Thursday, April 30, 2009

Breakfast - Two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread with plain cream cheese. One glass of 100% fruit juice.

Morning Snack - None.

Lunch - Chicken in Classico sauce. Diet Coke.

Afternoon Snack - None.

Dinner - White Northern beans and sugar free whole wheat bread.

Late Snack - Apple with plain cream cheese.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Breakfast - Sugar free whole wheat wrap with one egg, half a slice of reduced fat cheese and two thin pieces of Boar's Head turkey. One glass of 100% fruit juice.

Morning Snack - None.

Lunch - Left over spaghetti from last night. Diet Coke.

Afternoon Snack - Sugar free peanut butter and strawberry jam on two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread.

Dinner - White Northern beans and sugar free whole wheat bread. Unsweet tea.

Late Snack - None.

Recipes

I'm going to do some simple recipes of things that I make. These will not be anything that you could write a book about. There are probably way better ways to do these recipes, but these are the ways that I do them. I'll start easy with the Turkey burger... more to come.

This section of the blog has been moved. Click Here for Recipes

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Breakfast - Shredded Wheat cereal in skim milk. Orange juice.

Morning Snack - Oatmeal with sugar free strawberry jam mixed in. Coffee

Lunch - Chicken and Classico Sauce (lunch idea added to recipes page). One slice of whole wheat bread and a small handful of triscuits. Water.

Afternoon Snack - Handful of raw unsalted mixed nuts. Water.

Dinner - Spaghetti with classico sauce, ground turkey and mushrooms. Two slices of sugar free whole wheat toast sprinkled with garlic salt.

Late Snack - None.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Breakfast - Oatmeal with sugar free strawberry jam mixed in. Coffee

Morning Snack - handful of raw unsalted mixed nuts.

Lunch - Pinto beans and triscuits. Water.

Afternoon Snack - None.

Dinner - Turkey burgers on the grill, fixed in a whole wheat bun with mustard, mayo, dill pickles and half a slice of reduced fat cheese.

Late Snack - None.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Breakfast - Shredded Wheat cereal with "only sweet (stevia)" in 2% fat milk (we ran out of skim). Orange juice

Morning Snack - Apple.

Lunch - Boars Head Turkey in a whole wheat wrap with reduced fat cheese, mustard and mayo. Unsweet iced tea.

Afternoon Snack - Sugar free raspberry jam on triscuits.

Dinner - Whole wheat spaghetti with classico sauce.

Late Snack - None.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Breakfast - Egg Sandwich. Orange Juice.

Morning Snack - None.

Lunch - Home made lasagna made with whole wheat pasta, classico sauce, mushrooms, zucchini and a little mozzarella cheese. Unsweet iced tea.

(I'm posting this on Monday morning... I can't remember what I ate the rest of this day, but I assure you it would conform to this plan. :)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Breakfast - One egg between two slices of sugar free whole wheat toast.

Morning Snack - Sugar free peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat bread.


(I forgot to post Friday and now I can't remember what I ate)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Breakfast - Shredded Wheat cereal in skim milk, sweetened with "Only Sweet" (a stevia product).

Morning Snack - Sugar free peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich on sugar free whole wheat bread.

Lunch - Whole wheat home made chicken noodles.

Afternoon Snack - None.

Dinner - This one is probably cheating... I was out late helping my son buy his first truck. We were starving so I went through Sonic and got him a double cheeseburger and tater tots. I got their new grilled chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun. I'm sure there was probably sugar in the chicken and the bun... but it seemed to be the lesser of all fast food evils.

Late Snack - None.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Breakfast - Shredded Wheat cereal in skim milk, sweetened with "Only Sweet" (a stevia product).

Morning Snack - Sugar free peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich on sugar free whole wheat bread.

Lunch - Black beans, chicken and basmati rice with a bit of olive oil.

Afternoon Snack - None.

Dinner - Whole wheat home made chicken noodles.

Late Snack - None.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Breakfast - Shredded Wheat cereal in skim milk, sweetened with "Only Sweet" (a stevia product). Small glass of 100% Apple juice.

Morning Snack - Sugar free peanut butter and cherry jam sandwich on sugar free whole wheat bread.

Lunch - Black beans, chicken and basmati rice with a bit of olive oil.

Afternoon Snack - Apple.

Dinner - Whole wheat home made chicken noodles.

Late Snack - Was too full from dinner :)

Monday, April 20, 2009

Breakfast - Missed it today.

Morning Snack - Oatmeal with sugar free peanut butter and jam mixed in.

Lunch - Can of Jalapeno Pinto beans with a handful of Triscuits and two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread. Diet soda.

Afternoon Snack - Didn't have one.

Dinner - Chicken, mushrooms and spinach sauteed and put over basmati rice. Diet soda.

Late Snack - Didn't have one.

Saturday and Sunday

We were very busy this weekend. I haven't really recorded my diet, but I did well. I stayed on track. I know that Saturday and Sunday morning both, I had eggs in a whole wheat wrap. Saturday for lunch I had turkey burgers on the grill on a whole wheat bun.

Sunday I was so busy painting that I lived most of the day on diet cokes from Sonic. (how do they make that ice so perfect?) I was starving when I got home at 8pm... I had some whole wheat spaghetti with classico sauce.

I should be back on track with the format tomorrow. :)

Friday, April 17, 2009

Breakfast - One egg sandwich with two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread. Glass of 100% fruit juice.

Morning Snack - Sugar free peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Lunch - Boars head turkey sandwich with one slice of reduced fat cheddar cheese, all on two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread. Diet Soda.

Afternoon Snack - Triscuits and a pear.

Dinner - Turkey wrap with feta cheese (light) on a whole wheat wrap. Diet Soda.

Late Snack -

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Breakfast - Oatmeal with sugar free peanut butter and cherry jam mixed in. Water and black coffee.

Morning Snack - Handful of raw unsalted mixed nuts. Water and black coffee.

Lunch - Whole wheat spaghetti with Classico Tomato and Basil sauce. Coke Zero.

Afternoon Snack - None.

Dinner - Salmon patties made with whole wheat flour instead of crackers... Not quite the same, but not a bad substitute.

Late Snack - Sugar free whole wheat toast with sugar free strawberry jam. Skim milk.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Breakfast - Oatmeal with sugar free peanut butter and cherry jam added. Water and Black Coffee.

Morning Snack - Handful of raw unsalted mixed nuts. Water and black coffee.

Lunch - Albacore tuna on sugar free whole wheat bread. Coke Zero.

Afternoon Snack - Handful of Triscuits.

Dinner - Red kidney bean and two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread. Coke Zero.

Late Snack - none.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Breakfast - Quesadilla made with home made refried beans, one egg, on slice of reduced fat cheese grilled in the middle of two whole wheat tortillas. Glass of 100% fruit juice.

Morning Snack - handful of tricuits

Lunch - ground turkey burger on toasted sugar free whole wheat bread with mustard. Coke Zero.

Afternoon Snack - Handful of raw unsalted mixed nuts.

Dinner - Sugar free peanut butter and jam sandwich on sugar free whole wheat bread. Coke Zero.

Late Snack - Black beans, Basmati rice and steamed broccoli. Unsweet Tea.

List of sugar substitutes

I'm interested in sugar substitutes. Typically I don't care to add substitutes to my food because I don't really have a sweet tooth, but what about the additives in some of the foods I'm eating??? I am looking into a few of them for curiosity. Here is a list taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_sweetener

Natural sugar substitutes

1. Brazzein — Protein, 800× sweetness of sucrose (by weight)
2. Curculin — Protein, 550× sweetness (by weight)
3. Erythritol — 0.7× sweetness (by weight), 14× sweetness of sucrose (by food energy), 0.05× energy density of sucrose
4. Glycyrrhizin — 50× sweetness (by weight)
5. Glycerol — 0.6× sweetness (by weight), 0.55× sweetness (by food energy), 1.075× energy density, E422
6. Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates — 0.4×–0.9× sweetness (by weight), 0.5×–1.2× sweetness (by food energy), 0.75× energy density
7. Inulin
8. Isomalt — 0.45×–0.65× sweetness (by weight), 0.9×–1.3× sweetness (by food energy), 0.5× energy density, E953
9. Lactitol — 0.4× sweetness (by weight), 0.8× sweetness (by food energy), 0.5× energy density, E966
10. Lo Han Guo - 300× sweetness (by weight)
11. Mabinlin — Protein, 100× sweetness (by weight)
12. Maltitol — 0.9× sweetness (by weight), 1.7× sweetness (by food energy), 0.525× energy density, E965
13. Maltooligosaccharide
14. Mannitol — 0.5× sweetness (by weight), 1.2× sweetness (by food energy), 0.4× energy density, E421
15. Miraculin — Protein, does not taste sweet by itself, but modifies taste receptors to make sour things taste sweet temporarily
16. Monatin — naturally-occurring sweetener isolated from the plant Sclerochiton ilicifolius
17. Monellin — Protein, 3,000× sweetness (by weight)
18. Pentadin — Protein, 500× sweetness (by weight)
19. Sorbitol — 0.6× sweetness (by weight), 0.9× sweetness (by food energy), 0.65× energy density, E420
20. Stevia — 250× sweetness (by weight) - extracts known as rebiana, Truvia, PureVia; mainly containing rebaudioside A, a steviol glycoside
21. Tagatose — 0.92× sweetness (by weight), 2.4× sweetness (by food energy), 0.38× energy density
22. Thaumatin — Protein, 2,000× sweetness (by weight), E957
23. Xylitol — 1.0× sweetness (by weight), 1.7× sweetness (by food energy), 0.6× energy density, E967

Artificial sugar substitutes

Note that because many of these have little or no food energy, comparison of sweetness based on energy content is not meaningful.

1. Acesulfame potassium — 200× sweetness (by weight), Nutrinova, E950, FDA Approved 1988
2. Alitame — 2,000× sweetness (by weight), Pfizer, Pending FDA Approval
3. Aspartame — 160–200× sweetness (by weight), NutraSweet, E951, FDA Approved 1981
4. Salt of aspartame-acesulfame — 350× sweetness (by weight), Twinsweet, E962
5. Cyclamate — 30× sweetness (by weight), Abbott, E952, FDA Banned 1969, pending re-approval
6. Dulcin — 250× sweetness (by weight), FDA Banned 1950
7. Glucin — 300× sweetness (by weight)
8. Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone — 1,500× sweetness (by weight), E959
9. Neotame — 8,000× sweetness (by weight), NutraSweet, FDA Approved 2002
10. P-4000 — 4,000× sweetness (by weight), FDA Banned 1950
11. Saccharin — 300× sweetness (by weight), E954, FDA Approved 1958
12. Sucralose — 600× sweetness (by weight), Splenda, Tate & Lyle, E955, FDA Approved 1998

Monday, April 13, 2009

Breakfast - Two slices of whole wheat toast with sugar free strawberry jam. Glass of organic skim milk.

Morning Snack - I'm sorta skipping the morning snack for more of an early lunch... left over whole wheat chicken noodles from yesterday. Water.

Lunch - none.

Afternoon Snack - same as morning snack... I know, blog boring but man those noodles are tasty!

Dinner - Grilled (George Forman Grill) Chicken on whole wheat toast with reduced fat cheddar cheese, mayo and mustard. Basmati Rice with steamed brocolli. Diet Soda.

Late Snack -

Happy Easter! Our Savior is Alive!

Breakfast - Two breakfast tacos. Home made refried beans, eggs, small amount of mozzarella and reduced fat cheddar cheese. Glass of 100% fruit juice.

Morning Snack - This is not really a snack, but at church we do communion. There is a small piece of bread and a small cup of juice. These items probably wouldn't fit in my current diet goals, but I think the reason for these symbols is far more important than any diet that I could choose. Jesus Christ died so that we may live. Before he willingly went to the cross to die he had a meal with his friends. At this meal "...Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, 'Take it and eat it, for this is my body'. And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, 'Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many.'" (Mat 26: 26-28)

Lunch - Home made chicken noodles. The noodles were a whole wheat version of my wife's awesome noodles (some call 'em dumplins). As a side I had steamed fresh green beans with slivers of almonds.

Afternoon Snack - I ate too much... no more food for the rest of the day.

Dinner - ...

Late Snack - ...

Breakfast - Two egg and bean breakfast tacos on South Beach Living Whole Wheat wraps, with one slice of reduced fat Kraft Deli Fresh cheese (half on each taco). 100% fruit juice to drink.

Morning Snack - Diet Cola

Lunch - Left over homemade pizza from last night. One apple. Handful of triscuits.

Afternoon Snack - none.

Dinner - South Beach Living Whole Wheat wrap with humus, light feta, romaine lettuce and olive oil.

Late Snack -water, while I watched my friends eat pizza and drink beverages.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Breakfast - Two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread toasted with sugar free strawberry jam. Skim milk.

Morning Snack - small handful of unsalted raw mixed nuts.

Lunch - Black beans in basmati rice with once slice of reduced fat Kraft Deli Fresh cheese melted in. Coke Zero.

Afternoon Snack - One can of Albacore tuna with a squirt of mustard.

Dinner - home made pizza on whole wheat dough.... we have to work on that recipe. On the pizza was some sauce made from tomato paste, classico tomato and basil sauce and splenda.... I shouldn't have used the splenda, it was too sweet. The toppings were a light layer of mozzarella, some ground turkey and some black olives. Diet Cola.

Late Snack - Didn't have one.

About this Blog

I have a history of challenging myself to eat more disciplined than "normal". I've spent years as a vegetarian, pescatarian... and variations of those. Each modification in my diet has been spurred by some desire to live better. Not all of my choices have been the best for me, but I'm learning.

Most recently, due to a triglyceride test that returned high, I'm trying a sugar free, white starch free diet. I am giving up a lot of foods that I love (like cheesy fries). I'm finding replacements for some of the foods I love. I'm learning that sugar is in just about everything that we eat!... even most deli meats.

I thought that it might be interesting for me and others if I document what I eat. Maybe someone with more knowledge about eating sugar-free will comment on my diet log to teach me something... or maybe, I can help someone else.

Here is one site that I'm using to help me formulate my diet plan.

I can't promise to keep this log up to date with each meal, but I want to try. For a while my meals my seem very repetitive... but hopefully as I progress you will see more variety.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Breakfast - Oatmeal with a spoonful of sugar-free cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee.

Morning Snack - Two slices of sugar-free whole wheat bread (mrs. bairds), with sugar free peanut butter and Cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee

Lunch - Left over spaghetti from last night. Diet Cola.

Afternoon Snack - small handful of unsalted raw mixed nuts.

Dinner - Boars Head Turkey in whole wheat pita bread with spring mix lettuce and tomatoes, topped off with olive oil and vinegar. One apple. Side of plain black beans. Unsweet iced tea.

Late Snack - Two slices of sugar free whole wheat bread with sugar free strawberry jam. One glass of organic skim milk.

The Costs of Going Sugar Free

I wanted to say that the hardest part about this diet for me and my family isn't giving up certain foods. It is incorporating these new foods into the family meal plan. My wife works hard at making a meal plan... a weekly menu, so we can enjoy meals together. We have picky kids that make it difficult and now I'm playing the role of a picky adult. On top of all that we have to keep our food budget in check. That's not easy when you are learning new foods and trying things out.

Thanks Honey for working so hard and putting up with so much!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Breakfast - Two eggs cooked in a coffee cup in the microwave. yes.... yes, they can explode. Organic skim milk to drink

Morning Snack - One slice of sugar-free whole wheat bread (mrs. bairds), with SF peanut butter and Cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee

Lunch - Two chicken wraps with the remainder of ingredients from yesterdays lunch. diet cola.

Afternoon Snack - I was to busy at work and I missed this one.

Dinner - One apple. Whole wheat spaghetti with Classico tomato and basil sauce (I'm suspicious of the sugars in this sauce, so I emailed the company) with some ground turkey added for the meat. I made two slices of SF Whole Wheat toast then lightly spread butter and sprinkled on some garlic salt for the garlic bread. Coke Zero to drink.

Late Snack - Strawberry and blueberry blended in a shake with skim milk. One scoop of whey isolate protein was added. I don't know if this is a good thing to have at night, but it sounded good to me :) I also have to say that these shakes tasted better when I was adding honey.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I thought day one of the blog went well. Let's see if I can keep this going :)

Breakfast - Oatmeal with a spoonful of sugar-free cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee.

Morning Snack - One slice of sugar-free whole wheat bread (mrs. bairds), with SF peanut butter and Cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee

Lunch - Two chicken wraps. The wraps are "South Beach Living" Whole Wheat Wraps. There is a small amount of corn starch in these, but so far they are the best wrap I've found. I believe they are SF. In the wraps I put 1/2 slice of reduced fat "Kraft Deli Fresh" cheddar cheese along with a little mayo and mustard. Some mustards have sugar in them, but this local store brand does not. The chicken is "Boars Head Blazing Buffalo". Boars Head is the only brand of deli meat at our local HEB deli that is SF. They also are nitrate free and alot of other junk free. In the wraps is also a big hand full of Spring Mix Leafy Greens. Water to drink.

Afternoon Snack - I'm skipping this one... two chicken wraps was plenty until I get home from work.

Dinner - One Apple. Leftover chicken, broccoli and basmati rice.

Late Snack - Two slices of SF Whole Wheat bread toasted with SF strawberry jam.

Immediate Results!

I will add already that after one week I have noticed the following differences in myself...

- lost 6 pounds
- my 32 inch waist pants that used to fit tight are loose. I need new holes in my belt.
- my energy level is higher and more consistent. The blood sugar roller coaster is leveling out.
- not as much gas... gross i know, but this one makes my wife very happy.

I think that is a pretty significant list of improvements for one week. Hopefully more to come. Maybe I'll have the energy (combined with desire) to work out more :)

Day One

Breakfast - Oatmeal with a spoonful of sugar-free cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee.

Morning Snack - One slice of sugar-free whole wheat bread (mrs. bairds), with SF (I'll use SF in place of Sugar-Free) peanut butter and Cherry jam. Water and Black Coffee

Lunch - One can of Albacore Tuna on sugar-free whole wheat bread (mrs. bairds). A small amount of mayo added to the tuna to flavor and moisten. There is a small amount of sugar in the mayo... as of yet I don't have a mayo replacement.

Afternoon Snack - big handful of mixed raw unsalted nuts. water.

Dinner - Roasted Chicken, Steamed Brocolli, Basmatti Rice. Diet Cola (HEB Brand).

Late Snack - Two slices of SF Whole Wheat Bread, toasted with a small amount of SF strawberry jam.