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Lent: Days 20 and 21

Lent: Days 20 and 21

It has been quite a day of bombshells. From the “surprise” winter snowstorm this morning dumping about 4 inches on my daffodils about to bloom to the shocking announcement from Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin that they are separating. It feels like I have been 

Lent: Days 17-19 and Third Weigh-In

Lent: Days 17-19 and Third Weigh-In

We have been on the road the past two days attending a homeschooling conference in Richmond that I will write about more later. It was another challenge in how to stay on my diet (with food that you really can’t buy anywhere) while socializing. I 

Lent: Day 16, The Goof

Lent: Day 16, The Goof

2014-03-20-choppingveg

Today I am still struggling with my voice but managed to stick to the healthy eating plan and add a few new recipes as well.

Pumpkin Pie Shake for breakfast.
Pumpkin Pie Shake for breakfast.
The old standby: quinoa with bananas and dates.
The old standby: quinoa with bananas and dates.
Lunch: Italian-style Salmon and Chickpea Salad over greens.
Lunch: Italian-style Salmon and Chickpea Salad over greens.
Dinner: Imperious chili and salad with the Apple Cider Vinaigrette.  The dressing was not one of my favorites.  It was a bit too bland.
Dinner: Imperious chili and salad with the Apple Cider Vinaigrette. The dressing was not one of my favorites. It was a bit too bland.
I saw on the list of approved snacks was "an apple with a scoop of almond butter."  I pulled out my "All-Natural, Creamy Almond Butter."
I saw on the list of approved snacks was “an apple with a scoop of almond butter.” I pulled out my “All-Natural, Creamy Almond Butter.”
I sliced an apple and prepared to dig in to my snack.
I sliced an apple and prepared to dig in to my snack.

At the first bite, I thought:

“Wow! This is awesome! Who knew an apple and almond butter would be this delicious?! I am going to eat this every day until the end of this diet!”

After another few bites, I thought:

“Wait a minute! This is a little too delicious. Nothing on this diet has been this good. There has to be something wrong.”

I went back to the refrigerator and pulled out the almond butter and read the ingredients.

"All Natural" almond butter has sugar in it.
“All Natural” almond butter has sugar in it.

My first goof on this diet. I did finish eating my snack, though, and appreciated fully why there is sugar in everything. It really enhances flavor in an amazing way.

In the Dr. Lustig interview, he claims that children only have to taste a sweet food once to develop a liking for it whereas a non-sweet food requires 13 tries. I can see how this would be true for adults as well and why we have ended up with so much sugar in the food supply. What food manufacturer can risk that people will try their food 13 times?

Some other interesting links for you today:

There are lots and lots of body type quizzes out there but this one seemed especially thorough for women. I tested as the “Thyroid” type and learned just recently from a blog post from one of Dr. Cabot’s nutritionists that this is the body type that tends to stay skinny while eating anything, including sugar. This explains why I have been able to get away with a bad diet for such a long time. However, as I also have seen even the “thyroid” body type eventually has to adjust to a healthy eating pattern.

Lent: Days 14 and 15

Lent: Days 14 and 15

Today, I awoke with no voice to speak of — just a scratchy sounding rasp. I am not sure how this happened but it does explain why I have been feeling an energy deficit lately. I must be fighting off some last-minute winter virus. I 

Lent: Day 13: The Eating of the Greens

Lent: Day 13: The Eating of the Greens

What better day to celebrate eating your greens than St. Patrick’s Day?! We had another big snowstorm coating us with about 4 1/2 inches of snow! Schools were closed yet again and it was a snow day for all. To create some fun on this