progress.............

I don't crave processed sugar and it is easy to pass up.  Go figure.  That is not to say I don't still have a sweet tooth.  I do.  Way bad.  Sunday, my baking day, I made the peanut butter cookies from twelve steps.  With semisweet chocolate chips.  And I really didn't feel that guilty when I ate 4.  That's a bad habit, I know. But the fact I can turn down other sweets is AMAZING.  I just made chocolate pudding with avocados. HELLO!  This is my new best friend!  And it's so full of healthy fat I really can't eat that much......it's filling!

I am cheating in a few ways........I chopped real finely some chocolate chips for my granola in the morning and eat a cup of granola with one tablespoon (I'm eating it with sprouts right?).........I put half the sugar in the Orange Julius I made for the kids today and had some....................... small things like that.

I'm finding I'm having a hard time fitting the green smoothie in the morning (or the Hot Pink Smoothie).  I think it's because I have been so busy this week that after getting the kids fed and off to school I have to run to something else.  For some reason it's just a heck of a lot easier to get the granola and sprouts down.  I suppose that's OK.  Salads are going OK.  Could be better. With my husband out of town this week I get lazy and don't prepare anything.

That's pretty much my update.  I'm doing pretty well with my goals and so proud that I have done so well turning down the processed sugars.................I'll nail this thing.

Ganache and Pizza

Someone please tell me ganache with fruit is not acceptable. Even if it is semi-sweet chocolate chips.............

Had Three Meat Pizza today. Really had no choice. Far from home, no other choices, had worked in the yard espaliering trees. Pregnant and hungry with no choice does not go hand in hand. I regretted it moments after finishing as my gut was rebelling and couldn't wait to get home to make a green smoothie. It was the first thing I did.

No ganache...........

My Goals From 12- Steps

I'm already doing many good things but I felt I should make some goals. My Goals:

12 Steps Goals

Over All Goal-

*Use 1 recipe per chapter per week

Chapter 1            Bye-Bye Stimulants- Hello Green Smoothies

*Be more consistent in my consumption and freeze leftovers

*Add Protein, probiotic, and flax

Chapter 2            Making Salad the Star

*Have a salad every night possible

*Use a variety of salads from the book

Chapter 3            Dressing up Your Salads

*Do It

*Find a Family Favorite

Chapter 4            Avoiding Bad Fats, Enjoying Good Fats

*Eat More Avocado

*Use more flaxseed oil

Chapter 5            Reaping a Gardener’s Reward

*Grow more Greens and Freeze: Beets, Chard, Kale, Spinach

*Compost

Chapter 6            Making Plant-Based Main Dishes

*Use More Beans

*Have Plant Based Main Meals 4-5 x’s a week

Chapter 7            Sprouting and Dehydrating

*Start Sprouting

*Order Almonds

*Use sprouts in granola and green smoothies

Chapter 8            Preserving Raw Foods with Natural Probiotics

*Use Probiotics- Homemade Yogurt

Chapter 9            Replacing White Flour with Whole Grains

*Learn/Find a good Sourdough Recipe

*Use Wheat Flour for Desserts

Chapter 10          Starting Your Morning Off Right

*Use Sole

*Granola Habit

Chapter 11          Creating Delicious Whole-Food Treats

*Try the Substitutes More Often on My Regular Recipes…………….

Chapter 12          Achieving an Alkaline Terrain

*Drink More Water

One Week

Doing well!  LOVE the 12 Steps book. I start the last chapter tonight.  It inspires me sooooo much!  I'll admit that there are things I don't think I will ever get to just because of the nature of my family.  My sugar cravings are GONE. I haven't really had any sugar.  One time I picked up a jelly bean someone had left on the counter and popped it in my mouth.  I immediately realized what I had done and spit it out.  Last night the Girl Scout Cookies (20 boxes) I had ordered a month and a half ago arrived :( :) Mixed feelings about that.  The kids chose to have them for FHE treat and someone left a half eaten one around. I ate it.  Out of sheer  habit.  I didn't really want any but I saw someone hadn't eaten it and...............what can I say, I'm a mother and tend to clean my children's plates to prevent waste.

I really REALLY want to do kefir again but I just cannot justify all the work, and the money and ALL that stinkin' kefir for one person (myself,) who doesn't necessarily love it yet.  I can work through it but the upkeep of those grains makes SOOOOO MUCH KEFIR that I throw a lot of it away.  I know kefir would significantly help my son with encopresis and eczema issues but I know I will never get him to drink or utilize it in a way that would be beneficial and the husband, who is in the pharmaceutical/health supplement chemist as a profession, just says to give him the probiotics that are in the fridge.........

I did, however, make homemade yogurt yesterday and hope that the kids that eat yogurt will like it. I had it for breakfast and thought it was delicious with some maple syrup and lemon essential oil.

I think I can do most of these steps about 95%.  Some maybe not that high.  But I'm tellin' ya it is sooooo hard to do it alone.  I will never be the fanatic.  I will eat sugar on occasion.  I will eat refined food on occasion. and I'm not going to tell my kids they can't have what's offered at the school (although it is EXTREMELY annoying to me).  I'm going to eat my homemade commercial yeast bread.  But I want soooo badly to be able to live primarily with better whole food habits.  That is where I struggle to find the "moderation" in all things or the right balance.  I know I will be different then most people.  In fact, I found it an honor when, at someone's home for dinner last week, they said I was "kind of a health junky." Boy!  That is an honor.  Really!

So doing well.  I think I might review a few things this week and write down thoughts and some things that I just am not willing to do at this point.  It really is not much.  (But yes, I do want to have a limited amount of semi-sweet chips in my granola once in a while! ;) )

Getting Back On

So I have had a large absence.  In that time I have become pregnant.  I am currently nearly 32 weeks.  And it has kicked. my. trash!!!

This is my 7th pregnancy. It has been the hardest pregnancy even though I was eating relatively well and exercising regularly.  That has pretty much stopped.  First trimester squashed any green smoothie habit I had and any exercise regimen (although sweets were so yucky to me). Ugh.  2nd trimester squashed any healthy eating habits- I would just eat anything and everything that sounded good- and in returned my addiction to sugar.  Here I am in the 3rd trimester, paranoid at the size of the baby and the size I will be post-partum.  I've pondered significantly over all this.  I'm ready to make changes again. NOW. In the third trimester.

Yesterday I turned 40 and I made a birthday gift to myself: no processed sugars until after the baby.  I'd like to add to that and make this list to get me back going again:

• No processed sugars until after the baby arrival (Hopefully by then I'll be pretty weined off)
• Green smoothies again.  I'm not saying every day but that is my hope.
• One big salad every day with homemade dressing.

I'd really like to add to that to do resistance training 5 days a week and cardio twice.  But I've lost my morning exercise companion and am having a really hard time getting motivated to get up with the pregnancy being used as my largest excuse.  I have all the exercise equipment I would need...................just lacking motivation for early mornings. And I know I won't do it any other time.

Fortunately, since my absence, my husband has made some goals on his own and eats a HUGE salad and protein shake for lunch.  He feels much better and, I think, in time, will be ready to make more changes. He's admitted that he doesn't think he could ever give up cereal for breaksfast but we'll see ten years down the road.........

Sugar really is my biggest hang up along with the fact that I LOVE to bake sweets.  I like the challenge of finding a new recipe that is heavenly. I don't want to give up baking. (I'm only suppose to do it on Sunday)  I was telling my husband the other day that maybe I should keep up the baking but just challenge myself to find the "healthy" recipes that are awesome. So I will do my best. But.  It IS an addiction and I fully expect myself to fail a few times. I really think that, for me, I'm going to have to give up the sugar all-together and I'm not sure my psyche is ready for that.

Today I purchased the 12-steps...........................can't wait to read it!

That's my update.  Let's see where I will go from here! Positive thinking!  Positive attitude!!!!