Mrs.B

I have not had any sugar for 103 days and I am totally amazed that I am indeed doing it. That it IS possible to be sugar free.

In the beginning I strictly stayed away from sugar substitutes as well, because I wanted to get over the cravings for sweet taste. By now though, I have realised that nothing goes better with PMS than a slice of cake :) …

The amazing film, Hungry for Change, on food and nutrition is available for free download for another 14 hours.

I learned some new stuff but the best part is hearing from a large group of experts that I am not nuts and that a diet free from sugar, gluten and processed foods is indeed the way humans were meant to live.

There’s so much interesting scientific information in that movie as well as many practical useful tips on how to feel AND look the best.

It’s good stuff,  trust me :)

A few weeks ago there was an article in the Daily Mail called “Whole milk is healthier than skimmed and baked potatoes make you fat… Why what you thought you knew about healthy food is wrong”

Some of the stuff in that article was new to me, some wasn’t. I thought I’d summarise it all here, mostly for a record to keep for myself. …

I have not had any refined sugar now for 24 days.

What is the best part of having made this choice? — Not having to negotiate with myself about whether or not I should have that cookie. Not having to negotiate with myself about whether or to I could have another cookie. Not feeling guilty that I’ve had those cookies. [...]

This is my favourite cake – a sponge with crushed strawberries+sugar in the middle and lightly sweetened whipped cream and berries on top.

I usually make it for my birthday, and for anyone elses birthday as well if requested. If I could, I would actually make it for dinner every day, I totally have a sweet tooth and many times in the not so distant past I have skipped dinner to just eat cake.

Sugar doesn’t make me feel very well though, so last year I was sugar free for several months while I tried to figure out some health issues. Once they were figured out and the main symptoms gone, I went back to sugar… little by little it grew into a daily habit again. [...]

Last weekend I thought I’d go for a short run on a Saturday before a long one on Sunday. The kids wanted to go to the park so we all headed over and while J played soccer with the boys, I ran circles around the park on the running/walking path.

It was so very painfully mind numbing. I will never ever do that again.

It was even worse than running on a treadmill.

The plan was to do intervals for 5km – a quick lap followed by one or two slow ones. Well, as soon as my brain knew that it was going to be a short run, it went into a meltdown and I started running too quickly and every km seemed to drag on an on and burned out before 4km. I just cannot do a monotonous short run, I need a lot of time to warm up and I need a change of scenery. A km on the streets goes much quicker than a km on the treadmill or in a little park. Trust me :) [...]

If you’re Estonian this looks delicious to you and you can’t wait until Christmas.

If you’re not Estonian you’re thinking “what the heck ist that???” and probably feel slightly disgusted. [...]

There was no asparagus grown or eaten in Estonia when I was growing up so it’s a bit of an unknown beast to me. I remember when I lived in Germany that the Germans like white asparagus, covered in some weird cheese sauce, but that never looked appetising enough for me to try it. In [...]

We have a house guest at the moment. A lovely Aussie who brought the joy of cakePOPs into our house. I live here but had never heard of the POP Bakery in north London, so it was great when she showed up one evening after a day of sightseeing with two boxes of little cakes on sticks :) [...]

About two weeks ago I threw a tantrum. I felt totally trapped in my sugar cravings, like an addict always wanting more and more sweet stuff and then feeling horrible both physically and emotionally as soon as I’d stuffed my face with yet another tablespoon of Nutella. It was time to regain control.

I had to reassess what exactly was causing my stomach aches, etc. and after experimenting a bit, I’ve noticed that it’s not actually strictly speaking gluten that doesn’t agree with me – it’s the combination of yeast and sugar. Every time I’ve eaten pasta, I’m ok, but if I eat bread or anything sweet = trouble.

So in order to regain the balance in my weirdly oversensitive digestive system (one of the perks of getting older??), I’ve been trying to drastically reduce the amoun tof sugar I eat. That means nothing on my porridge in the morning, that means no apples, no raisins, not to mention all the obvious sources of sugar. [...]

Oskar had a couple of friends over again after school yesterday. I just love the playdate excitement they have – all three holding hands walking to our place next to me, little stripy ties flying in the wind and giggling madly due to one toilet joke after another.

It must be nice to be 6 :)

At home I set myself up in the kitchen and the boys kept just running around, into the house and then out to the garden and then in again. The kitchen was filled with loud stomping and yelling and squealing. It was lovely. (Nevermind the killer headache I had come 6pm…) [...]

I’m in love with asparagus at the moment. The timing couldn’t be better since it’s in season here at the moment. I keep making the boys try it, but it’s a no go. Considering how fussy this household has become, it’s no surprise really.

Oh well. I decided a few weeks ago just to cook the stuff I know they will eat. Our weekly menu therefore is pretty much limited to: [...]

I never thought my kids were fussy eaters – they eat lots of raw fruit&veg and demand porridge for breakfast every morning, so how could they be?

Lately, however, things have started to do downhill at dinnertime as both boys are developing some very annoying and specific dislikes. [...]

Gluten free sponge + strawberries + blueberries + whipped cream = messy, yet absolutely delicious cake :)