October 17, 2021 Day 94   It's a bit chilly this Sunday morning so I’m treating myself to a warm pumpkin spice smoothie with no added sugar!  The cooler weather calls for warmer foods, and even your morning smoothie can be warm. You can used canned pumpkin, or a cooked small sugar pumpkin and use it for all kinds of recipes, including chili.    Here is the recipe: Read More

October 16, 2021 Day 93   A member of the diabetes prevention program group I teach asked me about whole wheat pasta versus regular pasta and will it make a difference in the blood sugar rise.  “Slightly” is the answer. Pasta doesn’t contain added sugars, but if we have conquered added sugars and are ready for the next step, understanding carbohydrates and the glycemic index of foods can be helpful if you are concerned about blood sugar regulation and storage of sugars as fat.    There are lots of ways to keep blood sugar from spiking too high and then storing extra sugar in the blood or moving sugar to cells to be stored as fat.  Here are a few to keep in mind.  Read More

October 15, 2021 Day 92   I received a great message yesterday from a friend in the My Sugar Free Year group that made me happy. Here’s what she said…    “Hello Mary Ellen. I wanted to share something with you. I have been following your sugar free journey and I too have decided to cut back on my sugar significantly. I just got my period this morning and I have no PMS and no discomfort. I really believe it’s the diet. Wow. What a difference! No cramps. I didn’t even know it was coming!” Read More

October 14, 2021 Day 90   I had to take a break from work yesterday and get some cooking done because we had nothing to eat, but lots of whole food in the house!  I made a mushroom and wild rice soup, roasted baba ghanoush with peppers, eggplant, zucchini, onion, and tomatoes, and then chicken with pepperoncini peppers and fingerling potatoes for dinner - all sugar free meals.  I had to check the pepperoncini peppers ingredient label and happily found no sugar.  They were brined but just in vinegar, no sugar - yeah!  Now we are set for lunch tomorrow, leftovers for dinner, and baba ghanoush for a few days. Read More

October 13, 2021 Day 90   No sugar issues today as we were all home working and trying to clean out the fridge of leftovers. Chicken, salmon, squash, broccoli, cauliflower.  We were eating it all up.    I’m excited about the quit sugar course I’m writing, and have gotten some nice response from those who are interested in volunteering for the Beta course.   Read More

October 12, 2021 Day 89   Do you love cookies?  If yes, why do you love them?  Is it the sweetness, cravings, the emotional tie to childhood, a habit?   I haven’t had cookies in a long time, at least store bought.  The homemade cookies delivered at Christmas time by my neighbor are really tempting, and I usually have one or two, because they are there, and I remember how good they were from the past year. But I don’t crave them, or go out of my way to have them.    Read More

October 11, 2021 Day 88   Weekends used to be about cooking for the week, but somehow, I find myself being really busy and pressed for time these days.  I’ve taken on a lot of projects lately which I love, but the cooking has been sub-par.  Until tonight!  This weekend I picked up a piece of wild salmon from the Asian market and cooked it in the cast iron pan with shallots, olive oil, and the very last of the grape tomatoes from the garden.  Yum, yum, yum, and sugar free. Thanks, Mom for the recipe.  (Apparently, it’s the only way my brother-in-law will eat salmon, and I can see why).   Read More

October 10, 2021 Day 87   I’ve decided to write a “quit sugar” group coaching course to be launched in the spring 2022.  I know that sounds like a long time away, but I’m starting from scratch with what I want to put out there to those who want help with feeling and getting better physically and mentally.   Read More

October 9, 2021 Day 86   Last night my husband and I had an actual date night which was so needed as we are all working from home together, and not always setting boundaries around work and rest and relaxation - R&R.     We went to a local Italian restaurant and had some amazing food. We started with antipasto which we devoured because we were hungry. The waiter asked for any food allergies or restrictions and I told him no gluten, dairy, or sugar. He took notes and spoke with the chef.  I ordered salmon and he let me know the salmon was prepared with butter, so I asked for no butter.  I never thought of that because who cooks salmon with butter? – not me!  But I digress. I should be talking about sugar.  There was no sugar to be found on any of our choices, and since we were going to the theater after dinner, there was no time for dessert!  Dodged that one.  Read More

October 8, 2021 Day 85   Since I had lots of fresh veggies in the house from last week’s Coop basket, it was time to get in the kitchen and cook.  I roasted delicata squash in one pan and a made a roasted radish with their greens and walnuts dish from one of my programs.  I also cooked a bag of dried chickpeas in the instant pot to make hummus.  When they were cooked, I put some in a vegetable soup base I’d taken out of the freezer and had that for lunch. While I was at it, I cooked some quinoa to have on hand. I find if a few staples are cooked it’s easy to put a meal together quickly.  Then I made the no sugar added banana nut muffins (a weekly staple now).  The dishes were piled high!     Read More