They say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I AM ADDICTED TO SWEETS. There, I finally said it. I've always been a candy lover. Cookies, cake and other sweets are cool too but I can usually refrain from those more easily. I do have moments when I do crave those as well. And although I drink mostly water, I do drink soda sometimes.
I saw the idea for the sugar detox on Pinterest (I love this site) and decided I would give it a try. Being that I was told I was pre-diabetic almost 2 years, it will be very beneficial for my health. I'm pretty sure my blood sugar levels contribute to most of my cravings for sweets. This is a three month sugar detox that is supposed to break your sugar addiction. Supposedly, once you get over the "hump", you won't even crave sweets anymore. This is an interesting fact I saw: the daily recommended intake of sugar for women is 25 grams or 6 teaspoons. One can of coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar. That is crazy to me. With one can of coke, I'm already over my daily recommended intake of sugar. Not to mention all the sugar that is contained in whatever else you eat. Sugar, like salt, is in a lot of the things we consume.
My goal for this challenge is to first make it through 3 days. After 3 days, 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, 3 months. Starting today, I will be looking at food labels for hidden sugar. I will make sure not to consume more than 25 grams of sugar per day. Definitely no candy or obvious sweets (cakes, cookies, etc.) I will try to not eat anything that contains artificial sweeteners (sucralose, saccharin, and aspartame). I will drink only water. I am limiting myself to one cheat day a week, but what I eat should be eaten in moderation on those days. Preferably, I will have no cheat days during these 3 months. If I desire to use what they call the added "free" sugars (honey, agave, stevia, maple syrup molasses, brown rice syrup) which are much better for you, I will still try to stay within the daily recommended allowance of 25 grams. Some of these are my own stipulations, the others are part of the original sugar detox challenge that will be listed below.
I encourage those who have a sweet tooth to consider taking the challenge as well. Especially, if you have a family history of diabetes. Even with a family history, you can make lifestyle changes to prevent certain diseases. On the website I will provide below you will find 146 reasons why sugar is ruining your health.
Wish me luck!
For more information on the Sugar Detox Challenge click HERE
27 August 2012
18 August 2012
Easy Homemade BBQ Chicken
I've been using this recipe for a while now. It's very easy and uses very little ingredients (ketchup, honey and Worcestershire sauce). This isn't one of those recipes in which you will never use the ingredients again. And leg quarters are one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can get.
Being the Haitian that I am, I do clean my chicken thoroughly first. Then, I season it to my liking before starting the recipe. You don't need to much seasoning since you are covering it with sauce. I also don't add the onions that recipe calls for. I've tried this sauce for bbq ribs on the grill as well. It's taste great and is especially convenient when you don't have premade bottled bbq sauce. This website has several recipes, but this is the only one I have actually tried. Enjoy! (I didn't take pictures when I made this earlier in the week. Maybe next time.)
Being the Haitian that I am, I do clean my chicken thoroughly first. Then, I season it to my liking before starting the recipe. You don't need to much seasoning since you are covering it with sauce. I also don't add the onions that recipe calls for. I've tried this sauce for bbq ribs on the grill as well. It's taste great and is especially convenient when you don't have premade bottled bbq sauce. This website has several recipes, but this is the only one I have actually tried. Enjoy! (I didn't take pictures when I made this earlier in the week. Maybe next time.)
Italian Pie
Click here for recipe
I randomly decided to make this last night during what was supposed a quick stop to Publix after work I tried this recipe a while ago at Publix but never ended up making it. I'm glad I did last night. It is something different and surprisingly flavorful and not to difficult to make. I love the crust! Even hubby enjoyed it.
Of course, you can substitute the meat for ground turkey, although I didn't this time. I also didn't use Italian seasoning. I had a lot of seasoning left over from the White Pizza Dip. So I used basil, thyme, oregano, seasoned salt and garlic powder to season the meat.
Enjoy!!
15 August 2012
White Pizza Dip
If you are a cheese lover or white pizza lover, then this is the recipe for you. It's the bomb.com. It's an easy recipe that's great for parties.
If you are not a fan of tomatoes, you can always leave it out. I'm actually not a fan of tomatoes, but I don't mind them in this dish. It is best served with paremesan bread chips. I buy them at Publix but I'm sure that you can find it at your local supermarket.
Enjoy!
Click HERE for the recipe.
The Strength to do Nothing
I was supposed to write the post a long time ago, but never did because of doubt. A couple of days, ago my husband gave me a nudge and convinced me to revisit this blog post. He suggested I write of post of what I was believing God for and the things I believe He is saying concerning this journey so that we can look back and see that God has answered our prayers. Not only for ourselves, but for others to believe. During this journey, I have been very specific with God. Many of the things I am believing God for, I have been reluctant to share with others. One of the reasons is because sometimes, when you tell people these sorts of things, they have a way of putting doubt into your mind even if you didn't have it anywhere in your mind beforehand. Another reason would be that I second guess myself a lot and the things that I believe He says concerning my life. What if I'm wrong? What will people think? At this point, I'd rather be a fool for God than to miss out on an opportunity for Him to show His glory through this trial. What greater testimony would that be?
Sometime toward the end of 2010 (I really wished I would have remembered the date), I was prophesied to. I was told to not be discouraged and and that it (pregnancy/baby) was coming. I was almost a year into this struggle to have children and was so excited to hear this word from God. You couldn't have told me that I wouldn't have conceived that very same month. That, of course, didn't happen.
Then, on February, 10, 2012, I was told that in order to have children I would have to have surgery or go through IVF. At that point, I was considering surgery because it would give me the option to have children in the future without having to resort to IVF each time. On February 14, my husband and I received another word from God which told us to give Him until September. I didn't want to believe that God would make me that much longer for a baby. So nonetheless, I prayed about the options set before. Every time I prayed, I never felt fully comfortable doing the surgery or the IVF. As much as my mind wanted to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, my spirit wouldn't allow me to. I'm very proactive, so this was a first to me. My husband and I decided that we would step out on faith and wait on God. As much as we believed that God could use medicine to bless us, we didn't believe that would be the case for us this time around.
Even with the word from God, I still have moments of doubt and impatience. June 2, I had a dream that I believe confirmed the word from God. I don't particularly pay much attention to my dreams but this one stuck out to me. I don't remember much about the dream except for the dates September 9 and May 27.
Broadly, these are the things I pray for daily:
I pray for natural pregnancy that would prove the doctors wrong. I pray that everything from conception, to pregnancy, to delivery would have God's signature all over it. I pray everyone can look at my testimony and see that only God could do it. I am also praying for twins, a boy and a girl. How amazing that would be. That they would say I couldn't have one and God would show out and give me 2!
If you are reading this, I ask that you join me in prayer.
Until next time......
Sometime toward the end of 2010 (I really wished I would have remembered the date), I was prophesied to. I was told to not be discouraged and and that it (pregnancy/baby) was coming. I was almost a year into this struggle to have children and was so excited to hear this word from God. You couldn't have told me that I wouldn't have conceived that very same month. That, of course, didn't happen.
Then, on February, 10, 2012, I was told that in order to have children I would have to have surgery or go through IVF. At that point, I was considering surgery because it would give me the option to have children in the future without having to resort to IVF each time. On February 14, my husband and I received another word from God which told us to give Him until September. I didn't want to believe that God would make me that much longer for a baby. So nonetheless, I prayed about the options set before. Every time I prayed, I never felt fully comfortable doing the surgery or the IVF. As much as my mind wanted to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, my spirit wouldn't allow me to. I'm very proactive, so this was a first to me. My husband and I decided that we would step out on faith and wait on God. As much as we believed that God could use medicine to bless us, we didn't believe that would be the case for us this time around.
Even with the word from God, I still have moments of doubt and impatience. June 2, I had a dream that I believe confirmed the word from God. I don't particularly pay much attention to my dreams but this one stuck out to me. I don't remember much about the dream except for the dates September 9 and May 27.
Broadly, these are the things I pray for daily:
I pray for natural pregnancy that would prove the doctors wrong. I pray that everything from conception, to pregnancy, to delivery would have God's signature all over it. I pray everyone can look at my testimony and see that only God could do it. I am also praying for twins, a boy and a girl. How amazing that would be. That they would say I couldn't have one and God would show out and give me 2!
If you are reading this, I ask that you join me in prayer.
Until next time......
06 August 2012
Bad Blogging
I'm such a bad blogger. I haven't posted anything in two months. I guess I haven't really had anything to say. When I first started blogging, I had my all the posts concerning TTP that I wanted to do lined up in my mind. After they were finally all written....idk. So anyway, I guess now is the time to start posting some of those random things I said I would do eventually.
So, what's been up with me during these past 2 months? I have this new obsession with keeping my nails done and kiss nail dress. I do them myself and I love playing with different colors and designs. I'm back to giving my natural hair the TLC it deserves. I was neglecting it for a while trying to finish up all the random products I had left in my bathroom. My hair wasn't loving that too much. I'm trying whole new set of products now. So far, so good. Maybe, I'll do a product review on those? Work is still work. Guiding mothers through the miracle of childbirth and supporting them afterwards. I'll be going to day shift starting next week. That should be interesting. As far as TTP goes, I've keeping the faith and doing much better than I was on my birthday. I've been holding on to the word that was spoken over me and what I believe God is saying about the situation. My prayers have now shifted. More details to come on that as well. Seems like everything is falling into place and my prayers are being manifested. I'll try to be better about blogging. Sorry to keep all my followers waiting. HAHAHAHA
So, what's been up with me during these past 2 months? I have this new obsession with keeping my nails done and kiss nail dress. I do them myself and I love playing with different colors and designs. I'm back to giving my natural hair the TLC it deserves. I was neglecting it for a while trying to finish up all the random products I had left in my bathroom. My hair wasn't loving that too much. I'm trying whole new set of products now. So far, so good. Maybe, I'll do a product review on those? Work is still work. Guiding mothers through the miracle of childbirth and supporting them afterwards. I'll be going to day shift starting next week. That should be interesting. As far as TTP goes, I've keeping the faith and doing much better than I was on my birthday. I've been holding on to the word that was spoken over me and what I believe God is saying about the situation. My prayers have now shifted. More details to come on that as well. Seems like everything is falling into place and my prayers are being manifested. I'll try to be better about blogging. Sorry to keep all my followers waiting. HAHAHAHA
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