Day 1 - no added sugar challenge

No added sugar challenge 1st-14th February 2013

If I told you I was a bit nervous would you believe me?

I have seriously let my guard down with a serious chocolate addiction. You know that Cadbury Marvellous Creations one with the jelly popping candy beanies? Yes. Smashed the entire block last night! Like, seriously!!! I have a problem. 

I had a reader post a private message on Facebook yesterday asking how she could curb her binge eating as she typically eats healthy food. Well. That was like a letter to me, written by me! I was always like this as a child and it creeps up from time to time in my adult life now. I keep eating something if it tastes good and feet so sick afterwards from over eating. Why do I did this? I have no idea??? 

That's all about to change now.....especially that I am re-reading Sarah Wilsons I QUIT SUGAR book which I purchased last year but really didn't prepare my mind to get rid of sugar completely out of my diet. 

Okay now that I have confessed to you all. What are some of your dark sugary secrets? List them below so we can help each other combat them. I know that I am never asking my husband again to buy me chocolate EVER! Well for 14 days that is....no seriously I need to remove myself from this as I am an all or nothing kinda chick!!! Best not go there and then temptation won't rear it's ugly head.

Planking challenge

Here are my results for last months planking challenge. 31 days of incorporating 3 sets of 1 minute planks in conjunction with my normal 1 1/2hrs of resistance and interval training per week and eating clean 80-90%!

Planking challenge #planksjan2013

Meal Planner

Here is an idea of what our weekly meal planner looks like. I will get a bit more professional and update this in a funky table so it's easier for you to read. 

Friday 1st Feb

Breakfast

1 Apple (grated) and cinnamon porridge

Snack

2tbs Hummus with 2-3 vegetables

Lunch 

Smoked salmon wrap with spinach, capers and tomatoes

Snack

Yogurt with 2 serves of fruit (3-4 strawberries, 1/2 apple, 1 pear)

Dinner

Chicken (baked) rissoles with green steamed vegetables

Ingredients:

Chicken mince
1 grated carrot
1tbs feta cubes
1 garlic minced
1 egg
chopped fresh herbs (parsley and coriander)
*Moroccan spices
S&P

*use whatever seasoning you prefer

Method:

Mix all these ingredients together and if you find the mix too sticky add either cooked quinoa, flaked oats or breadcrumbs and make into burger shapes. Refrigerate and place on non stick paper on baking tray and bake until cooked. Alternatively you may shallow fry them in olive oil or a non stick pan.

Saturday 2nd Feb

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs (2 eggs or 4 egg whites) with spinach, tomato and spring onions

Snack

180 Nutrition protein shake

Lunch 

Tuna vegetable salad

Snack

1 apple with 1.5tsp peanut butter & sprinkled cinnamon 

Dinner

Beef quinoa soup with vegetables

Sunday 3rd Feb

Breakfast

Pear and cinnamon porridge

Snack

2 hard boiled eggs with vegetable sticks

Lunch

Chicken wrap with feta, tomato, cucumber and spinach 

Snack

Tzatziki dip (yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice & garlic) with vegetable sticks and crackers

Dinner

Chicken tenderloins with cauliflower, broccoli and beans

Monday 4th Feb

Breakfast

Waffles with ricotta and blueberries

Snack

Vegetable/fruit juice (cucumber, mint & apple)

Lunch 

Vegetable frittata 

Snack

Fruit smoothie with 2 serves of fruit

Dinner

Vegetable and beef stir fry with 

Tuesday 5th Feb

Breakfast

Quinoa with 1 serve of blueberries

Snack

1 apple and handful of almonds

Lunch 

Vegetable beef muffins

Snack

Protein smoothie

Dinner

Turkey quinoa burgers served with salad

Wednesday 6th Feb

Breakfast

Poached eggs with smoked salmon and asparagus 

Snack

Vegetable sticks with hummus dipping sauce

Lunch 

Salad in a wholemeal wrap

Snack

3 serves of fruit and handful (5-6) of walnuts

Dinner

Flat head fish grilled with salad

Thursday 7th Feb

Breakfast

Organic corn flakes with almond milk and 1 banana

Snack

Hard boiled eggs x2 with sugar snap peas and cucumber

Lunch 

4 beans salad mix

Snack

watermelon with ricotta cheese

Dinner

BBQ meat platter with grilled vegetables and salad

Friday 8th Feb

Breakfast

Mini corn pancakes with yogurt and cucumbers

Snack

180 Nutrition protein drink with 5 strawberries

Lunch 

Omelette vegetable pizza

Snack

yogurt with a sprinkle of toasted muesli AKA granola

Dinner

Home made pizza's with vegetable and meat toppings

I am really getting into Sarah Wilson's I QUIT SUGAR ebook I am learning a lot about what all this added sugar is doing to our bodies. So for your copy simply click on the link and grab yourself a copy for some inspiration and awesome recipe ideas.

Please leave a comment below and share how you survived Day 1 of our no added sugar challenge. I'll be posting daily so add your new comments there. 

Xx Dani

Fairy tale holiday ends

Well today is officially the last day of the school holidays. We have had such a fun time together as a family of 6! From surfing to bike riding, bush walking, scooter riding you name it!

Noah starts Grade 2 tomorrow, Oscar starts Prep on Thursday and Mietta has a 2hr session at a 3yo Early Learning Centre on Friday, so baby Zali and I get to enjoy some 1-on-1 time.

How are you?

Excited about our no added sugar challenge or what???? I'm super pumped and so excited by all your responses. I'm overloaded by so many questions over in Facebook and Instagram land so I hope to answer all your questions here or my fellow readers can assist me as well. Particularly those that did the challenge with me last year.

In fact there is a sensational book out by Sarah Wilson I QUIT SUGAR. I am desperately trying to give up sugar but sometimes the white devil gets the better of me. I turn to this book for inspiration so if you need some then I highly recommend you click here and grab yourself a copy if you too need some guidance on what to substitute over the 14 days and preferably FOREVS!!!!!! 

So which team will you join? 

In the meantime while you have a think, here's a great supportive chocolate cake from the one and only Teresa Cutter. This will fall in the category of the sugar babes if you are craving something sweet *remember only a slice not the entire cake :-) as fruits of life are omitting the extra natural sweeteners eg: honey, maple syrup etc...

Clean eating chocolate cake

Ingredients 

-2 whole oranges

-Your preferred natural sweetener measurement (eg 3/4 cup honey, agave or maple syrup) 

-6 organic free range eggs

-pinch of sea salt

-4 cups ground walnuts (400 g ) or almonds

-3/4  cup good quality dark cocoa powder

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

Method;

1⃣ Steam the oranges until soft

2⃣ Once cool chop entire oranges including the skin. Place oranges with honey, salt, vanilla into a food processor

3⃣ Add eggs, keep blending

4⃣ Pour mixture into a bowl and simply fold other ingredients walnuts (or almonds) cocoa and cinnamon. 

5⃣ Spoon into a baking tin (line it with greaseproof paper) 

6⃣ Bake in a 170C degree oven until cooked through (approx. ­60 minutes) 

This is such a lovely and moist cake (The healthy chef AKA Teresa Cutter does it again). To ensure its cooked properly, test with a skewer. Completely cool the cake before serving into small pieces. Serves 10-12

We had ours with a dollop of organic thickened cream (I had mine with ricotta cheese) and fresh blueberries. For a super indulgent treat, drizzle some dark chocolate ganache after the 14 day challenge of course!!! 

Planks challenge

Our planks pictures have been sensational once again. So many pictures that I keep posting daily of the many inspirational people on Instagram. 180 Nutrition have been kind enough to sponsor my #planksjan2013 challenge as we all are planking for 31 days over January 3x1 minutes. I will be announcing the 4 random winners (2 male and 2 female plankers!) Monday 4th February. So stay tuned and keep tagging your pictures. 

Here are just a few of the plank stars I've posted for those that don't have Facebook, Instagram or Twitter;

Planks challenge

Here are our planks for the past 2 weeks!!! I am proud to announce that I officially can hold a plank 3 x 1 minutes!!! Woo Hoo!!! 

Planks challenge

Some fun down in Lorne and at home....

#planksjan2013 challenge

More pool fun and even a plank at my hairdressers!!!! 

31 day planks challenge

Okay heading to bed to sort out these little people bright and early in the morning. Thanks for stopping by and any questions about our challenge starting on Friday, ask away!!!!

Xx Dani

Plank challenge #planksjan2013

WOWZA!!!!

That's all I can say!!!

Check out these amazing people and all their creative planks and just getting involved in this months plank challenge!! I LOVE IT!!!!

Plank challenge 

Plank challenge

You guys rock!!!

Here have been my planks these past 2 weeks! Please note to take care at all times when planking. As you may know me by now I am a bit of a dare devil so I like to keep you entertained. I typically don't complete all my planks on some of the tricky environments below....

Week 1

Week 2

Day 13 and 14

180 Nutrition

I have to make a SPECIAL mention to my lovely sponsors 180 Nutrition for awarding our top 4 plankers this month. I will be announcing the 2 males and 2 females early in February for their starter pack protein powders. Check out the link for more info on their wonderful products! All natural goodness.

So keep tagging those pictures for your chance to win!!!

Keep on planking my beautiful friends!

Xx Dani

Planks challenge starts 1st-31st January 2013

Just a quick post to let you all know we are ready to rock and roll with our Planks January 2013 challenge!!! In fact, you can tag all your pics to #planksjan2013 to show us what types of planks you are doing and how long. On a serious note, I do not want us to take this challenge to the extreme of the plank rave that happened a couple of years ago. Seriously. This isn't a challenge where you plank outside the comfort of your home, gym or safe area eg: the park or the beach. I want to express that safety is key here and the aim of this challenge is to strengthen our core, move our body daily and of course tone our arms, abs and whatever other muscles want to join the party!!!

As you know this challenge is aligned to your existing exercise program (like the squats challenge we did in December) so please don't think you will have fab abs after 31 days by just planking!

No!

You need to incorporate a regular exercise program and eat 80-90% healthy. Easy right? Yes! Well no. Sometimes life gets hectic and you forget to prepare your meals in advance so you grab whatever is in reach. You skip a workout because you feel tired or you've had a hard day. These are just the challenges we face as human beings and you know what? It's okay. As long as we don't fall into a lazy pattern (and I can tell you, I have been there on the couch lazing away!) so that's why I am here to help you! If you need a bit of motivation and inspiration, I am here for you. In return your support and comments make it so much more enjoyable for me, to do what I am doing.

So! Back to the planks challenge!! You excited???? I AM!!!! Here is what I posted on Facebook and Instagram a couple of days ago....

Planks challenge 2013

Okay, here is the G. O straight from my challenges tab so you can make comments directly on that page if you don't find this one handy;



PLANKS CHALLENGE ~ 1st to 31st January 2013

Let me start off by saying we won't be doing any extravagant planking pics like the whole rave a few years ago. This is all about strengthening our core, overall fitness and most importantly safety. I take no responsibility for any injuries caused during this challenge. Please seek your Doctors okay before commencing any type of exercises.

I will post various planking styles per week for easy, medium and difficult levels. You choose what your preference is. These pictures may be of me, other friends, fitness professionals and random google peeps. Everyone can hashtag their pics or ideas to #planksjan2013 so we can all learn and get ideas.

WHAT ARE PLANKS?

The daily planks from the 1st to 31st January 2013, will be:

3 x 1 minute

Ties in beautifully with the 31 days in January right?

It's your choice whether you spread these 3 sets out throughout the day or do them in a row. 

Example: 

Left hand side plank 30 seconds
Right hand side plank 30 seconds

Side plank

That's one set completed out of 3 for the day. You have another two sets to do either back to back or throughout your day eg: as part of your normal fitness routine or first thing in the morning! Up to you.

Also feel free to plank longer, I may even increase the 30 secs planks to 40 secs in week 2 and so on. I'm not a huge fan of planking myself but 2013 is all about me getting out of my comfort zone. What about you???

Let me know your thoughts and I hope I have made it simple enough, as I don't like complicated things. I follow the KISS principle (keep it simple sweetie).

Planks very much everyone!!! XxDani

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