Post Pledge: Did I meet my goals?

Before I began my recent pledge, I listed 3 goals that I wanted to accomplish from my no sweetener pledge. Today I will discuss if I accomplished these goals with the pledge or not.

The first reason I had for taking on this challenge was to gain awareness of how much sugar is in most foods. I do think that after avoiding sugar for a week, I am more aware of what contains sugar and simple ways how to avoid added sugars. A few tricks that I learned: use mustard as a condiment instead of ketchup (mustard has no sweetener, while ketchup is mainly made up of sweetener), substitute tomato sauce for pasta sauce when making pizza (this may seem small but I make a lot of pizza and most pasta sauces have added sugars). I also learned that I can make good breads and doughs without using sugar to proof the yeast and that waffles are tasty without added maple syrup.

I definitely feel like that this pledge has helped reset my taste buds. Today I ate a bagel that probably contains a small amount of sugar to help proof the yeast (it is not a sweet bagel at all). I had a hard time eating it since it tasted so sweet.

I definitely have seen now that it's possible and not so difficult to avoid added sweetener. I didn't find this pledge to be so difficult and when I first decided to embark on the pledge I wasn't sure I would make it past the first day!

The Challenge: Day 7

What I ate:
zucchini chips (flavored with soy sauce)
cucumbers with cream cheese
1/4 grilled cheese sandwich (leftover from yesterday)
a few tablespoon of rice and lentils (leftover from yesterday)
2 stalks of celery
apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter
1/2 sweet potato
kiwi
corn (it was super sweet :) )
mac 'n cheese
matza pizza with peppers
mushroom barley soup (yesterday's leftovers)
a bit of a Larabar

The Challenge: Day 6

Only one more day left to the challenge- I can't believe it's almost over!

What I ate:
asian green beans with almonds
3/4 grilled cheese sandwich (made from my homemade bread )
rice and lentils
zucchini "chips"
kiwi
baked green beans
stuffed pepper
mushroom barley soup
celery with peanut butter (The first time I tried this combo and I wasn't a fan)
a bite of a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar

Mushroom Barley Soup

Here is the recipe for my mushroom barley soup. It uses a few simple ingredients and tastes great. It contains no added sweeteners (of course :) ) and no oil or other added fats.

1/2 c. sliced mushroom
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove crushed garlic
1 stalk of celery peeled and diced
1 carrot diced
1/2 zucchini peeled and diced
3 T. barley
paprika
salt
1 1/2 T. tomato paste
Dash of sherry

1. Combine mushrooms, onion, garlic, celery, carrot and zucchini in a pot. Cover and cook on low flame until the vegetable soften.
2. Add barley and water to cover and bring to a boil.
3. Lower to a steady simmer until the barley is fully cooked.
4. Add paprika, salt, sherry and tomato paste.
5. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

100% whole wheat pizza dough with no sweetener

I used this dough to make the pizza I had for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I got the basic recipe from here. Of course, there is no sugar used to proof the yeast in this recipe, just warm water.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp yeast (active dry yeast)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur organic white whole-wheat flour)
• Tomato sauce
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• Chopped vegetable, if desired for toppings

In the bowl of a stand mixer (I used my Kitchenaid), drop the yeast into the warm water. Wait a few minutes until it begins to foam and bubble. Add salt and olive oil and mix. Slowly add flour, mixing after each addition until the dough is smooth and stretchy (if the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it is right. At this point you can freeze the dough. Allow the dough to rise for at least an hour. Stretch it out into a wide circle, top with sauce and cheese and toppings, if desired. Bake @ 475 (on a pizza store, if you have one) until hot and bubbly.

What are the challenges of going sweetener free?

I am now nearly halfway through my no sweetener challenge. It may seem like this challenge has been simple for me, but that is far from the truth. Some aspects of the challenge have been particularly difficult.

The hardest part of the challenge for me has been making many foods from scratch. There are basic pantry items that I generally purchase, but now need to make from scratch since the store bought version almost always has some sort of added sweetener. Foods like bread, pasta sauce (I subbed tomato sauce which doesn't contain sugar, but unfortunately doesn't make a good ziti either), duck sauce and barbeque sauce (I subbed soy sauce, olive oil and spices depending on what I needed it for) are totally off limits. I needed to think out of the box or get my hands (and the kitchen) dirty to make a good sweetener free version of the food I wanted.

You also need to think outside the box. There are some foods that either were too time consuming to make from scratch or it just wasn't possible to make this food item without sugar. In those cases, I needed to substitute something else for the sweetener or not eat that product for a week. Instead of dessert (you can't make that without any sort of sweetener. Trust me I checked into it) I had fruit, a natural Larabar and a baked sweet potato. Those foods gave me the sweetness I wanted without any added sweetener. I usually dip my chicken in ketchup, this time I used mustard. It tasted different, but still good. Maple syrup was a no no for my waffles, so I dipped them in natural peanut butter and plain yogurt with blended strawberries.

It was also challenging not to eat what everyone else is eating. The family is eating chocolate cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies, they are off limits to me! I can't have a bowl of cereal with milk (many contain added sweetener) while everyone else is.

Another thing that bothered me was that I couldn't taste foods I was preparing that contained sweetener. I was whipping up my favorite chocolate cupcakes and cookies and I couldn't even lick the bowl! I sort of made up for that my saving some cookie dough and cupcakes for me to taste when my challenge is over.

The Challenge: Day 5

What I ate:
mini spinach quiche
zucchini "chips" (some with soy sauce and some with mediterranean spices)
1/2 cucumber with cream cheese
sweet potato (this was my dessert)
mac 'n cheese
rice and lentils
corn and lima beans (from a frozen mix)
homemade whole wheat pizza with peppers- I made the dough on day 1 on the challenge and froze it. The dough tasted great- not only doesn't it have sugar, it's also 100% whole wheat.
asian style green beans with garlic and almonds (leftover from yesterday)

Here's a picture of tonight's dinner:

Asian style green beans with garlic and almonds

I had these with my dinner tonight and they tasted so good and was so easy to make. Here's how I made them.

1 1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 lb. green beans (I used frozen)

1. Toast the almonds and garlic in the sesame oil until it starts turning brown. You should start to smell the garlic.
2. Add soy sauce and green beans.
3. Cook until the green beans are no longer raw/frozen.

The Challenge: Day 4

What I ate:
mini spinach quiche
a egg with some cheese and lots of diced peppers and onions (it was more like veggies with an egg than an  egg with veggies)
1 1/2 pieces of (machine) matza
2-3 walnuts
rice and lentils
a tablespoon of plain yogurt
corn and lima beans (from a frozen mix- I just baked it)
green bean with almonds
zucchini "chips"

The Challenge: Day 3

What I ate:
Potato kugel
salad with mustard vinaigrette (recipe here )
kibbeh
sweet potato- to end the meal with something sweet
3 hazelnuts
1 yogurt blended strawberry ice pop (I made this from scratch with a silicon smoothie maker from plain yogurt and blended strawberries)
3 mini spinach quiche
1 slice of my whole wheat bread with cream cheese, a tomato slice and a slice of cheese
corn
grilled cheese (I made it with my whole wheat bread)
cucumber with cream cheese

Update: Leaving out the sweetener- how did it go?

I posted here about the waffles I made without the sweetener the recipe normally calls for. They tasted fine, but I think they are much tastier with the sweetener.

100% Whole Wheat No Sweetener Bread Recipe

I found the recipe for this bread from here, which I loosely followed. I honestly didn't expect the bread to taste good because there is no added sweetener and it is 100% whole wheat, but it was really very yummy.

3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or use whole wheat flour)
3/4 T yeast 
1/2 T salt
2 T vital wheat gluten
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix warm water with yeast and wait a few minutes until the yeast proofs (this may take a bit of time since you won't be using sugar to help the yeast proof). Mix in salt and olive oil. Add vital wheat gluten. Slowly mix in flour until a dough forms (the dough should be a bit sticky). Allow it to rise for an hour and punch it down.  Press into a loaf pan. Brush with egg and sesame if desired. Allow to rise for another half hour.  Bake at 350 until load springs back when you touch it (about a half hour).

The Challenge: Day 2

What I ate:
Spiced zucchini sticks
cucumber with cream cheese
Mini spinach quiche
2 whole wheat waffles (see this post for more about the recipe)
      Instead of maple syrup I topped my waffles with plain yogurt with blended strawberries and peanut butter. I barely missed the maple syrup. I felt the waffles were tastier with the peanut butter than with the yogurt.
plain yogurt with blended strawberries (I usually eat my yogurt plain and I felt the added strawberries made it too sour)- I had this with the waffles
apple
natural crunchy peanut butter
some to go with the waffles instead of maple syrup and some to go with the apple
plain broiled chicken (I usually put some soy sauce on the chicken, but skipped it this time. I really felt the chicken was less tasty and I wish I would've added the soy sauce.
Whole wheat roll (See this post for more about the recipe)- it was very tasty even without any sweetener. I plan to post the recipe.
white rice
onion, sweet potato, 2 red potatoes and mushroom- I sliced these veggies and broiled it under my chicken. The sweet potatoes were the yummiest IMO.
grapes
pineapple
a small piece of a Larabar (peanut butter cookies flavor) for dessert- Larabars are made of only a few natural ingredients and have no added sweetener. The bar I had is made of: dates, peanuts and sea salt. I was surprised to see that the Larabar was really yummy and actually tasted like a peanut butter cookie!

Mustard Vinaigrete

Many salad dressing (particularly store bought) contain hidden sugar. Here is an easy recipe for a yummy salad dressing with no added sugar.

1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of water
2 T. vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or one clove of minced garlic)
pinch of salt

Put ingredient in a container and shake well before using. This dressing keeps well in the fridge.

The Challenge: Day 1

What I Ate:
I have found that when I focus on eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods it is much easier to avoid hidden sources of sugar.

I generally skip breakfast and don't snack between meals.

Lunch
Apple with peanut butter
Cucumbers with cream cheese
Crustless Spinach quiche (I may post the recipe later on)
Rice and Lentils (mixture of brown and white rice)

Dinner
Lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Crustless Squash quiche
Brown rice and lentils
Matza Pizza topped with colored peppers (I used tomato sauce instead of  pasta sauce, which usually has added sugar)
A bite of baked sweet potato to end the meal with something sweet (I would've had the whole potato but I was pretty full by then)

Foods I made:
I made a whole wheat pizza dough without any sugar or refined oil. I will post the recipe if I'm happy with the pizza. I also baked chocolate chip cookie which I love. This time I wasn't allowed to sample the batter and I was ok with it.

Leaving out the sweetener?

I have a whole wheat waffle recipe that is very easy to make and tastes great! The recipe calls for a tablespoon of honey, which wouldn't work for this pledge. I decided to make this recipe without the honey and see how it goes.

Here are some pictures:

They came out looking delicious. If they taste as good as they look, I will try to post the recipe. The challenge begins tomorrow!

Baking my own bread

It is very hard to find bread without any added sweetener. Even in breads that aren't sweet, sugar is often used to help proof the yeast. I decided to bake my own bread for my no sugar challenge. The bread is 100% whole wheat and is only made up of a few ingredients. Of course, it has no added sugar.

Here's a picture of the bread:

I haven't tasted the bread yet. If I like it, I will try to post the recipe.

Tomorrow the challenge begins!

First some background....

This week from Thursday, May 8- Wednesday May 14, I will be going on a no sweetener challenge. This means that everything I eat during that week cannot have any added sweeteners. I decided to embark upon this challenge for a few reasons.

My first reason for undertaking this challenge is to gain awareness. Many products in America are full of sugar. The average American eats 4x the daily recommended amount of sugar. All this added sugar has lead to rising rates of Type 2 diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses. I am hoping that by avoiding all added
sweeteners, I will gain awareness of where all this added sugar is hiding in my food and hopefully be able to limit my sugar consumption.

I am also taking this challenge to help reset my taste buds.  All the added sugar in foods in the standard American diet has made Americans accustomed to food that is super sweet. I am hoping that by the end of the challenge, my taste buds will be more sensitive to sweet and I won't need to have so much added sweetener in my food.

My last reason for taking this challenge is to show that it's possible. Sugar is hiding in so many products, it's easy to be overwhelmed and think that it's impossible to reduce sugar consumption. I am hoping that this challenge will show me that it is possible to reduce added sweetener in our foods.

Starting Thursday I will be avoiding all sweeteners including but not limited to, sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, aspartame, sucralose, xylitol and coconut sugar. I am hoping to learn and benefit from this experience.