Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Diet

Challenge Officially Over!

By

The Sugar-Free Challenge is Officially over! I’ve had so much fun these past ten days, and I hope you have, too.

A couple other bloggers created some delectable-looking sugar-free recipes during the challenge, too. Check ’em out:

The Flourishing Foodie’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cups

Mowenackie’s Bangkok Noodles with Spicy Tomatoes

The Mommy Bowl’s Indian Spiced Rice Pudding

Damjana Likes it Wholesome’s Bear-the-Cutie Fudge Balls

Whole Wheat or Bust’s Personal Vanilla Blueberry Pie

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

What do you think of me posting everyday like I have during the challenge? Do you like it, or do you think it is too much?

I don’t know if I will be able to post everyday; but if I do, not all of the posts will have big recipes with health facts diagrammed and everything. Some of them would be simple posts, maybe a picture or two of something I did/ate. I wouldn’t be like the amazing Leanne who not only posts a fabulous recipe everyday, but her photos are all worthy of a prestigious food magazine. I don’t know how you do it, Leanne!

Day 10: Last Day of Challenge!

By

Welcome to day ten of the Sugar Free Challenge! Today is officially the last day of the challenge. I have had so much fun creating sample menus and helping you all with the challenge. A big thank you to everyone who joined! I hope you all had a great time learning (and eating!) sugar-free food. Maybe you found that it wasn’t as hard as you thought? Or perhaps you found you ate too much sugar before?

Here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: Mocha Oatmeal.

Lunch: Steak Salad. Sliced steak, spinach, cucumbers, red peppers, onions, olives, fresh strawberries all drizzled in balsamic vinegar and ground black pepper.

Dinner: Leanne’s Comforting Baked Mac n’ Cheese with Bacon. Goodness gracious everybody, this gluten-free, dairy-free mac n’ cheese tastes delicious! It really is comforting-nice and warm in my belly 😀

Dessert: Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough Bites.

Again, thank you all so much! I have had a wonderful time with this challenge. I hope you continue to eat at least low-sugar (if not sugar-free!). A word of warning: be careful going back to sugar this week and weekend. Don’t go over board because your body is not used to eating sugar these past ten days.

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

How was the sugar-free challenge???!!! Please tell me all your experiences and how your body feels! I would love to know!

Day 9: Iced Coffee

By

Welcome to day nine of the Sugar Free Challenge! Tomorrow is the last day for the challenge. Are you counting down the minutes or has it been easy for you?

Here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: One Size Fits all Pancakes with fresh sliced strawberries and Peanut Butter Cream.

I also had some Iced Coffee. I had some fun taking these pictures and watching the almond milk mix with the chilled hazelnut coffee:

The almond milk slowly seeps down through the coffee…Kind of looks like a root beer float!

Mix! Mix! Mix! Look at that nice foamy layer on top!

Lunch: Baked Sweet Potato with almond butter and cinnamon.

Dinner: Steak, Corn on the Cob, Mashed Taters, and Fresh Watermelon!

Dessert: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

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

Do you like your coffee or tea hot or cold?

Although I like hot tea and coffee, I have been craving iced drinks lately. Probably because it is so darn hot here everyday now!

Day 8: Birthday Wishes

By

Welcome to day eight of the Sugar Free Challenge! There are only two days left for the challenge-can you believe it? It has gone by so fast! Today is another special day because it is my Dad’s birthday!

Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you!

Here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: Oatmeal topped with sliced banana, a dollop of Peanut Butter Cream Frosting, and Unsweetened Chocolate Shavings.

Lunch: Baked Sweet Potato with almond butter and cinnamon.

2-ingredient Macaroons

Snack: 2-Ingredient Macaroons.

 

Dinner: A BIG salad with spinach, bell pepper, onion, quinoa, strawberries, chicken, olives, and artichoke hearts. Drizzled with Dijon dressing and balsamic vinegar.

Dessert: High Protein Cookie Dough.

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

When’s the last time you had dessert for breakfast?

Ummm…Just had some today!

Day 7: High Protein Cookie Dough

By

Welcome to day seven of the Sugar Free Challenge! I have been making myself this “Dessert Hummus” for months now, but haven’t bothered posting a recipe yet. Once I saw Katie’s Cookie Dough Dip, I knew I had to show people that cookie dough can be high in protein and sugar-free!

But first, here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: Grain-Free Bitter Chocolate Pancakes for One with Toasted coconut.

Lunch: Apple slices dipped in High-Protein Cookie Dough (Recipe Below)

Snack: Artichoke with lemon juice.

Dinner: I actually went out to dinner and had a BIG salad with lots of veggies and beans.

Dessert: More Cookie Dough!

High Protein Cookie Dough

~This unbaked dough is high in protein because of the garbanzo beans. Don’t shy away from it, though, because it tastes fantastic! Dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and, of course, sugar-free! 

Ingredients

  • 1 can chickpeas (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 cup nutbutter (I prefer Making it a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough by using peanut butter)
  • 1/4 cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk. Water will probably work, too)
First, drain and wash chickpeas well. Make sure they are well-washed so that the cookie dough doesn’t taste like beans. Add all the ingredients except chocolate into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Adjust liquid as needed. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Serve with apple slices, crackers, bars of unsweetened chocolate, on toast, or my favorite-eat it straight with a spoon! It would also be a fabulous frosting for my Chocolate Cake.
Health Benefits
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Chickpeas: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chickpeas.
  • Peanuts: These legumes are full of protein with 7g per ounce. They also have a great monounsaturated fat content that helps your heart and brain. Peanut is a good source of Coenzyme Q10 which protects the heart during the period of lack of oxygen example high altitudes and clogged arteries. It also has a high antioxidant and high niacin content that helps in the recovery of cell damage and provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive problem.

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

What is one food you absolutely love, but everyone else hates? Or you absolutely hate, but everyone else loves?

Honestly, I will eat just about anything….as long as it is sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free…Ok, well that kind of narrows it down. I love love love capers! Some people don’t.

Day 6: Monsters and Artichokes

By

Welcome to day six of the Sugar Free Challenge! I hope you are all doing well and having fun! Sometimes it can be hard to stick to the sugar-free diet over the weekend when there are many temptations from friends and family. Good job to everyone who did not give in! And if you did give in, keep your head held high and keep trying. You can do it!

Here is today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: One Size Fits all Pancakes. I added cinnamon and sliced bananas. The bananas had a nice caramelized edge.

Lunch: Heart Stopping Chicken Salad atop of a bed of spinach and served with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and apples.

Snack: Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Smoothie.

Dinner: Spaghetti with Meatballs served on Broccoli with a side of cantaloupe.

Dessert: Artichoke with lemon juice. What?! Yes. One of my favorite treats/foods of all time is fresh artichokes. What a treat! Doesn’t sound like your kind of dessert? Try my Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting.

I totally forgot to show you the gift I made my mom for her birthday! Here it is:

Not the best picture, but it is a phone holder. Perfect for her because she recently lost her phone case, and she loves monsters! I enjoyed making it, too. You will never guess what I wrote on her homemade card….”I Love You More Than Peanut Butter!”

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

Do you have a special treat that isn’t normally considered a treat? Like my beloved artichokes?