Happy New Year, RoodonFooders.

Been a long time. Maybe too long. I hope everyone is faring well during this very long pandemic. 

After indulging quite a bit with Christmas cookies, chocolate and oh-so-tasty fatty foods during the holiday season we decided to start the year off strong with a long run. It’s actually become a tradition to do at least 10 miles. Even my Garmin agrees (via badge) that a run at the first of a year is a “strong start”.

Our (highly recommended) route was the Beach to Bluffs trail to Golden Gate Bridge to Crissy Field to the Presidio and back to B2B. In the course of the run we got to enjoy beautiful ocean views, seasonal birds like Puffins, the frigging Golden Gate Bridge, super happy doggies, eucalyptus forest, and surprisingly no naked people (who occasionally sun on the beach). 

In keeping with this idea of detoxing we’re taking a week off of added sugar. For our version this means we’re not consuming anything with sugar as an ingredient. We tried this same exercise last year. Here are a few things we learned:

• Added sugar is in unexpected foods. For example: Wheat Thins? So keep your eyes peeled even if it’s a savory snack.
• These challenges are useful because reaching for candy, processed sweets is habitual. (I frequently think of it hand in hand with coffee). But the habit can be broken.
• Fruit can be just as satisfying as sweets. (We stocked up on fruits, oranges, and bananas).
• Peanuts and other nuts often help provide a better alternative to many of the chips we buy.
• Avocado is a satisfying fat source that can be used in a million ways (on burgers, as guac, in tacos etc).
• Meal planning is key when and if hunger hits.

Beyond the sugar challenge we’re also doing a dry January that is to say, no alcohol. This test will be a whole lot easier as we probably average a drink or two every few weeks at most.

Are any of you doing a food challenge? If so, what is it? Have you tried sugar free? What did you learn from it?