Challenge - Day 7 (Absence of Sugar)

(I'm gonna put photos of my menu tonight throughout this, but food list is at the end.)

I'm still making up some ground on my fitness end of things.  I can also feel the changes in my body starting to take hold as well.  My muscles are tired, but they are really tightening up a lot faster.  I had been working out for awhile now, but not like this.  Typically, one or two rest days a week are ideal to rest my body and let my muscles breathe so-to-say.  Going hard every day is definitely a change, but it is not what I am writing about today.  My topic of the day is "sugar!"

This was a surprise thing I never really thought about.  Eliminating all new plastics really altars what one can eat.  Pretty much everything in a package is gone; and then there are things like bananas and avocados that disappear from the menu as well because of the simple little stickers put on each of them.  (I will keep mentioning those because I really miss them already.)

Rosemary, Garlic, Ginger, Seasoning swimming in hot Chicken Stock

When you remove all plastics, the food that is left over is just natural fresh produce as well as grains.  Meats all come in wrappers of some sort...even the film on the inside of the paper meat gets wrapped in is a disqualifier.  Even though I don't eat too much meat, I do find myself missing chicken just because I can't have it, not necessarily because I want it.

With only fresh organic food on the menu, I was sure my tolerance for sweet, sugary things would really disappear.  I didn't realize how much until this morning.

I went into Safeway immediately after work as I was dropping something off at a friend's who lives nearby.  I was on the cusp of my restricted eating time, so I went there to see if there was anything available to me.  (I was hoping for some fresh bread from the bakery)  Turns out that pretty much the entire store is off limits, even their little bit of organic produce.  (The Safeway in Nelson has a really hurtin' organic department as it is.  Save-On-Foods is quite literally 100 times better with abundance in selection for organics and bulk foods...possibly even 200 times.  You can tell SOF actually listens to their customers needs and is aware of their demographic.  Safeway has their heads up their asses in this regard.)  Plastic everywhere!

When I went to the bakery, I was immediately eyeing up the bread in paper bags.  It was all off limits too as every one of their paper bags had a thin plastic window in them.  Bummer!  All that was left was the bulk bakery stuff.

I scanned through what their bulk selection had.  I grabbed 4 bagels.  When I left, I caught a glimpse of the doughnuts and figured it was my only chance, so what the hell.  I grabbed a couple chocolate dipped ones.  

I had them all in a paper bag, but although it isn't plastic, I still didn't like bringing that home as I am kinda getting into the non-existent waste effect all of this is having.

I started digging into the doughnut before I even got outta the store.  I instantly regretted it.  The sugar was so overwhelming my body didn't seem to know what to do.  My taste buds were on the front lines and were totally horrified.  I got a glimpse of light headedness too that took no time to show itself.  I could feel it travel right down my throat, leaving a thick sludgy residue behind.  I didn't get heartburn, but a shitty feeling did emerge

Aside from the obvious overwhelm, I was actually fascinated by how fast my body acclimated to the effects of fresh, natural organic produce, rooted mostly in rich greens like kale and broccoli.

Even though the doughnut made me feel like shit in numerous ways, I am glad I had it, because it really showed me something.  Yes, the terrible effects it has on my body, but also opened my eyes to the effect of how removing plastic can severely alter one's diet for the better as a whole.  It was like a minor epiphany that I won't soon forget.  I never really gave thought to the way plastic influences so much of our foods we eat and that are available to us.

I'm definitely not trying to be a condescending prick or anything, and I'm definitely not saying I won't eat sugar again., but this is just a simple observation for what I have experienced so far...and it happened in no time at all.

With the doughnut behind me, it's back onto the regular program...with a touch vigor.  (The bagels, by the way, I gave most of them to my dog.)  On the menu for tonight is my favourite thing to make...my one-pot meal I make in my skillet.

I have made this for Jana a couple times and she loves it!  It's just a lotta different vegetables, a sauce or stock, and usually boneless skinless chicken breast.  (No chicken tonight though!)

My ingredient list for tonight:

-Chicken Stock that I made on Day 1 (from the leftover roast chicken I had)
-Fresh Rosemary
-Garlic
-Ginger
-1 Yam
-7 Small Red Potatoes
-1 Beet
-2 Celery Stalks
-Lots of Broccoli
-Some Red Onion
-Zucchini

Toss that shit in a skillet, put a lid on it, and throw 'er in the oven for 40-50 minutes.  Stylin'!  The only bummer is I can't eat it hot outta the oven as I have to wait til I go to work dammit!