Blog: Lucy's Sugar-Free Week
Sugar-Free Challenger Lucy blogs her first week of taking her sugarless trial. Begin your own challenge with your three day meal plan.
It’s was with a certain amount of dread, knowing that I have eaten and binged on copious amounts of chocolate, mince pies and alcohol over the festive season, that my 5-week Sugar Free challenge was getting closer. Living in a household with young children has meant that it’s been tough to avoid treats and comfort foods!!
Our last Christmas guests departed on 2 nd January and I had a sunken feeling in my stomach thinking that I still hadn’t made any effort to get organised for my awaited challenge. So, iPad in hand, I started planning meals ahead for the coming weeks from Davina’s book.
Looking through the moreish food pictures, it soon dawned on me that I really did need to curb my love for biscuits and crisps - and fast!
After an hour or so I had filled my basket full with fresh ingredients ready for my challenge. The next day our food order was delivered and that evening after unpacking the items my husband (the gorgeous Mr Simon Boundy) and I were keen to start the recipes.
So Day 1 of my #5WeeksSugarFree commenced on Sunday 4 th January. Unfortunately this was a day full of sadness, as my beloved Nana passed away peacefully in the early hours. She was 91 and meant the world to me - we called her Minnie. She was a fantastic cookery teacher and I loved trying her recipes – so I took the plunge and made a promise to her to start my 35-day challenge that very same evening.
Day 1
I made a variation of the chicken with chorizo (p.112) – when I say variation this included white boiled rice for my daughter and son – but there were greens too so it wasn't all bad and, hand-on-heart, none of that WHITE stuff for me!
Day 2
I spent the morning cooking two batches of Davina’s Shepherd’s Pie (p.127) whilst watching Loose Women with Davina(!)
This recipe was so much tastier than I had cooked in the past– perhaps it was the cinnamon that gave it something of a Moroccan taste. It’ll definitely be a family favourite in our household – plus, as an added bonus and in best Blue Peter style, we’ll have one for next week that we made earlier!
Day 3
I worked today and after a non-eventful salad for lunch, I came home to find our kids and my hubby prepping the ingredients ready for the Beef Stir Fry (p.128), much to my delight!
Simon was a bit dubious about adding raw broccoli to the dish but it tasted delicious.
This dish is one of my top 3!!
Day 4
Started the day with an hour’s Pilates class which I love – but goodness was it tough today. Our teacher definitely had it in for us today… now I'm wishing I hadn’t over indulged quite so much over the festive season.
Tonight’s gem was the Salmon with Lentils (p.96). I have to say, whilst it tasted delicious, I am still not a great fan of these green beans!!
But definitely worth tasting it for yourself and it’s dead simple to make.
Day 5
On the telly again – did you see Davina on This Morning promoting her sugar free chocolate brownies? I watched it and was incentivised to go and have a go. As one of my girlfriends was due over after a brisk four mile dog walk, we came home for a well-deserved cuppa and she found the box and loved them. She’s now hooked and is buying the book – RESULT!
Naughty but nice: we had family from Devon with us for dinner… but Simon and I still managed to have a local take-out (Chicken Shashlick with Saag Bhaji) so NO sugar or carbs….bosh!
Day 6 & 7
Day six and seven consisted of us cooking the Chicken and Roast Vegetable Tray Bake (p. 116), which was simple to cook and tasted lovely. The Yoghurt-Marinated Chicken wasn't a big hit in our house – perhaps we’ll need to tweak it for next time.
My children perhaps thought I would have used their Mooshi Monster yoghurts - I think this is perhaps where the disappointment commenced.
So all in all, a successful first week in the Boundy house. Feeling healthier and sleeping tons better and looking forward to ramping up the challenge in week two!
Davina’s Five Weeks to Sugar Free: Yummy, easy recipes to help you kick sugar and feel amazing, can be ordered here:
Amazon | Waterstones | WHSmith
