Diet After Lent

I'm proud to say that my husband and I have survived 46 days of no flour and no added sugar during Lent. I'm very glad we stuck with the diet during the time span, and we plan to continue our healthier lifestyle. And why not? The meals we ate during Lent were wholesome and never lacked taste. Plus, we felt good about what we were eating and had more energy which we carried throughout the day.

The experience was eye opening. Through the dietary restrictions, I learned a lot about what I feed my family and what is in the food we eat. I experimented with many new ingredients and found nutritious alternatives to products we ate on a regular basis. I now feel confident that I will continue to be more conscience about what I cook and eat. It really makes me feel good that I am able to cook healthy delicious meals using fresh, whole ingredients and feed my family well.

Although now I am free to eat whatever I please, I don't plan to dive back into the cookie jar. I feel so much better after eating a healthier diet and upping my exercise plan, and I want to continue the feelings of good health. However, I am happy I don't have to be so restrictive about what I buy at the grocery store. For example, sliced turkey deli meats with less than 1 gram of sugar and cereals like raisin bran with very little added sugar are perfectly acceptable in my book. What is important to me is eating food that is as minimally processed as possible, made with fewer ingredients, and less controversial additives and preservatives. I want to eat food that is homemade or as close to homemade as possible and less cheaply made products from factories. To be a more conscience eater is a lot more effort, but I'm prepared to take on the extra work because it's worth it to me and my family to live a healthier life.

New poll up at Curious Cloud: When it comes to what you eat, is price or nutritional value more important to you?

Technology And A Healthy Lifestyle

As I continue my culinary adventure on a no sugar, no flour diet, I have found many helpful resources on the web and iPhone apps that will help me achieve my dietary goals throughout the rest of Lent and stay on track for a healthier lifestyle after the Season of Lent has passed.

My number one pick for iPhone apps is Fooducate. This apps allows you to use the iPhone camera to scan barcodes on food products, and rates the product with a letter grade value of healthiness with a thorough breakdown of what is in the product. The app also provides healthier alternatives to scanned items and a comparison tool which comes in handy when trying to choose between food products at the supermarket. There is a social aspect to the app that lets you like or not like products, add tidbits, and share the information your learned on Facebook and Twitter. I really like this app, but I must warn you the first day I downloaded the app, I scanned all the food in my house. It's very addictive, but the information provided by Foodicate is valuable for anyone who wants to learn more about what they're eating or find healthier alternatives.

My top recipe search site is Foodily. This site aggregates recipes from all over the web and presents them side by side for comparison. You can specify ingredients to exclude from search results making this site a must for anyone with dietary restrictions or on a special diet. The interface is very clean and simple to follow. Foodily includes social aspects that allow you share recipes with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. You can also log in using Facebook Connect to save recipes and plan menus. I highly recommend Foodily to anyone who uses the web to search for recipes. It will save you time and make finding the perfect recipe much easier.

As someone who is striving for a healthier lifestyle, I believe the use of technology is essential for my success. I'm curious what recipe sites or iPhone apps you are using, and is there any other tools or resources you find valuable for eating and living a healthy lifestyle?

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/15/11 - 3/22/11

Does technology play an important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
75% Yes
25% Somewhat
00% No
00% Meh

Giving Up Sugar And Flour For Lent

The season of Lent is upon us, and not that I am an actively church going person, I am spiritual and see Lent as a time to practice control and self-discipline to better myself through giving up vices. The past few weeks, I have been racking my brain to find just the right vice to abstain from. A few items that came to mind were social networking sites and alcohol. Sure, giving up Twitter and Facebook will have a short-term benefit of added free time to my daily routine, but I feel socialization is important to one's self being. As far as giving up alcohol, I might find some benefit mostly to my wallet as my appreciation for fine wines can sometimes be costly, but I don't drink in excess and I feel there's nothing wrong with a glass of wine or cocktail daily. I want to find something to give up that will have the greatest beneficial impact for my overall being. That's why I have decided to give up sugar and flour for Lent. I'm also proud to say, my husband, Josh (a.k.a Yoshi), has decided to take part in these dietary restrictions as well. This makes me even more excited to stick with it because now the whole household will get the benefit of a healthier lifestyle.

So here's how it will work: No food made with flour. Whole grains are ok as long as they do not contain flour. No food that contains sugar, beet sugar, cane and brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, high fructose corn syrup or any other misleading name that sugar goes by these days. So no cakes, cookies, pizza, pasta or bread (even whole grain bread).

What is ok: Healthy foods such as vegetables including starchy vegetables like potatoes, fruit, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, soy, eggs, dairy including cheese and no sugar added yogurt, lean meats, fish and shellfish, whole grains, rice, tortilla chips and corn tortillas made from corn (not corn flour). I can still have my daily espresso without sugar of course, but I use Truvia anyway. My daily glass of red wine will still be allowed. Sugar and flour free desserts are fine and even a small amount of over 70% dark chocolate to help satisfy the sweet tooth.

With the help of the wonderful Whole Foods iPhone app, I have prepared a menu for this week of tasty no sugar, no flour meals. I will admit, grocery shopping was a struggle as I did not realize how many foods have sugar added to them. Things that were on my list that I had to find substitutes for or eliminate were ham and bacon because they are cured in sugar; however I easily substituted them with turkey sausage. Also, Yakult is a no-no because it is high in sugar, for which I replaced with unsweetened Kefir so I could continue taking my daily probiotic drink.

So I'm set for Lent which starts on Wednesday. I'm already cooking no sugar, no flour meals just because I don't want to bring any foods that were no allowed on the diet into the house. Meanwhile, Josh and I are finishing off any leftover sugary foods before Lent. Basically, Our Mardi Gras will be spent indulging on bacon and Girl Scout cookies before giving them a fond farewell for the next 46 days.

I know dietary restrictions are tough, but I am focused and remind myself this will teach me how to look for hidden sugars in foods and to find new recipes that don't depend on ingredients containing flour. This is a beneficial and healthy change, and after Lent is over, we can slowly add restricted foods back into our diet. (I vote bacon first!)

I plan to blog throughout Lent and post updates on new recipes I find and any struggles with food temptation along the way. I'm curious how long my readers think Josh and I can be successful, so I have put up a poll for each of us at Curious Cloud. Also, please share if you plan to give up anything during Lent.

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/7/11 - 3/14/11

How long will Keri last on a no sugar, no flour diet?
00% 1 week
12% 2 weeks
00% 1 month
87% Entire 46 days

How long will Josh last on a no sugar, no flour diet?
14% 1 week
14% 2 weeks
00% 1 month
71% Entire 46 days