Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Day 1: November Sugar Free Challenge

By

Hello Everyone! Today is officially the first day of the Sugar Free Challenge.

I am so happy for the number of participants! Check out the list:

  • 91% Chocolate Lover
  • Abby
  • Absie
  • Adrianna
  • Aileen P
  • Alexis
  • Allison @ Fitblaster
  • Amanda
  • AnAppleADay
  • Angela F
  • Anne
  • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes
  • Ashley
  • Ashley
  • Ashley Hope
  • Ashley R
  • Brandi B
  • Brenda
  • Carla McCloskey
  • Cassandra
  • Christina
  • Christine
  • Dawn @ This Life Worth Living
  • Diana
  • Emily
  • Erica
  • Erin
  • fourdreamsJools
  • Francesca Holland
  • Frannie @ Frannie and Sarah
  • Hailey
  • Haley @ Climb Run Lift Mom
  • Haylee
  • Health Freak College
  • Heatherfeather
  • Hope Buck
  • Isabelle@cheesymiteapples
  • Jane @ The Healthy Beehive
  • Jane Wolf
  • Janice
  • Jen @ Runner’s Shoe
  • Jenn
  • Jennie @ The gf-gf
  • Jennifer Doyle
  • Jensine Crandall
  • Jessica
  • Jessica T
  • Jessie Ann James
  • Jinny
  • Kalie @ Kalie’s Thoughts
  • Kathleen
  • Kathryn Ross
  • Kathy @ Getting in Shape for the Summer
  • Katie @KatiekDid
  • Kerri Randall @ HotFunFitness
  • Kim Frederickson
  • Kiran
  • Knikknok @ Run Run Gingerbreadman
  • Kris
  • Kristi
  • Laura
  • Laura
  • Lauren G
  • Leah
  • Linda Romer
  • Lissa
  • Liza
  • Lora
  • Lou
  • Lucy
  • Maija
  • Marie Sophie
  • Mariel
  • Maureen Vita
  • Megan
  • Megan
  • Melissa
  • Mia Madsen
  • Michelle
  • Mimi @ Damn the Freshman 15
  • Molly
  • Momma Kiki
  • Mortah
  • Nicole
  • Nicole
  • Nikki
  • Organic Food Girl
  • Peanut Butter Lover
  • Rachel @ Healthy Sexy You
  • Reid @ Growing Ideas
  • Roni
  • Sara
  • Shannon
  • Shea
  • Sista Juj
  • Steffi
  • Suman Maan
  • Suzanne
  • Tanya
  • Tara
  • Taryn
  • Taya @ This Girl Thrives
  • Teabagginit
  • Tracy
  • Val @ Baking the Worries Away
  • Valerie @ Hybrid Health and Fitness
  • Waseem Sufi
  • Yvette
That is a list of 109 participants! Thank you all for signing up. I know it will be a lot of fun.

Here is a sample menu for today:

Breakfast: Green Omelet (Spinach, green peppers, capers, oregano) with a side of banana. Vegan Option: Breakfast Oat Cakes.

Lunch: Sweet Potato with Artisana Pecan Butter and Cinnamon. Thank you, Artisana, for these samples. I adore them all! Pecan butter is definitely a new favorite of mine. Remember, one of you challenge participants will win some Artisana for yourself!

Snack: Fresh apple, cucumber, carrot, and bar of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate

Dinner: Slow-Cooker chicken breast with olives and artichoke hearts. Recipe coming soon! Vegan Option: Homemade Spring Rolls.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

How was your first day of sugar-free? Do you have a menu planned? What did you eat?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Yay, first day of the challenge!
    My breakfast: oatmeal with cottage cheese, homemade almond butter, coconut oil and a vegan gluten-free (sugar-free ) fruit crumble.
    Snacks will be another small portion oatmeal with fruit crumble and almond butter, some homemade protein cookies, an apple and baby tomates.
    Lunch will be pasta with homemade pesto & some meat plus side salad.
    And dinner will be a salad with a goat cheese (with rosemary *yum*) and a glass of white wine!

    Some tricks that I found really useful for myself: make a big portion fruit crumble on Sunday as well as a pot of quinoa/rice, bake some sweet potatoes, hardboil some eggs, chop some veggies, make a few portions of homemade salad dressing in a jar (kept in the fridge) … and assemble some portable snacks (trail mix, babybel cheese, fruit, homemade bars that you portion and put in fridge/freezer). You won’t be as stressed each morning, can easily grab snacks and make lunch and have an easy dinner on hand.

    I find stress to be a big trigger for sugar-laden eating!!

  3. wow!! You have a lot of participants this time around! That’s amazing!
    I’ll definitely be making your breakfast oatcakes again very soon and maybe those spring rolls! Yum!

  5. That is such an amazing list! So cool.

    I love pecan butter, the flavor reminds me of Christmas (maybe of pecan pie?) I haven’t had artisanas but I’m sure it’s amazing!

  6. I had a big ol’ bottle of water, a cup of Twinings English Breakfast Tea (favorite!), scrambled egg whites, and 1/2 cup of oatmeal with pure pumpkin puree, a half ounce of walnuts/almonds, and a splash of half and half. Lunch will hopefully be stir fry broccoli, eggplant, bamboo shoots, carrots and baby shrimp with a bit of white rice, sauteed in broth rather than some sort of processed vegetable oil. Dinner will be a salad of sorts with olive oil, mixed greens, broccoli, green peas, chopped nuts, chopped strawberry pieces and a few grapes. Unfortunately I feel rather sick today so I don’t think I’m going to do any strenuous exercise aside from walking all over campus… sleeping and resting would be more constructive right now, I think.

    I also added not eating flour into my challenge… that’s a pretty hefty vice of mine, too. I’ll still have some whole grains occasionally, but I know how those types of bready-carbs act on my system.

    I’m excited for this – I want my 10 days to extend for longer than just 10 days, but for now I’ll just get through 1 day at a time. 🙂 Hope everybody else is doing well today!

  7. day 1 is going well. so far, the only thing i miss is my pre-workout bcaa supplementation and my good earth original tea (it has sweetener in it!).
    feelin’ good and lookin’ forward to it!

  9. I gave myself a head start so this is my third day 🙂

    Breakfast: 1 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup of organic oat bran and 1/4 cup of whole foods organic dried cherry berry mix.

    Snack: Almond butter and jelly sandwich (made with fresh grind almond butter and no sugar added organic fruit spread) and a hard boil egg

    Lunch: Spinach salad with vinaigrette and Amy’s organic low sodium split pea soup

    Pre-workout snack: 1/2 cup organic oat bran mixed with Odwalla super protein (no sugar added) drink.

    Dinner: egg white omlette with sautéed zucchini topped with tomatillo sauce, a little bit of cheese and a daloup of Greek yogurt.

  11. I made my own blueberry “jam” so I could enjoy my favorite breakfast sugar-free. It was very good. and for lunch today I had a protein packed tuna-chickpea salad mix thing I cobbled together. And I am already planning what I’ll have for dinner! This is fun, thanks!

  12. It’s amazing how fruit can sweeten everything naturally. I had oatmeal cooked with apple, and with cinnamon, it was delicious!

  13. Breakfast: egg beaters, plain oatmeal and a handful of almonds
    Lunch: veggie salad with tuna, plain popcorn and carrots with natural peanut butter
    Snack: plain greek yogurt mixed with natural peanut butter
    Dinner: ground beef goulash and handful of almonds
    Snack: apple, greek yogurt with fruit and my sugar free apple bread (sweetened with dates!!!) Something else later, too…. Idk what yet.

    So far so good, and really easy too. It helps that i have done this before, but no doubt it will be challenge in a few days!! Can’t wait to see more of your recipes. They would have been so helpful my first time at going sugar-free. Best wishes!

  14. I am excited that today is here – my body could use a break from sugar!

    Breakfast – pumpkin pie oatmeal (oats, canned pumpkin, egg whites, chia seeds, wheat germ, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla)
    Snack – grapes, lite cheese
    Lunch – veggie pizza, tomato soup
    Dinner – ham, roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potato hash
    Snack – apple, peanut butter

    Thanks for sharing your menu – I’m looking forward to that chicken recipe! 🙂

  15. I need a sugar detox after all the halloween candy that has been around the office for the past few weeks!

    breakfast – brown rice wrap with peanut butter (natural)
    lunch – spaghetti squash with trader joes tomato sauce (no sugar) and roasted brussel sprouts
    snack – carrots and hummus, trader joes flattened bananas
    dinner – roasted sweet potatoes and apples topped with cinnamon and peanut butter
    dessert – a concoction in the oven right now of gluten free oats, cocoa powder, peanut butter and almond milk

    Maybe next I need a peanut butter intervention…

  16. I thought this started on November 2nd, so I am actually on my 2nd day! It is going well and I was able to fight the temptation of cookies, cupcakes, and candy at work.
    Breakfast: Scrambled eggs
    Snack: almonds
    Lunch: Salad (spinach, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and goat cheese)
    Snack: greek yogurt & small slice of veggie pizza
    Dinner: ginger garlic salmon with jasmine rice
    Two days is already the longest I have gone without sugar in about a year, so I am very happy so far

  17. This is awesome! I think post-baby I will be doing something similar. For now, I’ll just try to keep the sugar consumption to moderate levels. 🙂

    Oh, and I can’t believe you can just eat a hunk of unsweetened baker’s chocolate. You are hard core, girl.

  19. Wow so glad to see everyone got a good start on Day1! I love reading your menus – you love eggs, nut butter and and putting weird things in your breakfast oatmeal your side of the Atlantic 🙂 I had a good day, ate my food as planned and did some dog walking and squats in the evening. Today started with oatmeal, I have natural yoghurt for snacks at work, green lentil salad with olive oil and carrot and fish with oven baked potato wedges for dinner. Best wishes to all.

  21. Your menus look so good! I’m ashamed to say that I’ve broken the challenge twice (once each day so far). I sampled some gingerbread cake at Trader Joe’s, and then today I some egg custard tart- but it was my roomie’s first foray into baking! Worth celebrating…right? I might even give in to a little more of it. HOWEVER, I still am proud of resisting other forms of sugar! It’s kept me generally healthier for the last couple days for sure! [: I look forward to completing the rest of the challenge with NO MORE SLIP UPS!