Wednesday 11 February 2015

Sugar free eating ~ an interesting topic!

Judging by the number of page views after my last post about saying goodbye to sugar, the topic of eating this way seems to be of great interest to a lot of readers. I think many of us do eat too much sugar and I must admit that I was feeling bad about the teaspoon I was adding to each cup of coffee apart from all the extra I was eating unknowingly in supermarket sauces and other condiments. I did know about the amount of sugar in pickles as I make them but was quite surprised about other foods.

 
 1 1/2 cups of castor sugar in this recipe

 So now I am on a learning curve about how to preserve what we grow in the garden without adding sugar and am not sure if that is even possible apart from freezing vegetables and that in itself is a problem as we don't have much freezer space. I haven't completely gone cold turkey as I can't resist grapes at this time of the year but I hope to do the 8 week quit programme before my next blood test in August. Firstly though, I will find out how much it costs and, if it is too expensive, I will do it on my Robinson Crusoe (on my own).

I also have been looking at sugar free recipes which are quite different from our usual menu but they do look delicious so I can see a lot of experimentation happening in coming weeks. I need to make some snacks as the ones I thought were healthy aren't unfortunately. It will be a whole new way of eating but, if it brings my cholesterol down to a healthy level, it will be worth it in the long run.



Today I was sitting on the back verandah eating my Weetbix, flaxseed and LSA mixture   (well I had to replace the All Bran with something!) which is where I normally watch the cockatoos wrecking one of our macadamia trees when I heard screeching in the decimated Nashi tree and I knew the Rainbow Lorikeets had come back to finish off the two or three Nashis that they had left behind a few weeks ago.




  The CEO and I were just commenting yesterday on the fact that the fruit was still there but it has all gone now. They certainly know how to destroy a fruit harvest in a matter of minutes.



 However, they very nearly met their demise when they got in under the netting the CEO had put up to protect the grapes. When I approached they started screeching and attracted the cat across the road as they panicked to find the way they got in and fly away. So there I was standing in the drizzle waiting for these naughty but beautiful birds to escape without being attacked by the cat which was licking his chops in anticipation. They are entertaining if nothing else :-)

I think I would rather watch the antics of the wildlife around the place than listen to the bad news on TV as it seems to worsen each day. Don't you agree?




 


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8 comments:

  1. porridge! have porridge for breakfast, i have it every morning & it keeps me going til lunchtime :)) plus i think it's better for you than all that wheat in the weetbix. & yes i'm always looking for recipes without sugar or wheat, it's hard, as i don't have easy access to what most use as substitute which is the almond flour.
    why can't you have fruit? you still need some some types of sugars otherwise you'll find yourself passing out, i don't think a little will hurt, 2-3 pieces in a week, fruit also has fibre. i've only given up the granulated sugar, not my fruits, love having banana & sultanas in my porridge in the morning, (also honey & chia seeds)
    sounds like you're doing okay so far

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    1. Selina from what I gather fruit is allowed after the 8 weeks of breaking the sugar addiction. Avocadoes are fine though as far as I know. Ours aren't ready as yet but at $3 each I am not keen to but them at the moment. I do have oats but more so in winter.

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  2. I agree with you I would much rather watch the antics of the wildlife around the place. I don’t watch the news much at all anymore. Do you remember back in the 80’s the Pritikin diet was supposed to be able to lower cholesterol? I was in high school when my mother went on that diet, probably because everyone we knew was on the Pritikin plan. She hated to cook though so she gave it up after a few months. We all went on the diet though and I remember feeling really good – healthy and energetic on the diet. I actually stayed on it a few months longer than the rest of my family.

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    Replies
    1. Sherri, I think the Pritikin diet was a fairly healthy one from memory. The sugar free diet seems to be a way of life rather than a diet as such and perhaps shouldn't be called a diet. The author of the book certainly cops a lot of flack. She first stopped eating sugar to see if it would help her thryoid illness and it did! 5 - 9 teaspoons of sugar is allowed when eating this way and she used to have about 25t a day. So it worked for her.

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  3. Here's a timely movie Nana Chel, http://www.thatsugarfilm.com/ you can watch the trailer. Yes the naughty antics of your birds are much more enjoyable than the news.

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    Replies
    1. Zena I watched the trailer the other night. It was very interesting. Unfortunately it won't be coming to our city.

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  4. Nanna, this is interesting stuff. I'm very much of the 'all things in moderation' camp, so I'm resisting. I guess if faced with a health crisis, this will change though. I'll be following closely. I'd rather watch our wildlife than the silly box too. We have possums, rainbow lorikeets and other birdlife in abundance, as well as water dragons, skinks, bush turkeys, koalas, and the dog...lol! Looking forward to more of your recipe adjustments. It's more difficult than you imagine, isn't it! Mimi xxx

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  5. Yes I feel the same as you about all things in moderation, Mimi. To be honest I had never heard of sugar causing high cholesterol levels but it seems to be quite common as people notice from their test results after quitting or reducing sugar. 5 to 9 teaspoons of sugar but no more are recommended with this way of eating after the initial 8 week quitting period. I am surprised though how much hidden sugar there is in the food I have been eating.

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