A Diet Update- This Is Completely Possible

We have found a sweet fix for a no-sugar diet: sugar-free pudding! Here we mixed chocolate and vanilla, and surprisingly it tastes no different than the regular stuff. Not to mention it was under our $2 fast.

We've also discovered that Jamba Juice has a small menu of smoothies sweetened with splenda. Hudson and I usually order a shot of wheat grass at Jamba Juice too to help us get our vegetable quota in. Apparently wheat grass is worth a couple days of your vegetables. Not the best tasting thing, but it's over fast, and Jamba Juice provides a slice of orange to get rid of the aftertaste.

Chick-fil-A is still an option for us if we pick the unbreaded chicken and switch to a whole wheat bun. I'm so glad I don't have to say goodbye to Chick-fil-A! It's nice to have an on-the-go option when we don't have time to prepare our meals.

Russell Stover is another new friend of ours, a brand that makes sugar-free chocolates. It made facing Valentine's and Easter candies a little easier. All in all this diet is not so hard. It's not really a "diet," as Hudson would say, because we're still eating normal portions of food, we're just taking out the sugar and a lot of processed things. Hudson has lost a lot of weight since we started this diet, and I'm just happy to have my energy back.

Besides just feeling better and having more energy, this diet has been a great way to make us more conscious of what we're eating. It's also been a great opportunity to be creative and to force us to experiment. I would suggest that everyone try this diet, or at the very least cut out the added sugar in your life. It's really more freeing than restricting.

I'll leave you with one of our favorite new recipes. It was a collaborative effort and fairly easy because it's only partially from scratch:

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Fried Bananas and Blueberry Syrup

1 Box Hodgson Mill Multi-grain Buttermilk Pancake Mix (with flax seed and soy)

1 carton of blueberries

2-3 Tbsp of Splenda

1-2 very ripe bananas

1-2 Tbsp of butter

Mix and cook the pancakes as directed on the box (feel free to add chopped pecans or blueberries to the mix).

To make blueberry syrup, bring water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Add fresh blueberries and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Boiling the blueberries will allow you to smash them easily. Drain the water from the pan and pour the blueberries into a bowl. Using the underside of a ladle, smash the blueberries until most of the juice has released. Add Splenda and mix well with a fork. Set syrup aside.

Set your stove top to medium heat and use a skillet or small pan to melt the butter. Cut banana into small round slices about a 1/2" thick. Fry the bananas in the melted butter until the outsides show signs of slit browning. Top your pancakes with the bananas and fresh syrup and enjoy!