Quiting sugar and processed foods I don’t have any inflammation or aches any more, and eating lots of fiber means I’m rarely hungry. I also eat fruit throughout the day to maintain a steady blood sugar levels.
My main reason for working to control blood sugar is to prevent problems down the line, and because when my blood sugar isn’t low, I’m not super hungry and I don’t fill either cranky or dizzy. Blood sugar is something mostly talked about with diabetes but maintaining it within reasonable levels helps everything perform better and reduces caloric intake.
The other problem with processed sugar is it is essentially an narcotic. When you consume processed sugar not only does it give you a high by spiking your blood sugar, but dulling your taste for everything else. Sugar causes extreme cravings, and makes you desire to eat even more. I long had a ban on cookies and candy at home, but I’ve really stepped it up in weeks after turning 40, kicking out other sources of processed sugar like pasta sauce and refined carbohydrates like pasta. And I’ve started to refuse it away from home and don’t plan to have it while camping either.
I’ve built a lot of protein into my diet, adding lentils and sometimes black beans to the brown rice which I have with most meals. I make up a big pot, freeze it and have it all week, changing it around each week with different ingredients. I also have been experimenting with tofu in many meals. Not to replace meat per se but as a healthier alternative for variety. Big blocks of firm tofu is also the “cheapest meat” you can buy, as are big bulk bags of brown rice and lentil. Keeping things affordable is so important in these inflationary times, especially as I’m trying to step up my saving and investing to make up for a slowing market growth.
I was thinking I’m already starting to run up against the wall of good, interesting and tasty but healthy unprocessed foods in my diet as I get two months into Mission Fifty and cutting processed foods and sugar out of my diet.
One of the biggest problems I’m facing isn’t a lack of potentially tasty and healthy meals out there but figuring out how to cook things with the right kinds of spices and ingredients that are tasty and filling without so much deadly sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. Things that don’t require a million parishable ingredients to cook or careful measurements and can be made relatively quickly or at least with fairly minimum attention.
So I’ve been reading about food science and watching some YouTube. I’m not really interested in recipes per say but how different ingredients interact, their general taste, methods of cooking and use of spices. Not for a recipe book but really understanding food and what I’m putting into my body.
The use of the broiler in my oven and more cast iron cooking with spices helps a lot. Salmon is amazing, a big step up from fish sticks and broccoli or corn. Rice with proper seasoning is pretty good especially when used with something like the salmon, chicken or tofu. Tofu is fine raw but a lot better a bit crispy from the boiler. And old fashioned oats is good with lots of fruit. Mixing up the fruit every week, trying new things helps a lot.
Rice has replaced most of what pasta and sauce was in my diet before. But it’s quickly tiring, one of the things I need to figure out is ways to jazz it up without so sugar and salt, much less fat and oil. There are ways, including more spices, onions, garlic and even a tad bit of oil to better make the flavor stick. The key is clearly creativity and mixing things up so I don’t get bored. I do miss the easy calories and taste of pasta with cheese but in my forties I know I can’t afford to keep doing things the old way especially if I want to be healthier, live a long life and do the outdoor adventures I enjoy.
My next challenge is figuring out what to eat while camping and backpacking that isn’t that calorie and sugar heavy crap I eat in my younger years. In some ways camping actually opens up more opportunities for advanced, more complicated meals as I have more time in camp. But I also loose access to my broiler in the oven and the freezer to keep things frozen, along with a greater desire to stuff crap in my mouth while sitting next to the fire in the evening.
