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Category Archives: Journey

Only because it’s 17. I’m not really dancing. Lol

Looking forward to a few days off and some R&R this weekend. Not sure how much R&R I’m going to get tho ’cause we’re cutting firewood.

We’re also forecasted to get more snow tonight, time will tell

Keeping our dinners zero added sugar has been a bit of a challenge. I didn’t realize how many times we used sweet Thai chili sauce, BBQ sauce, baked beans, etc that all have lots of sugar in them. So trying to keep to savory sauces without sugar has me trying some different things.

Tonight we had boneless skinless chicken thighs sauteed in oil with garlic then finished with a gf cream of mushroom sauce. Baked sweet potatoes and cheesey broccoli. Delicious and the kids loved it. No sugar! 😉

15 days instead of years.

I worked hard and diligently today.

We had butter chicken and brown rice with Israeli salad for dinner.

A few golden figs for dessert.

I feel about the same. Easier to breathe but still some congestion. I’m not exhausted at the end of the day but I’m ready for bed now.

Making progress.

Today marks two weeks since I’ve had anything with added sugars or booze. So far, so good. I feel like I’m not as tired by mid-afternoon. More energy is always a good thing.

Today is a lazy day. Watching the playoffs, maybe getting some food prep done for this week. Maybe doing some laundry. Maybe. Maybe not. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thing 2 went outside and found a moose shed this morning. Pretty nifty find! I wonder if the other one is nearby? We’ll have to look once the snow melts.

Moose Antler Shed

Panda and I went for a little walk-about. She had fun playing in the snow.

Snow Dog

How ’bout them KC Chiefs?!?! What a great game.

Steak & cheese melts for dinner. I know, not on the anti-inflammatory diet but oh so good.

I don’t know what all the fuss is about the number 13. It’s always been normal for me.

It warmed up and rained on all our fresh snow last night which made for an ice rink in our driveway and a one-way only hill.👇🏼 So we stayed home from service. Enjoying a relaxed start to our day. Hopefully catching up on much needed rest.

Since I fully stocked the kitchen yesterday I feel like making all the foods. Eating all the fruits. And making some sort of bougie NA, no added sugar drink. I’ve got grapefruit seltzer, grapefruits… Hmmm. Off to check Pinterest for recipes.

Here it is, fresh squeezed grapefruit, juice of half a lime, salted rim and grapefruit seltzer over ice. Tasty!

Cold sandwiches and leftovers for lunch.

Pizza for dinner.

Life is good.

Today was a good day. We scored a used wood stove for the cabin to replace the old leaky one out there. Not only did the nice gentleman deliver it but he unloaded it too. It’s reassuring to know there are still those out there that go the “extra mile”.

We got off work early since Dean has to do snow removal tonight. Which allowed me to take care of banking and get the groceries before Shabbat. And I found a whole box of oranges & grapefruit for $10. Score!!

Feeling a little more energy today.

Then we had a nice, quiet dinner with candles.

#blessed

Another mundane day. No excitement until the earthquake this evening. I made it a other 24 hrs. I’m on a roll.

I’m not sure yet if it’s just wishful thinking but it feels like I’m breathing easier with less sinus congestion (aka mucus). I’m hopeful that’s a positive change from my little experiment. Time will tell.

I’ve been reading as much as I can on inflammation and how to reduce or eliminate it from my body. There’s a plethora of info out there and from trusted sources! That’s a plus!

Most of what I’ve read says less meat and dairy, no processed foods, more leafy greens and bright colors, more plant protein, more fruit, and lean animal protein. Lots of Omega-3 and fish, healthy seeds and nuts. And a little red wine daily. 🍷 The Mediterranean Diet is often sited a proven anti-inflammatory diet.

Pretty much our entire diet is on the “don’t eat it list”… Lol Wonderful! I may exaggerate a bit.

I’ll be spending the next few weeks working on getting back to basics and returning to the healthier diet that I used to consume. Implementing some gradual changes so my crew doesn’t mutiny.

Fish is an easy start. We eat a lot of salmon, but not always in regular intervals. It’s often consumed for lunch. It’s in our diets weekly, sometimes twice a week or more. I can start making sure we eat at least two salmon meals a week, every week.

We eat quite a bit of poultry but red meat is Dean’s favorite and consequently we all have grown quite accustomed to it, regularly. This will be the main challenge to try and adjust down.

Some “experts” say it takes 8 weeks without added sugars to really notice changes in your health. Hmmm. That’s a long time. Lol

Here’s a few links if you’re interested in more information.

Harvard Health Foods that fight inflammation.

Very Well Health Anti-inflammatory diet.

Eating Well Anti-inflammatory Meal Plan

Eat This Steps to stop sugar cravings

Nine days in, feeling pretty good. Having fruit yesterday was so nice.

I’ve got the day off from work today while Dean does snow removal, it’s work at home day for me! I’ve got lots of files to upload for the kids’ school. I need to catch up on housework, oy. And it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. Clear blue skies right now.

I made the salad for lunch that I’ve been talking about, y’all, it was amazing! The picture doesn’t do it justice!

Grapefruit, Avocado & Fennel Salad

Here’s the recipe I actually used. I substituted a pomelo for the grapefruit. It takes a bit for the prep, peeling the pomelo segments. The girls also enjoyed it. I will definitely make this again. I feel like I have a better appreciation for the flavors in this salad after being off sugar for a week.

Dinner tonight will be instapot chili from scratch.

Days waiting to eat fruit. Not family size related.

I woke up super early today, not intentionally of course. But it allowed me plenty of time for study and planning our meals today. And I’m so excited to have some fruit!

I may have eaten 3 tangerines, a grapefruit and an apple over the course of the day. They tasted sooo good.

But the day didn’t go as planned so I skipped making my salad for dinner. I took a nap instead. So salad will be for lunch tomorrow!

No, wait, I got that wrong. It makes one strong! Strong enough to bypass the sweets.

I made it a week, way to go me! But why all this self denial anyway?

Too much added sugar in your diet is no bueno. I kept telling myself I wasn’t really eating that much sugar… But, when you compound that with a lot of simple carbohydrates (gluten free foods are loaded with them) and *gasp* alcohol, well you (I) might just be overloading your (my) liver.

“Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat,” says Dr. Hu. 

Harvard Health Publishing

I’ve been feeling the effects of chronic inflammation for a while now. I gave up the daily coffee habit back in late September thinking that might help. (Notice it was easier to give up the Joe than convince me onesies to give up the sugar!) And as it turns out, I really haven’t missed the stuff. Although sometimes that cuppa tea isn’t quite as satisfying… And I haven’t noticed any benefits from not drinking coffee other than no more withdrawal headaches.

So by process of elimination, sugar is next on the list of priorities after coffee… Then dairy (cheese) but I don’t want to talk about that.

Today is my last day of avoiding fruits too. I’m looking forward to enjoying some apples, oranges & grapefruit this next week. Fruits are essential, which is why I didn’t want to go too long without them in my diet. I just wanted to go long enough to reprogram my taste buds!

So far, and I know a week isn’t that long… I haven’t noticed anything that’s a major breakthrough. But I’m persevering and hopefully by the end of thirty days I can notice something beneficial.

Tonight I took a shot at creating a virgin version of my favorite dirty martini. I poured olive brine into lemon lime seltzer and it wasn’t bad!