oh SUGAR

I am seriously counting the hours & minutes I  have left to eat indulge in sugar.  Yes, I know it somewhat defeats the purpose, but 46 whole days without sugar is a very long time.  Especially for me.  But realistically, I will try my hardest not to eat too much --- I know it may make me sick.  Sad, I know. 

First up is a little fudge.  I may or may not have a whole pound of pecan turtle fudge.  I may or may not stay up until 12:01am just to have a slice.  Or two. 

Then a venti caramel machiatto with extra caramel.  And I can have caffeine now too (and it has been about 21 months since I had caffeine).  Hello Starbucks!  I believe they open at 5:30am, I might just be there at 5:29am.  LOL.  I will be all hopped up on caffeine and sugar, that can never be good.  Or maybe it can.

And I plan to make a quiche for breakfast, which I have every intention to put ketchup on.  Go ahead and judge.  It tastes good.  And instead of a ham or prime rib (our normal holiday feast menus), we will be making a beef brisket (with some bbq sauce).  Oh my.  And some grilled asparagus, again, dipped in ketchup.  I am a bit of a ketchup fan.  I have missed my ketchup.  We have a special relationship.

I may eat a tiny bit of Easter candy/chocolates, but I am most excited about the Starbucks, bbq sauce, and ketchup.  And fudge.
 
In all seriousness, this has been an amazing experience.  I proved to myself that I could do ANYTHING if I put my mind to it.  It also made me realize that sugar is everywhere in everything.  This is what we are feeding our kids, whether we know it or not.  I was not able to eat out at restaurants, as 99% of them have some form of sugar.  Same goes with processed foods. 

It was good timing that Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution show on ABC started in the last 2 weeks.  It is an eye-opener for all Americans, especially those who have kids in school.  Knowing the crap that goes into our food is the first step in making a change.  When I cook, I know what I am putting in my food, that makes me feel good about mealtimes at our house.  I will continue to use the 80/20 rule.  80% of the time we eat healthy foods, 20% of the time we have sweets or eat out, including holidays. 

I will give myself one week to eat what I want, get my cravings out of the way, then start to limit (not take out entirely) sugar from all of our diets.  Even though the boys (Chris included) ate a lot less sugar, they still had some sweets on occasion.  So, that is the plan.  It was quite the journey and I would do it all over again if I had to.