Parties and Outings

It has been nearly a month since I stopped eating sugar. In the course of this month I had to go out to restaurants, dinner parties, and even be a host myself. I didn't want to tell people that I stopped eating sugar because there are too many follow-up questions so that was hard to say but people tend not to ask. I think it's because it's January and most people have resolutions to diet and so on, but it'll probably get harder as the months go on.

 My first few meals were kind of awkward but now I have the hang of it and eat pretty much the same as I did before, just avoiding food that has sugar in it. Usually I take sandwiches for lunch. I always used to put mayo on my sandwiches because I am not a big mustard fan, but mayo has sugar :(. It was tricky at first to figure out how I could substitute it but I found that hummus and babaganoush make really great sandwich spreads. They are healthy, hearty and don't have a strong overpowering flavour.

Going to restaurants was really tricky at first, especially sushi. I loooooove sushi  and all those fancy rolls and the soy sauce especially. Unfortunately I am also very aware that a lot of the rice contains sugar in it so that was basically out and who knows whether the salad dressings and soy sauce have sugar. I think that even if I asked the waiter, she wouldn't know whether the food had sugar or not. So I just ordered sashimi. Let me just say how hungry I was after that. I really should have had at least miso soup or something else. That is one place that I will have to work on.

All my other restaurant adventures have been more successful. I would usually order salad without dress and enjoy tasting the flavour of the vegetables. I can also still eat fries!! hoooray! I don't think I could ever give up potatoes, too bad I can't eat them with ketchup though. Now I frequently opt for plain rice and hearty salads with oil and vinegar dressing if they are available to me.

Going to people's houses was a little bit more interesting. Depending on where I went it was easier to know what was in the food and avoid eating it. I would stick to basic food that didn't contain sauces and it was still very filling. It's just funny to see people's reactions when I don't have any dessert. I used to always have desert, so this is new territory for me.

A few weeks I hosted a housewarming party. My husband and I moved to a new place and wanted to have all our friends over. We spent a week preparing the menu as to accommodate my dietary restrictions and offer healthier food. We ended up making pita chips, quiches, hummus, babaganoush, and had much much more. It was so tasty and our guests loved all the food! All that extra effort really paid off.

Bacon & Cheese and Spinach & Gruyere Quiche

Garlic for hummus and babaganoush

Party food spread

Pita Chips

All in al I would say that this month was very successful and I can't wait to see how February goes!