Yeah, I know. You might not want to actually quit sugar. You might love it. I totally do but it is one of those things that really hurts in the long run, no matter how good it seems in the moment.
I fully intend to have Lindt Lindor truffles on a semi-regular basis. Because they’re amazing. Because one makes me happy and satisfied. No, they are not the healthiest chocolate in the world. They do have some questionable ingredients, but they are some of the best I’ve ever had. Seriously, buy my favorite flavor right //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=whitneyvictor-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=B002RNYDBU&asins=B002RNYDBU&linkId=c721a00dfc767e41e57020bca4c6fd57&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“>here. The extra dark are to die for. Well, every flavor really is, except the orange. That one just shouldn’t exist in my opinion.
Anyway, sorry for the chocolate rant. I just love it. That proves my point that I will still have a Carvel ice cream cake on my birthday every year. I just don’t want to NEED it. I don’t want to crave sugar to the point where I feel powerless in it’s grasp.
In one sitting, I’ve eating an entire bag of those exact truffles I mentioned at on point probably a year ago. Sugar is that thing that makes your brain think you need it to be happy and satisfied. The first, oh maybe 3 chocolates were amazing and I loved every bite, and then my brain kept telling me “More is better.” 12 empty wrappers and one almost stomachache later, I knew that wasn’t true.
What do we do about the sugar addiction?
I go cold turkey with the hard stuff. By this I mean the chemically engineered, fully processed versions of sugar like high fructose corn syrup and anything like Splenda or aspartame.
Then I start with replacing those sugars with naturally-derived sweeteners like raw stevia. I will only use //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=whitneyvictor-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=B00CQ7YSW6&asins=B00CQ7YSW6&linkId=d9b24b6dc9f8de599a82580af56164c9&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“>Stevia in the Raw packets or this //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=whitneyvictor-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=B01B048808&asins=B01B048808&linkId=7cd9d157d83feabff1e74535624af3ba&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“> liquid stevia (it comes in caramel and other great flavors!). I also use limited coconut sugar and unsweetened applesauce for baking. My snacks will include some whole fruits and I’ll still allow some clean snack bars. More on this in my next post.
The next week or so, I’ll try to limit adding stevia to my oatmeal and cut back on bars.
After that, I only eat fruit once a day, preferably in the mornings, and don’t add any sweetener to my dishes.
Then I stay in that phase for at least another week to the point that I don’t crave something sweet after lunch and supper.
That’s always my goal. I want to kill the cravings.
Is craving something bad?
Well, it is when it’s sugar. See, sugar is in so much conventionally-made food these days that you might not even realize it unless you’re constantly reading nutrition labels like I do.
When you give up sugar, you gain a LOT.
Some benefits:
- Clearer, brighter skin
- Less noticeable cellulite (yeah, it’s true. I’ve seen it happen)
- You’re less hungry for junk food
- Lose belly fat
-
- and overall weight loss, for that matter
- Drastically lower risk for diabetes
- Energy increases
Check out the following sources: Here, here, and here.
Now. What does sugar actually do to you body?
Side Effects of Eating too Much Sugar:
- Weight gain
-
- “Additionally, excessive fructose consumption may cause resistance to leptin, an important hormone that regulates hunger and tells your body to stop eating (4). In other words, sugary beverages don’t curb your hunger, making it easy to quickly consume a high number of liquid calories. This can lead to weight gain.” source
- Increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
- Increases risk of depression
- Accelerates skin aging
-
- Yes, I’m vain enough to admit this is a factor in my detox
- Potential liver damage
And, those are just a some of the reasons it’s necessary to quit the habits.
Now, who’s with me?
~Whitney Victoria
P.S. Bonus shot of me holding an ice cream cone called The Salty Pimp. The shop is fun and bright and offers treats like the “Dorothy” and the “Rocky Roadhouse.” Any ice cream place that joins rainbow sprinkles with the Golden Girls is okay by me. Just not every day…
I could have ate the entire bowl of them. I’ve roasted tomatoes before but the ratio of EVOO was just perfect. I only used the below recipe for them, not the rest that’s mentioned.
Seriously. Look at them! Perfectly blistered and browned.
I had some smoked salmon so I really wanted to incorporate that as the protein. For a dressing I used this one just with balsamic vinegar instead of red wine, only because that’s what I had in the house. It made a lot so I’ve had extra dressing all week!
Forget what you think about dry, crumbly cornbread. This is not that at all. It’s moist and soft and did not need any topping to be delicious. Ina recommends butter and strawberry jam! She also said you could could toast it but mine fell apart a little. However, warmed up was amazing.
My last little culinary experience involved a greattttt cappuccino and a gluten-free peanut butter chocolate free cake. As much as I love coffee, I’m a little boring sometimes and stick with black. This cappuccino was down right wonderful. The cake was good too, but I totally could have just eaten the peanut butter mousse layer in the middle and I would have been sold! (The capp was much prettier before I took a sip!)
~Whitney Victoria
I’ll be making these all winter long. Or at least as long as I can find great dairy-free, healthy drinks.
The outfit. Simple, festive-enough, and all pieces I already owned. Weird for me, but I loved it this year. 
It’s a tradition to go to Murdough’s Christmas Barn after eating Thanksgiving dinner. This ornament is straight-up Law of Attraction.
I appointed myself the table place card maker. I found these little ornaments and tags. I kept it simple and wrote each person’s name, after attaching the pinecones. It was cute and something everyone could take home.
My tiny Hello Kitty tree is up at work! Lucky I have a huge desk to fit all my holiday decorations.
One month exactly until my birthday. I like to do a little soul-searching this time of year. I’m striving for following my instincts so I can do more of what I love, more of the time.
Pre-baked muffins.
Post-baked muffins!
I had some overflow onto another pan since the apples bulked it up. I think next time I’ll split the batter for exactly 12 muffins. I like high muffins that rise up over the paper edges. It makes them look more like bakery-style ones! 
Let’s start things off fresh with some fall-inspired breakfast treats. I wanted pancakes, and I wasn’t feeling my protein versions. They are great most of them time but really don’t compare to the real thing. However, I didn’t feel like eating the original, white flour recipe that only keeps me full for about an hour.
Oh, and I had some brown rice flour I’ve been meaning to use up so they just so happened to be gluten free and fabulous.
.