Sugar Free

So, while Jacob was away at training at the beginning of the year, he and I decided we would go with out sugar while we were apart. Mostly to help us not comfort eat and go overboard when we got lonely. When we got back together, we went out for ice cream and regretted it instantly. We both felt soooooooo sick from that ice cream. We decided that we weren't going to go back to our old food lifestyle. We were going to do things differently and be more healthy. Why would we want to eat something that makes us all feel so awful and that after you have some, you just crave more and more of it? That being said, we aren't ready to give up all sweets, so I got to work and found some recipes that don't involve sugar, and I am proud to announce that we have not bought a package of sugar in over 7 months. That isn't to say that we don't occasionally cheat and have sugar, because we do. We always regret it afterwards because of how sick it makes us feel though. Another diet change we have made since getting back together is only using 100% whole wheat. Mostly that is in the form of us grinding it ourselves. No white flour for us. In a big part, this is to  help us learn how to use food storage, but the health benefits of whole wheat (especially freshly ground) are enormous, especially over its nutrient void white counterpart. I had it explained this way. Eating white flour is like cooking hamburger and throwing away the meat and just eating the fat left over in the pan. White flour is "the fat" of wheat flour. So we have been making all our own bread (which we go through quickly) (Seriously, I have to make it like twice a week sometimes). We are also trying to give up all processed foods. And in addition to that we are trying to eat meat sparingly with the exception of fish. It has been a huge adjustment doing all of these things at once, but it has been nice doing it as we are moving into our house, because we just haven't bought any of those things that we are doing without, so they aren't around to tempt us.

The kids are doing quite well with this transition actually. Rachel has asked me if I can make sugar free versions of certain deserts. At first we would go to the store and they would ask, "Can we have those cookies? Can we buy those doughnuts?" But now they are asking, "Do you think you could make us some sugar free cup cakes?" I love it!

Anyway, I am going to post a few recipes that we have found that we have adapted to be whole wheat and sugar free just in case there is anyone out there who is looking for help in finding healthy recipes.