Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I've never had luck with keeping green smoothies for any period of time either. When I was trying not to wake up housemates, I would go into the laundry and shut the door. For some reason, our laundry was fairly soundproofed. I also often ended up having breakfast later than I would've liked, but my schedule usually allowed for that.

Add me to the list of people who haven't been successful in keeping green smoothies in the fridge. Mine turn all gross and seperate some, and I usually just end up reblending them.

Today was Day 20 of my "low sugar experiment"... it's been going decently. I haven't been able to be as strict as I would have liked, but I have significantly cut back compared to what I used to eat.

I think my primary success is drinking coffee with only soy or almond milk (no added sugar!). I'm so proud of that.

I have a had a few "slip ups" -- mostly with a package of chocolate mint UFOs from TJs that were hiding in the back of the cupboard... but that was only twice... so not too bad!

I've really been compensating with salt and fat, though, so I need to be better about that.

How's everyone else doing? :)

Question again about the green smoothies: some of you mentioned using frozen spinach in these. Isn't that stuff cooked? I'm having trouble imagining a smoothie made with cooked spinach. Is this what you do, or is there some variety of frozen raw spinach I'm unaware of?

I'm doing really well, had some quinoa porridge with almond milk, almond butter and chopped up strawberries today and it was delicious. Strawberries were on sale, so I bought 2 cartons and I'm super proud of myself for not gorging on all of them at once! Also, I've started using this chocolate flavored vegan protein/multivitamin/probiotic drink mix called Viva (I believe that's what it's called, it's Canadian, not sure if its sold in the US). I've been mixing it with water and chugging it down. It's sweetened with chicory and stevia so tastes creepy and horrible at first, but I'm getting better about it and I really like it. I especially like how it's suitable for people on all kinds of elimination or intolerance diets. I'm hoping that eventually I can bring bananas back into my diet, and then I can blend the stuff into a smoothie so the taste won't be so isolated. Maybe it would be good blended with strawberries and yogurt? Now I'm just thinking/fantasizing out loud to myself.

I've been feeling so gross and sluggish since I've started eating lots of sugar again. I've been eating SO much dark chocolate as of late, plus snacking on cookie dough when I'm baking for friends and coworkers. I really, really have to get back on top of this. It is amazing how different I feel when I'm not eating sugar.

I keep going back and forth on whether or not I should limit agave and maple syrup in recipes (baked beans, salad dressings, etc.). I decide to cut them out one week and then I make a batch of snobby joes and some balsamic with agave the next.

I'm going to try and eliminate all sugars for the rest of February and then go from there. I've stocked up on chocolate hazelnut (jocalat) larabars to help me forget about dark chocolate for awhile.

I did a 21 day cleanse of very low sugar (only fruit, limited dates and a bit of agave), and since I've started eating it again (the cleanse ended), I've been feeling pretty crappy. I have major cravings, my skin has broken out, I have some inflammation in my right knee and I'm moodier.

I think I want to re-start with my sugarless lifestyle, but it's hard to stop eating sugar once I've started :/
I've been thinking about starting another cleanse on Monday because my last cleanse went to well (I felt awesome, looked good and had lots of energy). Sugar sucks!

I've been eating it again, I love this fruit tapioca I found. I need to make my own sans sugar.

I need to work on my after-dinner sweets. I crave chocolate or some kind of sugary thing, even in small amounts, so much after dinner but I do realize that it has gotten this bad by eating gradually more sugar. It's a vicious cycle! I need to stop it.

I've been really bad about this lately, I ate two cupcakes today! In general, I've definitely become more conscious of my overall sugar intake, but I'm going to try and avoid baked goods for a while or at least use less refined sweeteners.

Count me in - it's not even enjoyment for me lately, just abuse and distraction. There is an alternative to feeling like this.

blechie.

For people still eating dates: http://www.navitasnaturals.com/recipes/ ... -Bars.html

Amazing! Trying really hard not to eat 1/2 the batch. I used like 5 medjools instead of 12 and maybe 3/4 C of date soak water instead of 1/4c milk. It's such a great texture and just the right level of low-sweetness that I like. (I did bake it for at least double the time stated, bc I used more than double the liquid.)

They look good!

I had a sugar free day yesterday but today I can't stop thinking about eating sweet things! I wish I had some hummus.

I've decided to do a sugar-free March as I've been majorly over-doing it with the sweets lately. Today is Day 1 and I'm already fiending. I hope the intense cravings will pass soon... it feels really similar to quitting cigarettes :/ I've been reading through this thread for inspiration.

I have a bake sale to bake for this Sat but after that I might try going back to low/no sugar

I went away last week and ate far too much candy and drank too much pop, I'm back to low sugar this week and feeling so much better already.

I'm doing a sugar-free March! Day one: not awful.

I went grocery shopping on my lunch break today and at checkout there were 2 really really tempting treats - the new flavor Luna bar (chocolate coconut chip or something awesome sounding) and then containers of amazing looking little cookie bites in various flavors - all vegan!! Ahhh. I was like Must Get This shiitake...and I didn't! That's a big deal for me! Then I made raw brownies tonight - walnuts, raw cacao, and dates. amazing.

Okay, March 1st was good! Only 30 more days to go, hah.

Also, congrats on the self control RandiJM!

Plain, unsweetened yogurt mixed with almond butter makes a good snack in place of something sweeter like ice cream or flavored yogurt. Obviously fruit thrown in is good too.

Nut butters are good for nighttime snacks when I'd normally want something sweet. Lately I've been having trouble staying away from buckwheat toast with almond or macadamia nut butter. Macadamia nut butter is a bit more "desserty" because it's so rich, also keeps you full so you're not as likely to graze.

Ooo, this is an awesome tip. Thank you! I've been trying to satisfy with half a banana or plain tea, but this is a great idea, too.

Today was fine! There was a whiskey and wine tasting at work tonight - surprisingly less difficult to resist than I anticipated.

MAJOR chocolate craving going on for the last two days, I cannot figure out how to quench it. Any tried and true solutions?

Cacao (or cocoa, your choice) powder mixed with a banana or two. It's like frosting!

Yeah, I second that suggestion. Make chocolate "ice cream" by blending up a frozen banana with cocoa powder. I eat that for breakfast all the time in the summer.

Yummm, sounds good. I only have carob powder right now, I might have to go buy some cocoa!

I'm pretty addicted to smoothies made with unsweetened almond milk, almond butter, a frozen berry blend, and my Vega supplement powder, which is chocolate-flavored and sweetened with Stevia. I could eat nothing else all day if I didn't contain myself.