and intention they have provided a means to detox some of the environmental stuff.  And for someone like me, who does have a "sweet tooth," it helps to know I can go without my favorite treats for a period of time.  

As a result of these sugar fasts, I am adding a new page with a few recipes for treats made without added sugar.

~B~

Rethinking calorie counting

“Lose five pounds or more in a week. Never count calories again. Eat these foods and drop pounds without dieting. Eliminate these foods from your diet and drop pounds. Get rid of inches with these exercises and don’t worry about the pounds.”

We have all heard the spills from ads for diet program memberships, supplements and exercise programs, all promising great results, while sparing us from the dreaded and detested  calorie-counting.

I bought the memberships for weight-loss programs, fitness center membership and for a while worked out with a personal trainer in a group setting. For all the money and effort, the most I ever lost was 12 pounds, and the longest I ever kept those pounds off was about six months. Within a few weeks, I would reach a plateau, get discouraged and quit.

Counting calories was the last thing I wanted to do, but it was also my last hope in reaching any kind of substantial weight loss and maintaining it. I wanted something slow and sure. I didn't want to do this for a few months and return to old habits. I wanted to establish new habits.

Experimenting with date sugar

 

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies sweetened with date sugar

At the beginning of a sugar fast, I stay in strict mode and don't even use sugar substitutes, nibbling on a piece of fruit for a bit of sweetness. But by the third or fourth week, I'm thinking of a real treat and usually something chocolate. 

During my last fast, which was 30 days, I was approaching the last week before I gave in to looking for a sugar substitute for a treat. In the past, I've looked at Forks Over Knives recipes for ideas for treats made with sugar substitutes. One of their muffin recipes, in particular, is a favorite of mine.

But I wasn't in the mood to do a lot of chopping and cleaning up from all that. I had been thinking about trying date sugar to see if it worked as well as chopped dates. When I asked the clerk at the health food store the difference between chopping dates and using date sugar, she said the chopped dates probably had more fiber. She did caution me not to use the date sugar in any recipe or drinks, such as coffee, that needed the sugar to liquify. 

I was planning to use the sugar in my favorite FOK muffin recipe, but I was out of several ingredients. Since I didn't want to make another trip back to the store, I wondered if the sugar would work in the Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies, a favorite in my family.

Thankfully, I didn't end up throwing away a recipe with an expensive ingredient...date sugar. Yes, it is a little expensive, and I wouldn't buy it to use on a weekly basis. I thought the cookies turned out pretty good. They were not as sweet as those made with regular sugar, but the unsweetened coconut added a slightly rich layer to the texture. Although coconut is not in the original recipe, my husband I both like coconut, and I sometimes reduce the oats by 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup coconut.

With this recipe, the unsweetened coconut helped absorb some of the extra moisture of the date sugar. As soon as the mixture began cooking, the date sugar returned to its orignial form as fruit and began thickening quickly. On the fly, I quickly added water to get the mixture to the 3-minute cooking time, constantly stirring and occasionally removing from the heat to prevent scorching. Somewhere between the 2-3 minute mark, I removed the mixture from the heat and stirred in the vanilla, oats and coconut. With a tablespoon, I dropped them on wax paper and waited to see if they would set up.
They did set up nicely, but they are not as firm as the cookies made with regular sugar.

My husband and I both liked the cookies, and between us, we finished the dozen in a few days. Although, they are not as sweet as the orignial recipe, they do have a clean taste. I did make a second batch and noted the amount of water I added when the date sugar began looking fruity and thick. I would definitely make these again.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup date sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces milk (I used whole milk.)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coconut, flaked and unsweetened
3/4 cup water

Cooking instructions:
In a heavy pan, melt butter and add milk and cocoa. Stir in date sugar, blending with liquid mixture and cook on medium. As soon as mixture is thoroughly heated and begins thickening, add the water and let the mixture cook for about three minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla, oats and coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Allow cookies a few minutes to set up on the wax paper. Makes about 12 cookies.

Nutritional info:
Serving: 1 cookie
Calories: 120
Total Fat:        5.4 g
   Sat. Fat:       3.7 g
Cholesterol: 5.8 mg
Sodium:       4.1 mg
Total Carbs:   17.5g
         Fiber:      2.1g
         Sugars:    6.5g
Protein:            2.1g

~~~B~~~

Health Goals

It's time for a sugar fast

When I started my weight-loss journey in 2012, I put myself on a sugar fast for the first eight weeks. I'm glad I did that. Since then, I've completed a sugar fast one or more times a year...sometimes for 30 days, sometimes for 7-10 days. Remembering that I've done a sugar fast for eight weeks helps when I start a fast for 30 days.

Most people are aware of the many health benefits obtained from a sugar fast, so I won't delve into that here. A sugar fast is also a great way to kick off a weight-loss plan or to quickly shed a few pounds that have crept back.

When I was setting health and fitness goals for this year, I decided to plan for five sugar fasts throughout the year, beginning with a 30-day fast in January, and later following with three 15-day fasts and an additional 30-day fast, for a total of 105 sugar-free days for the year.

Dates for these fasts have been carefully selected to avoid holidays and family celebrations. For other events, I will just work around those as they come along.

In the days prior to my first 30-day sugar fast, I was actually looking forward to it. I knew that I had overindulged in sweets during the holidays and picked up 3-5 pounds. I was ready to start that first fast in January. I started the fast after my husband's birthday and ended it Valentine's Day.

For the first two weeks of that fast, I planned to exclude all sweets, except fruit. Sometimes during a 30-day fast, I will add treats made from Forks Over Knives recipes, using sugar substitutes during the third and fourth weeks. But it was at the end of the third week for this fast that I made a substitute treat sweetened with dates.

Yesterday was the first day of my second sugar fast, a 15-day fast. Both a 30-day and 15-day fasts are relativity short term goals, but the fullfilment is a super accomplishment when they are over. For this 15-day fast, I have several events to plan around. I plan to bring food that I've made to eat. Not only do I obstain from sugar, but I use these fasts as a time of naturally and gently detoxing from environmental toxins with whole and organic foods.

With a few hundred calories saved each day from not eating sweets, I'm expecting to drop a couple of pounds down to my "crusin' weight." After losing 40 pounds, I weighed 140. During the second year of my weight-loss journey, I dropped another three pounds and weighed 137, which I consider my "crusin' weight." Of course, weight can fluctuate between 2-3 pounds daily. I started this fast at 139, so at the end of two weeks I expect my weight to be 137 pounds.

~~~B~~~

Ginger Cookies

Crunchy on the outside and soft inside

Ahhh!!! Who doesn't love the smell of ginger? Gingerbread cake, pancakes, coffee... the list goes on. For a long time, I've wanted to find a good ginger cookie recipe that doesn't produce rock hard cookies that take so much work to chew and are somewhat perilous to your teeth.

Last summer, I tweaked a ginger cookie recipe and came up with a version that I love. This cookie is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. A combination of four spices leave a lingering aroma of "somethin' lovin' baked in the oven" in your house for a day or two.

The ginger cookies shown here were slightly flattened on the 

baking sheet, resulting in a thinner cookie. Cookies baked in a

round ball will have cracked tops and a thicker texture.

These are the only cookies that I don't freeze. They still taste fresh five days out of the oven, and the flavors seem to enhance a bit more. I just leave them out on the counter and offer them to anyone who drops by the house. If I'm making soup to share with someone, I'll gather up a dozen of these cookies to take along.

And, of course, I have a few of these most mornings with my first cup of coffee.

When I first started making these cookies, I didn't have any molasses and compensated with a bit more (1/4 cup) sugar. I really like making these with brown sugar, but if I'm low or out, the organic cane sugar works fine. Other than the White Lily bread flour, all the ingredients I use are organic. The molasses do add a bit of flavor, but I've found interchanging molasses and brown sugar for plain sugar does not affect the texture.

I'm listing the ingredients from the first batches I made that resulted in the sweetness and texture I love, along with notations for using molasses.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour ( I use White Lily bread flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar (This can be all cane sugar, all brown sugar or 1/2 cup of one and 1/4 cup of another)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
Optional: 2 tablespoons molasses (If I add molasses, I decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup)

Instructions:
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside. In a larger mixing bowl, beat softened butter and sugar together and add molasses, if using, and egg.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Mix well until all dry ingredients are moist. From the dough, form walnut-sized balls of dough and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

You can leave the dough on the baking sheet in round balls, and the cookies will have the nice cracked tops and will be thicker in texture. Or you can press each ball down slightly for larger and thinner cookies. Both taste wonderful. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

This recipe makes 36-40 cookies.

Nutrition info:
Serving: 1 cookie
Calories: 55
Total fat: 2.4g
    Sat fat:1.5 g
Cholesterol:10.3 mg
Sodium: 61.2 mg.
Total carbs: 8 g
     Fiber:  0.1 g
     Sugars: 3.5g
Protein:         1g

~~~B~~~

A soup for all seasons

Irish Cabbage Stew hits the spot summer and winter

When it comes to soups, I tend to think of my recipes in terms of the seasons, with lighter versions for summer and heartier ingredients added for winter stews. 

Last summer, I came across this recipe for Irish Cabbage Stew, and immediately, summer and vegetables from the garden came to mind. But I didn't put this recipe away when summer was over. On cold winter nights, this soup will warm and fill you up. 

Two things to know before you make this soup: This recipe makes a LOT of soup, approximately 10-12 servings, depending on your bowl size and appetite. This soup does NOT freeze well. The potatoes turn mushy in the freezer. the soup does keep well in the fridge for several days. Before I start making this soup, I think of someone to share it with. That's how I manage the the extra servings. 

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 head cabbage, chopped

4-5 carrots, sliced

3 medium potatoes, cut in large pieces

1/3 cup pearled barley

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon rosemary

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups (32-ounce carton) vegetable broth

4 cups water

3 cups cooked great northern beans, (2 cans, drained)

1 141/2-ounce can diced tomatoes

Salt to taste

Into a large cooking pan or dutch oven, add all ingredients except the beans and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add the beans and tomatoes and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. 

Nutrition info:

Calories: 195

Total fat:0.3 g

Saturated fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 460 mg

Total carbs: 39 g

Fiber: 9.4 g

Sugars: 6 g

Protein: 8.3 g

~~~B~~~

Becoming plant-slanted

Last year, I spent several months studying some of the plant-based diets, as well as some studies conducted on them. At the conclusion of these studies, I decided that I would move toward becoming more planted-slanted by reducing dairy and meat to about 15-20 percent and increasing plants and whole grains to about 80-85 percent of my diet.

I've been very pleased with this change and discovered that filling up on plants and whole grains is different than stuffing myself on meat dishes. Although I'm full and stay full longer, I don't have that lethargic feeling of being overstuffed with consumption of a large meat serving. Many health benefits, which I won't go into here and may also differ among individuals, are derived from eating more plants and less meat. 

On the days that now I prepare meat, which is usually two or three days a week, I only use 100 percent grass-fed, organic beef and free-range, organic chicken and serve smaller portions. My husband and I had both given up meat for breakfast several years ago, so moving toward plant-slanted hasn't been a hardship for either of us. 

As a result of eating more meatless entrees and hearty soups, I will be adding a stand-alone page with recipes for these new dishes that we are enjoying.

As I introduce these recipes on the main page of the blog, I will also discuss some changes I've made in preparing some of these dishes. 

~~~B~~~

Pumpkin for all seasons

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies make a great breakfast cookie all year round

I can't think of a cookie recipe that I've experimented with more than this one. For the first year that I made these cookies, I served them as they left the oven, without any glaze, and thought they were wonderful.

 I've made them in assorted sizes, ranging from small to even scone-size. Soft and chewy, regardless of the size, I love them for breakfast and have taken th
em to holiday gatherings and even served them at my 25th wedding anniversary party, a few years ago. 

Last fall, I added a maple glaze to them. Rarely do I add a glaze or frosting to any cookie, and with these cookies already having that wonderful flavor from that super food pumpkin, plus ginger and cinnamon, I wondered if a maple glaze might compete with those flavors. To my surprise, the maple glaze did not complete with the other flavors but actually seemed to enhance the flavors. So I kept adding the glaze.

It seemed to me these cookies couldn't get any better. Well, last night when I started working on a fresh batch, I discovered my flour was getting low, due to a lot of baking this past week. I decided to substitue half the flour with Hodgen's Whole Wheat flour, which I love for some of my recipes due to its subtle graham flavor. 

When the first batch came of out the oven, I tried one as soon they were slightly cooled. Wow! Just as the glaze had combined to perfectly enhance the flavors, so had this whole wheat flour. I couuldn't believe this cookie had actually gotten even better. So now, I will be making future batches with a combination of white and whole wheat flour. And even with a dab of glaze, a medium-size cookie has only about 7 g. of sugar. Doesn't that make these cookies even more healthy and deserving to be a breakfast cookie? I think so. 

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/3 cups oats (Not instant or quick cooking)

1 1/4teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (Not pie filling)

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk (Might need more ,as glaze thickens while cookies bake.)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions for cookies:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking pans with parchment paper or use pans ungreased.

Whisk the flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside. Mix together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. With the slow speed of a mixer, or by hand, add half the flour mixture, followed by half the pumpkin puree. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and pumpkin puree.

Drop dough onto baking pans with either a tablespoon or teaspoon, depending on the size cookies desired. Place baking pans in oven, one on top rack and the other one on bottom rack and back about 10 minutes. Then rotate the pans from top to bottom racks and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies cool in pan for about 3 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Let baking sheets/pans cool slightly and then repeat with the remaining dough until all cookies are baked. 

When the cookies are cool or cooled to slightly warm, drizzle a small amount of glaze over each cookie. When the glaze has set, usually about 20 minutes, cookies can be transferred to the freezer for future use. I always freeze at least half the batch. These cookies still taste great from the freezer. I've kept them in the freezer for at least a month. 

Yield: This will depend on the size of the cookies. Scone-size will yield about 36 cookies; medium-sized about 48; and small about 72. 

Note: These cookies freeze well.

~~~B~~~