Andy's Idea Factory

Living without sugar is still a daily challenge for me. I've covered this topic often because going sugar free helps me so much, but it SO isn't easy, so I hope these posts help you, too. Especially around Valentine's Day. But let's face it, every month of the year has at least one holiday that's infused with sugar. A February free of...  - 2/1/17 Raw, vegan lifestyle isn't just for crazies anymore  - 3/11/16 30 days of "no" sugar - successes and challenges, and moving forward  - 2/9/16 30 days of sugar free: Kicking the Addiction  - 1/28/16 30 days Sugar Free: Switching date sugar  - 1/11/16 Committing to 30 days without sugar - YOU will hold me to it  - 1/10/16 Partying with a restrictive diet - yes, it can be done!  - 3/24/12 Healthy Living 2: Healthy Eating  - 8/5/10 Healthy Living 1 - Read the Label  - 7/28/10 Bottom line, I know I feel exponentially better without it  –  sugar gives me headaches, tummy ache...

Welcome February! I am embarking on a month with the theme of free . I have tried gluten free . Dairy free. Grain free . Sugar free . Alcohol free . Caffeine free. But I rarely try them all at once - I like the old adage "everything in moderation," although there are times when I do adopt all of that. At once. For months. I know, that's crazy talk. But I felt amazing. I was pain free. Insomnia free. Worry free. So now is that time again. After the holidays, and then another month of "I'm kind of being good" with my diet (not the weight loss kind of diet, but my clean eating regime) while on the road, I figured February was a good (short) month to get back on track. I am committing to cutting all of those things out, while adding in a daily workout of any kind (from just walking to cross country skiing), a morning and midday smoothie with my Complete protein Today's smoothie: Pumpkin, cranberry, soymilk, flax, hemp seeds, and Complete powder,...

60 days off sugar and counting. . . Being off refined sugar (dairy, gluten, meat, and booze) has forced me to explore the web horizon for recipes and new ways to satisfy old tastes. Like any addict, I'm sure my sugar addition will always be with me, but my taste buds have certainly opened up to nature's options and I'm loving it. I attended a birthday party last Saturday and was excited to try to improve upon a pie dish a friend brought over for Valentines Day (thank you for the inspiration Elissa!). The first one I tried was good, but not stellar (although the crust really was amazing), and for a once-addict, when it comes to pie, I'm pretty picky. So I sought out an expert. And I found Emily Von Euw's This Rawsome Vegan Life  blog/book/website, and tried the Blueberry Tart "ice cream" - although it's shaped like pie. It was DELICIOUS. And I feel reborn. It's amazing to me that we have gotten so far removed from nature that we've fo...

This was too good not to share! From Dr.Popper's Wellness Forum update Triglycerides are fats in the blood stream. Both dietary fat and carbohydrates can contribute to high triglyceride levels. Carbohydrate can be converted into fat in the liver through a process called de novo lipogensis. This takes place under certain circumstances, such as when people eat a diet that contains a lot of refined foods, juices, and soft drinks; and/or when people overeat. Both are common practices in Westernized countries. The reason why the body converts excess carbohydrate into lipids is because fat is more energy-dense and a more efficient storage form of excess calories. Unfortunately, the relationship between carbohydrate intake and triglyceride levels has been misrepresented by some health professionals, who tell people that the cause of high triglycerides is a high-carbohydrate diet. They conveniently omit the fact that the relationship is between refined carbohydrates, juices, soft...

DAY 30 is here! When I tell people I'm doing 30 days without sugar, their response is usually "I could never do that." And I'll admit it's had its challenges. But looking back on 30 days, I can say with ease that there are harder things to let go of, you just have to have the right mindset and be up for the challenge. And read a LOT of labels. First, I must include my disclaimer. Because I'm a loyal customer, distributor, and advocate for the products of the Juice Plus Company  for many health reasons, I have trace amounts of organic cane sugar in my morning (and occasional lunch) smoothies (11g), my protein bars (8g), and the occasional pack of veggie chews (2g). I am mostly vegan, and I wasn't about to give up the protein that's in these products, an all-too easy addition to my diet and a staple part of my routine. Moving on. Other than that, I have put a teaspoon of honey in my tea (6g)(about 3-4 times per week I think), and I weaned myself ...

I'm halfway through my 30 days without sugar, and feeling the benefits. My psoriasis is clearing up, the inflammation in my palms is noticeably reduced, and the cravings are next to nothing. I had one breakdown and it was on the day trip to Denver last weekend. Something about being in a car for 6 hours makes an old reflex kick in. I will confess. I ate a doughnut. I'm putting it behind me. I have always had an addiction to sugar, and I'm not alone. During the past 100 years, the average American's intake of sugar and other natural sweeteners doubled- from 80 pounds a year to over 130 pounds a year. In a lifetime, that equals enough to fill a dumpster. And knowing what sugar does to us, it's no wonder why our health has decreased over that time as well. We have the technology and the knowledge to be healthy, but we're not. Sugar suppresses the immune system, leads to chronic inflammation (next blog post), and if you're craving sugar, you're probably...

We are living in a very acidic world; it seems like nearly everything we do lowers our pH, and in a low pH internal environment, inflammation occurs, bad gut flora thrives, our bodies oxidize faster, and disease sets roots. Therefore eating an alkalized diet is a must to return the body to it's natural state of self-healing. When I look at these two food charts it's easy for me to see why the new "food pyramid" and FDA recommendation is for 70-80% vegetables and fruits at every meal. That's no easy task, but the 30 days of sugar-free and  Transform 30 program I embarked on this past Monday helps me alkalize my body. I know that when I eat that way, my body feels better, I have more energy, I sleep better and wake up refreshed, I heal faster and generally don't get sick. When I am acidic, my joints hurt, I'm sluggish and unmotivated, and I've even gotten gout (as a vegetarian, that's pretty hard). But even though I know better, eating right ...

I've embarked on my 30 days without sugar and want to first report on the date crystals from a date farm in Arizona.  While I wean myself off the sweet addiction, dates are going to be my sweet treat anyway, but I was excited to start finding recipes with the date sugar substitute. Eventually I hope to steer clear of grains all together, but the date sugar intrigued me, and I'm a baker by DNA, so fully grain-free is a stretch. In a 2013 Virginia Tech biochemistry study ranking the health of the 12 most popular sweeteners by antioxidant content, date sugar ranked the healthiest. Flourless banana bread from Chocolate Covered Katie The first two recipes I went for were banana and zucchini breads - both gluten free, one vegan, one with eggs. After looking at several top rank options based on ingredients, the banana bread recipe I went with was from Chocolate Covered Katie .  The foundation for this recipe is GF Oat Flour, calls for honey, not date sugar, and is entire...

Every year at this time we commit to something new; changes for the better that we hope will stick. I've found that publicly committing to something and having a buddy in doing so is exponentially more successful than just writing some wishes in my journal, especially when the new plan is a big one. Last year I spent a month of summer sugar-free. It wasn't my first attempt, I've spent the last 7 years on one elimination diet or another in attempts to take better control of my health and the auto-immune and inflammation symptoms my body's been displaying. I've been gluten-free for those 7 years, dairy-free off and on for 30+ years, and even meat free for a portion of my life as well. So I know that cutting out foods is never easy, and for each of us, there's always one vice that's the hardest. Dairy, wheat, starches, sugar, alcohol, salt, it doesn't matter; if it's our crutch, eliminating it feels like we're depriving ourselves of the pleasur...