Sunday, September 6, 2009

I Don't Recognize Me...

Who would have thought that I could go without sugar for as long as I have? Me, the Oreo, cookie dough, chocolate fiend? Don't misunderstand...I miss it. I do. I really do. I miss the taste; that heavenly sweetness. Mmm.

But.....

I actually bought organic peanut butter yesterday because it has no sugar. I'm the type of person who can eat peanut butter spoonful after spoonful right from the jar. It's so delicious, but that's the Jif brand or Skippy...not organic no salt, no sugar ...no taste. That was before. I opened this peanut butter open yesterday and stirred it up. It said "some separation of oils is normal". Blech. I took a lick off my knife. Hmm. Another lick (bigger). Mmm. I got a spoon this time. I put a few craisins on the top of the peanut butter. Oh my. It actually tasted like peanuts - and some sweet with the craisins. It was so delicious. I was amazed! I've had this stuff before and hated it! But you know what? I love it now and I'm switching. No more Jif or Skippy in my house. Bugs is young enough not to know the difference yet and the less sugar for kids the better too. They get enough, and please - I'll still put jam on her sandwich. I'm not that brutal.

But another thing I did today that I never saw myself doing. I made my own mayo...on purpose. I have mayo in the fridge, but it has sugar in it too! Does everything have sugar in it? Yes! Why? Who knows? It's frustrating - I have to watch every single thing I put in my mouth and be very present in the kitchen. No mind wandering licking the spoon during cooking anymore. So I got a recipe from my friend Josey. It has eggs, lemon juice, salt, mustard and olive oil. And again, I've had this stuff before and never really liked it. This time...I was so pleased that I couldn't stop licking my finger! Not having mayo has been hard because I love it. And now I don't have to worry about sugar crashing my party.

It could be you think I'm going overboard with the whole sugar thing. But you don't realize how long I've had those mid-afternoon hardcore slumps. I've always wondered what was wrong with me! I've tried a lot of different things to get rid of them because they are a huge downer. I'm full of energy and drive all day but 3pm rolls around and I am down for the count and it's a terrible time to have a slump. I could set my clock by it. And to not have that horrible fatigue every day has been amazing! I just don't want to go back there. I will eat sugar again no doubt. I love Oreos too much. But I want to choose when I have it, not have it in everything I eat just because some manufacturer decided balsamic vinegar is better with sugar. I will control it...and I will feel better because of it.

3 backward glances:

Steve said...

Agreed 100%!!! When I quit smoking after 14 years, I remember how great everything tasted. The exact same thing occurred when I stopped eating so much sugar. Food tastes great if we just leave it alone. :-)

carolee said...

So, I'm totally interested how you've accomplished this. Did you just cut out sugar cold turkey? Sweets are totally my weakness!!

Amy said...

Steve: i was wondering what the world would be like without salt? Would it even be worth living in? I just don't know.

Carriej: I did. Cold turkey. I did soda the same day so the headaches that followed couldn't be blamed on one or the other but I definitely had them for 3 days. I took a little excedrin to kill the pain and give me a little caffeine to get me through. it's been hard but totally worth it.