No Sugar Challenge-- Sneak in Sweets!

My husband and I tried a no-sugar challenge for the month of January... ok we didn't actually start until January 3rd, but we had events to attend and the temptation would be too great. But we really did stick to it a whole month! (okay, we cheated... but only on one day!)

The idea was for us to eat less than 10 grams of added sugar per day. I will admit some days it was pretty hard. Often times I woke up thinking about cookies and went to bed dreaming about chocolate ice cream, but we survived. The holidays (which defined by me starts in October and ends after New Years) can really undo a healthy lifestyle, frankly we didn't even give sugar a second thought during the holidays. We were busy, and sometimes (to unwind from a stressful day of Stats homework torture and long work hours) a Reeses or two... okay three-- just seemed justifiable.

Yes, if you know me this might seem heinous. I am a dietetic intern and graduate student in clinical nutrition. I know I'm not supposed to have these sweet treats everyday... but guess what? I'm human too. And I fall off the wagon just like everyone else.

For one month we limited our added sugar intake to less than 10 grams per day. That’s only 40 calories (2.5 teaspoons) from added sugar in a day.

The most recent 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that 10% of your daily calories can come from added sugar, and that is the limit not a goal. So this means if you are consuming 1,200-1,800 calories a day, 120 and 180 calories respectively can come from added sugar! So a small coffee frappe or a can of soda will pretty much ruin your entire day, sugar/calorie wise anyway. 

What exactly are added sugars? Think of caloric sweeteners (like table sugar) and syrups. These are added sugars. The biggest contributor of added sugar in the American diet is from beverages, they account for 47% of all added sugars consumed. But soda, fruit drinks, sweetened tea/coffee (plus many more) aren't your only culprits in the added sugar saga, it seems like it's in everything: flavored yogurt, bread, pasta sauce, condiments, canned fruits, etc has added sugar. Specific names of sugar will be listed in the ingredients list. Did you know there are at least 61 names for sugar? Check out this source and educate yourself on all the names sugar uses to be incognito (SugarScience.org).

Naturally occurring sugars are not added sugars, these are from your whole fruits and also plain milk. So eat and drink up from these sources (more about this in a minute). 

The "no-sugar" challenge rules:

10 grams or less from added sugar per day. That's 40 calories or less a day coming from added sugar. 

I know what you’re thinking... Fruits and some vegetables have sugar, right? Yes—Fruits contain fructose which is sometimes referred to as “fruit sugar.” My husband and I deemed this okay, because fruit is nutrient dense. Meaning, for the calories, you get a better bang for your buck. (fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.) So, we ate a lot of fruit during this challenge.

We calculated added sugar by checking the food label under SUGAR. If there were any grams of sugar I then checked the ingredient list and checked for *sugar* as an ingredient. Remember, sugar is sneaky and can hide itself under many different pseudonyms.  By doing this I was able to tell if something actually had added sugar or not, because natural and added sugar both get lumped together under the same spot on the food label. Example? A plain, nonfat Greek yogurt might say it has 12 grams of sugar per 150 gram serving. Go to the ingredients and look for "sugar," if it's not there... guess what? You've found a product with naturally occurring sugar, in this case lactose. 

How was it? Well for us it was completely do-able. We don’t consume a ton of sugary products that are typically hard to give up (like soda, sweet tea, snack cakes, the works) but it was those sneaky items that were kind of hard to give up. Plus we definitely hadn’t shied away from the after dinner dessert item before the challenge (my husband has a sweet tooth—but adamantly denies it!). Since we had to cut out certain products, fresh vegetables and fruits were a go-to. The problem? We may have increased our fiber intake too quickly! OUCH. We had some bad stomach aches for about a week. Don’t let this stop you! Just keep in mind, if you’re not eating a lot of fiber, it’s never a good idea to amp up the fiber before you give your body a chance to adjust--trust me. Be sure to drink plenty of water, this helps alleviate some of those pesky stomach cramps associated with fiber…

So what did we eat?? Well here’s some examples of foods that fit well into our no sugar added challenge!

Breakfast:

• Eggs (any way!)
• Toast with avocado (find a bread that is low sugar! This is a challenge!! But we found a few brands that were around 2 grams per slice).
• Toast with peanut butter (any nut butter works, but you MUST check the ingredient list. Almost all nut butters {even the natural ones} have added sugar... you just want peanuts, and a little salt is fine if that's included). 
• Oatmeal (another tricky one, those little pouches of instant flavored oatmeal almost always have tons of added sugar… find one that’s about 1 gram per serving and flavor it yourself with berries and nuts)
• Breakfast sandwiches (I made these myself. Make it which a whole grain sandwich thin. I found one brand that had 1 gram per sandwich thin. See this recipe for ideas on how to make and freeze these sandwiches). 
• Baked Oatmeal: NO added sugar, and it actually tastes good! I recommend topping with blueberries and a little bit of whipped cream, which is about 1 gram sugar per serving) 
• No sugar added granola (this recipe from Budget Byte$ is great!) on top of plain or stevia sweetened yogurt. (IF you are sensitive to high amounts of inulin, a type of soluble fiber common in low calorie yogurts... watch out, it could give you terrible stomach cramps). 

Lunch:

• Sandwiches (again find a low sugar bread. No more than 4 grams per sandwich). 
• Fresh veggies and hummus. 
• Any fresh fruit and some fruit cups (if no added sugar is on the label). 
• Bananas/apples with nut butter are filling 
• Fresh berries mixed together with about 1-2 tbsp canned whipped cream. 

Dinner:

• Meats (meats are sugar free, so eat whatever you want. I like lean meats like chicken breast and pork tenderloin. We baked and smoked salmon a couple of times. Keep it simple.)
• Veggies (We LOVED sweet potatoes. By the last week these little babies seriously tasted like CANDY!)
• Avocados! These are awesome, they are so tasty with so many different foods. You can eat all the guacamole you want to. 

Desserts and/or "sweet" treats: 

• Berries, bananas, apples, grapes, no sugar added applesauce, no sugar added fruit cups
• Smoothies (made with fresh or frozen fruit, milk {any unsweetened milk will do the trick--I really like to use unflavored Keifer in my smoothies for the probiotic benefits}, spinach {for extra nutrition}, ice-- blended all together 
• This no sugar cookie dough dip by Chocolate Covered Katie was really a surprise for me. The ingredients are, well weird. But as weird as they are, it tastes good! Not exactly like cookie dough, but a pretty good substitute given you don't have to sacrifice nutrition. 
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream. The sugar saver here is the frozen bananas, they add substance and give it the same mouth feel as soft serve ice cream. I made this and was really into it! So yum!
• "Dole Whip." My hubby made this. Kind of a cross between a smoothie and sorbet. 
• Kiwi Whip. Same as a the dole whip but add in the kiwi and you get a whole different flavor profile. Not to mention the crunch from the little kiwi seeds. 

No Sugar Added Baked Oatmeal

Warm and filling baked oatmeal is the perfect way to start the day. Flavorful without all the added sugar of most packaged oatmeal products. 

Printable recipe here. 

This oatmeal recipe made a great "go-to" breakfast item for my husband and I during our "no added sugar challenge (post pending)." 

I'm not going to put it out there that is this is the best recipe ever and that it's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, and that "oh my goodness we ate every bite within the first day"... 

Cause I hate it when bloggers do that. You know? Not everything tastes wonderful and makes you want to eat every bite. Especially a recipe with no sugar. ;) 

If you are health conscious and like oatmeal, then yeah, you will actually like this recipe. It's not super sweet, but it has enough flavor to be pretty tasty. 

I highly recommend serving this with fresh of frozen berries (blueberries were wonderful) and some canned whipped topping. 

I made it one Saturday morning and my husband and I ate it for breakfast for the next week. I love not thinking about breakfast in the morning. Now that's worth bragging about. 

Wet ingredients: plain or unsweetened vanilla yogurt, applesauce, egg, unsweetened almond milk, and mashed banana. 

Dry ingredients: old fashioned oats, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (optional). 

Use really ripe bananas, they mash the easiest!

Mix-ins! These can be basically whatever you like in oatmeal. I used shredded coconut (use non-sweetened for the no added sugar recipe), chopped pecans, and chopped walnuts. 

All mixed up and ready to bake! It takes awhile, so make sure you aren't too hungry to wait for it!

After about 20 minutes. It's drying out, but not done yet! Keep going!

Now we're talking! Nice and brown on the top and cooked through inside. 

No sugar added baked oatmeal

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups regular rolled oats or steel cut oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Dash of pumpkin pie spice, optional
• 1 + tsp cinnamon (I like A LOT of cinnamon)
• 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or mix both
• 1 cup shredded coconut (preferably unsweetened to keep the sugar content low)
• 2 tbsp peanut butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Stir together rolled oats/steel cut oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine almond milk, egg, applesauce and yogurt/sour cream. Add milk mixture to oat mixture and stir until combined.
4. Stir in banana, pecans, coconut, and peanut butter.
5. Pour into a 3-quart casserole dish coated with non-stick spray and bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir mixture and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
6. Spoon into bowls and enjoy. I highly suggest topping this with fresh or frozen blueberries and a tbsp. of whipped cream!! Other toppings could be maple syrup (will definitely add sugar though), peanut butter, more nuts, really whatever you can imagine.

*Recipe adapted from pbfingers.com 

Click here for printable recipe!

Greek Marinated Chicken (Freezer Friendly Recipe)

It’s no surprise that I love Greek food. Hummus, tabuleh, feta cheese, greek salads, all of it! This Greek marinated chicken recipe is an easy way to get my Greek fix anytime! It can be frozen after prep for an easy freezer meal that is at your service when you most need it.

As far as freezer meals go, this one is about average for prep time. I’ve had some that are ridiculously easy and others that make me question why I’m doing it in the first place. This one falls somewhere in the middle, but I’m telling you it was so nice to have it at my disposal… especially since I haven’t been to the grocery store to get any entrée worthy foods lately. 

To start this meal gather up all your ingredients. I love that we aren’t working with too many items for this recipe. It really makes prep fly by. If you visit the blog where I found this recipe (Budget Bytes) you will find prices for all the items used to create this recipe. And as the blog title suggests, it’s a budget friendly meal, which is always a plus in my book. I went ahead and made two freezer meals (doubling the recipe), it just seemed like a no brainer. 

For the marinade mix together, yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a medium sized bowl. Next take your lemon and zest the top layer of skin. If you don’t care for lemon I’d suggest zesting half. If there was one prominent flavor in this recipe it’s definitely the lemon; although, I didn’t feel like that was a bad thing… it’s just that if I made it for company I would tone down the lemon. You also add the juice from about half of the zested lemon to the yogurt mix (again use less if you aren’t into lemon). Go ahead a give it a stir before you add the chopped parsley, then stir again. 

Next add your chicken pieces into a gallon sized freezer bag that you have dated and labeled (include oven temp and cooking time). Equally divide chicken pieces if you double the recipe. Join the marinade to the bag(s) and remove as much air as possible before sealing the bag. You can massage the chicken if you’d like to make sure all the pieces are coated. 

I put my bags in the freezer, but you could use this recipe as soon as 30 minutes. Just keep it in the refrigerator while waiting. Viola! You have a wonderful freezer meal to use when you slack on grocery shopping. ;) 

To cook: thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, add chicken to a 9 X 13 baking dish, and cook for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken registers at 165F on a meat thermometer. But feel free to cook a little longer and get the tops of your chicken golden brown. Nothing better than that crispy skin… even if I only eat a tiny tiny sliver. 

Meal Idea: Serve this freezer friendly meal with a fresh salad, pita bread, and hummus. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Mrs. Crafty Cook

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Tabouleh Salad for Two

This Mediterranean dish is filling and satisfying while still being light! Filled with greens and tabouleh (made from protein packed quinoa). It's a dish sure to delight anyone. Oh, and it's easy because you can make the ingredients ahead of time and use leftovers to make this salad. 

The other night my husband and I made chicken gyros. The meal was complete with tabouleh, hummus and pita bread, taziki and a Greek salad. Since it's just the two of us we had plenty leftover, so this yummy salad was born. it made a great post-workout lunch for the two of us.

Assemble salad using lettuce (I love baby romaine or mixed greens for this salad), tabouleh, grilled sliced chicken (warm), and feta cheese. There is no dressing needed on this salad, just drizzle a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a dash of Italian seasoning. Other great additions to this salad could be: pepproncini peppers, kalamata olives, or sliced cucumbers. Serve the tabouleh chicken salad with warm pita bread and hummus to complete the meal. 

If this recipe sounds good, check out my hummus recipe which includes the trick to SMOOTH & CREAMY hummus at home! Also listed are some meal ideas that go great with hummus. 

Classic Smooth and Creamy Hummus

If there's one thing I'm into right now it's Mediterranean food. My husband and I have been gracing the doors of one of our favorites (Zoe's Kitchen) pretty frequently lately! I love their options... most being rich in veggies, healthy fats, fiber, and loads of other nutrients. I always get full, but never feel stuffed (I hate that feeling when you know you've WAY over eaten-- I'm looking at you Thanksgiving!!). One of my favorite things about Zoe's is their hummus. Seriously it's the best. It so smooth and creamy, I wish I could 100% perfect the flavor and texture combo of this hummus. This recipe comes as close to my favorite as I have been able to get, which is saying something. But there's a trick, and it's going to cost you... an hour of your time. SORRY but it's true. To get delicious smooth hummus you've got to put in the time! But here's how I made it go by in what felt like a few minutes. 

First gather up what you need. Drain 2 cans of chickpeas into a colander, reserve the liquid for later. Put the colander into a slightly larger bowl, note that you can see the open edges. Next take the bowl and the 2 empty cans to your couch--- huh? Wait what? Yep you heard me, march right into your living room, turn on your favorite Netflix show and get started. 

The secret to great hummus at home is de-shelled chickpeas! When I've made hummus at home it's always been really gritty, good... but gritty. And gritty is unpleasant. So if you can take the time to remove all these little shells you will be left with a much creamier product in the end. So like I said to make the time  pass by, you may want something to distract you... I chose a couple Netflix shows. The process is really easy, just take a chickpea between two fingers and pinch. The shell will easily fall off. I discarded the shells into the crack between the colander and bowl as I was working and threw the naked chickpeas back into the empty cans. Keep a paper towel by as well so you can wipe off your fingers periodically.

The total process for the 2 cans took me about an hour. But I look at it as a productive way to watch tv ;) 

Goodbye shells!

The rest is easy-peasy! Just throw all the ingredients into your blender and whirl away! (Printable recipe here)

Garnish with olive oil and paprika for the "classic" hummus look.

My mouth is watering! This hummus longs for pita bread, chips, or veggies. I get the BEST pita bread at Sprouts, and I'm not talking about pita pockets, you want the actual bread... I've not been able to find it anywhere. Thankfully our Sprouts opened up a few weeks ago and now I can get it whenever I want :) 

Need a meal idea for an even BETTER excuse to make this hummus? Well okay! Try making chicken gyros (you've already got the pita bread right?!) You just saute a few chicken tenders and place on warm pita bread, top with yellow onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, and feta cheese. Add some tzatziki for an even more Greek feel... so DELICIOUS. 

Another great side item is tabouleh! It's basically just quinoa, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley (curly), olive oil and some spices. Most boxes of quinoa have the recipe on the back.

So there you have it! A wonderful, healthy, EASY dinner that you'll want to make again and again! 

Now this is the perfect bite.

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