Hey Guys,

This is the continuation of the previous post. I wanted to put this out sooner and would have; but I CANNOT FIND the cord for my camera and hence, can’t get the photos off my camera. I also have some video that I want to use for another post that I can’t get to. I’m screaming inside, but I will post with the photos that I have found online and hope it is acceptable to you guys. Here goes….

I have cut back A LOT on my sugar intake.  They only time I use real sugar is when I am baking.  I have decided that I will not change the way that I bake, I will use real sugar to make cakes, pies, cookies, brownies.  I will not use real sugar to sweeten my tea, make granola, make homemade ice cream, sweeten my acorn squash or sweet potatoes (unless I’m eating a Japanese sweet potato which needs no sugar at all) or anything that would require sugar that is not a baked good.  What I have decided to use is Monkfruit Sweetener or one of the variations of Swerve. 

My go to for anything that is not cooked is Monkfruit Sweetener.  I use it in my tea, when I want to sweeten my yogurt for a dessert, when I’m making a green smoothie, I use Monkfruit.  It’s zero calories and zero sugar.  It taste natural and I can get the feels of sugar without the horrible taste that you get with most sugar substitutes. I have found monkfruit and swerve can be a little pricey at most grocery stores, but I typically go to Costco (I have even had a coworker order me some from Sam’s) to get my monkfruit sweetener. If I’m in a pinch, I will get it at Freshthyme grocery store. I try to stock up on Swerve when they are on sale. If I find that I need them and there is not a sale, my go to is Walmart.

When I’m cooking, I reach for the different variations of Swerve. I use the brown sugar when I’m having one of the squash’s that I’m sweetening. I use the granulated when I’m making homemade ice cream. I’ve used the confectioners sugar before, but not lately.

Since it looks like this post is going to consist of the sweet things, that I’m currently consuming, it would be a tragedy if I did not tell you about the amazing sweets that I’ve been able to consume and not feel guilty about it. The other thing of note is that I’m finding A LOT if not MOST of these at Aldi grocery store.

Before I begin, let me detour for a quick second. I need to tell you guys to not miss out on Aldi. They have some really amazing things in there grocery store that prejudice has caused some people to skip out on this store. I used to go occasionally for things but never really took the time to look closely at all of the items they have there. It’s easy to think because they don’t have all the name brands that we are familiar with that their items are subpar. I now get half of my fruits and vegetables from Aldi. The quality is amazing and for the amount of these items that I purchase, the price is right. Specialty cheeses, like parmesan, romana, gruyere, havarti and sometimes gouda that I would be paying out of the backside for I can find at Aldi. Quinoa, jasmine rice, couscous, honey, hummus…yep, I find at Aldi. Something else to note. I work for a company that is basically a German company. At one point we had a new division head that came from Germany, and when we were having out meet and greet; she asked about the closest Aldi to our area. I surprisingly said “you know about Aldi?” to which she told me that it’s big over there….that’s were she can go shop to get a little taste of home. That’s why you can find good European chocolate (you thought it was generic) and cookies (the Danish and German ones you love) in Aldi. If you have an Aldi near you, you need to go inside and take a look. Really take a look.

Ok…back to the sweets. On the days that I do not have grains, I still want to have something sweet if I can make myself go downstairs to get it. My go to on those days is either a dessert hummus and these amazing coconut cookies (that I purchased at Aldi) or yogurt that I’ve sweetened and flavored with either the coconut cookies or the Siete cookies, crumbled into it.

There is also a peanut butter version of these cashew crisp that you guys know I love because I am a peanut butter fan. Speaking of peanut butter, my new favorite is taking natural peanut butter and eating it with the Simple Mills Sea Salt Grain-free crackers……A-maz-ing.

On the days I eat everything, and I want to eat something sweet, but not rack up a ton of calories with something homemade or when I just want to cut the salt of something savory I just ate without eating too much, I reach for another Aldi find.

I have the key lime flavored most prominent because they are my favorite. These cookies really taste like homemade. They are buttery and the flavor is true and a serving size is 6 cookies. I’m usually satisfied with 2 or 3; but isn’t it cool to know that I can have 3 or 4 more and still be around 130 calories?

The last thing I want to tell you about, is an oldy but goody. Popcorn. I have gone back to popcorn. And I’m making it instead of using the microwave version. Making popcorn is the easiest thing, you only need four ingredients/items at most. Coconut oil (you can get it at….you guessed it Aldi), popcorn (I HIGHLY recommend Orville Redenbacher), sea salt and a good pot with lid. I also have a Stir Crazy popcorn machine that I will whip out, but it is not required. A trick I use is to put a little sea salt in my coconut oil before I add the popcorn kernels and your popcorn will not require much if any salt when it’s done. It’s SOOOOOO good and addictive. You keep putting it in your mouth until the bowl is empty, so my advice is to put what you want to eat in the bowl and leave the rest somewhere you have to think about getting up to go to if you want more. I typically eat it with sea salt only, but have been known to sprinkle some shredded cheese on top for extra flavor when I want something different. If you don’t want to sprinkle on real shredded cheese or you are trying to keep it vegan, nutritional yeast is the way to go. You will get the cheesy flavor without the dairy. The coconut oil is essential, because it seems to give the popcorn that buttery flavor without the need to add butter.

Well, I think I’ve mentioned everything that I really wanted to tell you guys about. If you haven’t figured out, in addition to the things that I mentioned; I eat a ton of fruits and vegetables. I typically have an apple every day. If I don’t eat a whole one I may have half along with grapes or cherries. I love to eat baby carrots, sugar snap peas, red/orange/yellow bell peppers slices, and grape tomatoes. I usually can eat it without a dip, but occasionally have a side of hummus. These are thing that I LIKE to eat. I’ve found a way to incorporate them into a healthier eating lifestyle. When you are losing weight, if you can think of eating differently as a change that is permanent and not a diet and actually change your eating; you will be successful in the long run and be able to maintain all that you accomplish (that was a really lone run-on sentence, but it was the only way to say it so don’t judge me). Try out things to discover what you like that is healthy to eat. By doing this you can continue to eat them when you reach your goal weight.

Finally, I want to say something that is not about what I eat, but is about MY weight loss journey. I am currently about 5-7 pounds away from my goal weight. I’ve been here for about 2 months. Being this close is so frustrating because I’m currently maintaining and not losing. I have tried the calorie deficient route and that has not helped. I have tried intermittent fasting and that has not worked. Ok…hold up….when I say it has not worked I mean I have lost what I was going to lose using those methods and I’m they are no longer working. I still work out 3-4 times a week and I eat what I love that is still healthy but I am in a plateau. I’m losing inches because my clothes are reflective of that, but the scale is not reflecting any change. I believe it may be a hormonal thing, but who knows. I’m sharing my truth with you guys, because I feel save doing so and I really want to let out this little bit of frustration. Ok..I’m done with that and now I’m going to end this blog.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and have found something useful and maybe go out and try some of them. If you have something you would like to suggest, do not hesitate to comment below. Comment below anyway, I would love to hear from you. Also, your prayers and good wishes are welcome that I find my camera cable or that I can successfully order a new one on Amazon, so I can get my pictures of my camera.

Until next time,