Weekend Away

We had an awesome little vacation this weekend! A friend from Winnipeg was in Saltillo on business so we headed out there Thursday to hang out with him. Friday morning we got up and headed to Monterrey. It is the third largest city in Mexico located about an hour east of Saltillo. We hadn't booked a hotel but headed to the Crowne Plaza because we liked the location and it had good reviews. We had seen a pretty good rate online. When we got there they told Andrew the best rate was way out of our price range. Andrew mentioned the rate he had seen online. She did some more looking and quoted him $50 less. Andrew politely thanked her and we prepared to leave. As we were rounding up the kids the manager approached him and offered a rate $30 lower than the online rate! Including breakfast. The buffet was AMAZING. You know it's a good one when you don't have enough room for all the great food. And the service was fantastic. Our room was awesome- we had a super cozy king sized bed, and Eva was quite happy sleeping on her "special bed" on the floor (why didn't we think of this before? It was joy, pure joy.) The room had a TUB. The hotel had an awesome pool, including a 12" deep heated kiddie pool, pool toys, and a not-too-hot huge hot tub. We swam up a storm! Eva didn't want to go home.

After we checked in we headed south to the Bioparque Estrella. It is over an hour's drive from Monterrey. About halfway there we were lucky enough have a run-in with the traffic police. We had forgotten copies of our visas which made it a bit tense for a few minutes, but it all worked out. I felt bad for the kids who were already tired of driving. After all that, it was frustrating to have to wait in line for 45 minutes just to pay to get into the park, but fun once we were there! The best part was the Serengeti Safari, for sure. Both kids absolutely loved it. We got on a big open bus with our cups of animal food and got to offer it to all sorts of fun African animals. Unfortunately we didn't get to see all the attractions. It was not only hot but also humid so 3 hours in the park was plenty. Plus we needed to leave time at the end of the day for swimming! And tubbing!

who doesn't have a family photo like this?

Eva decided to try out the waterslide. It was a good start....

...then things started to go wrong...

...and it ended in tears

Here we are plotting the second attack. She did go up but cold feet got her while she was standing in the lineup. Maybe next time!

Safari animals up close and personal

In the morning we checked out the recently opened Santa Lucia Riverwalk. It was beautiful. Tons of fountains, great architecture, floating bands. We took the boat tour which was a nice way to see it. We wished we'd had time to spend in the Parque de los Fundadores at one end. There is an awful lot to see and do in Monterrey. Looking forward to another excursion there one day.

Paseo Santa Lucia

Statue in the Macroplaza, downtown Monterrey

Cool Neptune sculptures in the Macroplaza, downtown Monterrey

The kids did great on the way home. Shortly after, Eva's gymnastics teacher Bertha came over to babysit while we went out to a farewell dinner for a couple from Circle of Friends. The kids were ABUZZ with excitement to have Bertha in our house!

Juno

We saw the movie Juno this weekend and both loved it!

More to come about the weekend once I find time to write it all up and post the corresponding photos. We had a super fun weekend away! Here's a teaser:

Sleep Update

Thank you to all who offered advice and ideas about our sleep situation. We have made a few minor adjustments, including offering Micah cheerios to munch on in his crib in the morning (bought us 10 minutes) and putting Blue Baby in with him (negligible effect). The major change though, is in our attitudes. Micah wakes up perky and raring to go, and doesn't generally get grumpy during the day. So I am pretty sure that either this is a phase or simply the way he is made. We are now taking turns getting up with him and choosing to enjoy the extra hours and the beginning of the day. We are also getting to bed somewhat earlier. That helps.

He is Risen!

We celebrated the resurrection of Christ today.

Eva with her friend Emily

A missionary couple, Bill and Lisa, started an english language church and we are so excited to be part of it. Andrew and I are really enjoying the sermons. The kids come flying out of their Sunday School class squealing with delight. Andrew has been leading worship together with Bill & Lisa's son Donovan.

Today after the service our little church had a potluck lunch.

The kids had a blast. The amount of sugar consumed made me cringe.

Micah is eating in every one of today's photos!

Blue Baby was originally purchased for Eva when we were expecting Micah. He is still extremely popular. Recently he was in some sort of accident and went through puberty, apparently. Thanks to Eva he is now the proud owner of many facial and cranial bandaids, as well as a moustache. Micah has taken a real shine to him lately. There have been many tears shed over posession of Blue Baby. Sometimes though he does get a break from the drama.

He is risen indeed!

Sleep... what is that?

Last night Eva had insomnia. She up for a couple of hours starting about 12:30am. And Micah was up for the day at 4:15am. Is it possible that our 17 month old child only needs 9 hours of nighttime sleep? He only sleeps about an hour in the day. At this point I still have hope it might be related to the last of his molars which is pushing through. Though maybe having hope makes it worse. I refuse to believe that the only way to get my full night's rest is to go to bed as soon as Eva is asleep. At this point. But I am swiftly moving toward bleak dispair. I hate the impact it has on my days and I hate how powerless I am in this situation.

We can't even try the "letting him cry" method until a reasonable hour- we share a wall with our neighbors and would feel terrible subjecting them to the wailing as well.

I am open to ideas about how to remedy this situation. Comment away!

Who Wants To Go Skating?

Eva does! Micah, not so much.

Believe it or not, there is a full fledged indoor ice rink here in Torreon. Thursday we took the kids to free skating. Eva ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Micah ABSOLUTELY HATED IT. The smallest skates were size 11. Micah is a 6.5 so the poor fit might have had something to do with Micah's opinion of the activity.

Once our time was up, Eva refused to take off her skates. Even the promise of a milkshake at Carl's Jr wasn't enough. Finally we just had to pull parental rank.

She has been asking to go again so we'll do it again soon. This time one of us will stay back with Micah, so there will be photos to share.

Micah's Good!

Micah lost his limp a couple of days ago and his foot is pointing forward again today! Whoohoo!

Peanut Butter Part II

I am on fire for my food processor! I finally found some shelled peanuts that don't have hydrogenated oils so I bought them to make peanut butter. Dumped the whole can in the food processor and in seconds it was ready to go. This batch is not as chunky as the previous one, but is a similar flaky texture, despite the oils in the peanuts and used in the roasting process, and the honey I added in the food processor. This is acceptable to me- because it was so fast and easy! But I do wonder why the natural peanut butter I've purchased in Canada was so different? One kind was nice and creamy and the other was super sticky. Mine is almost dry. Interesting. Maybe next time I'll add a litte olive oil to make it creamier.

Another food item I am thinking of making at home is yogurt. Of course we'll still have to buy the milk so at the end of the day I'm not sure just how much more 'natural' and less expensive it would actually be. We've made a step in the right direction already though. Andrew and the kids used to drink expensive strawberry Danone yogurt every morning. I worry about all the sugar and the colour it contains. Now I am buying plain yogurt and blending it up with a banana and some frozen fruit. Delicious, and no artificial colours!

Sleep

Everytime I think we're getting somewhere with Micah in the sleep department, we have a night like last night. He was up about every hour from midnight on, and didn't sleep after about 4:30am. Or was it 4:00? I don't remember. I finally snapped out of my denial and got up at 5:30. No sense in more than one of the rest of us being up. But I don't want him to think that it's ok to be up for the day at that ridiculous hour either.

This business is sharply contrasted by the beautiful blessing I received yesterday afternoon. Eva likes to play at "going to sleep" and told me that was what she was going to do. I said good night and took Micah into the living room. He asked to nurse and to my surprise- since he had already napped- he fell asleep! And it was awfully quiet in the bedroom as well. Both kids sleeping in the middle of the day! A full blown miracle!! I'm no dummy so I had a rest too. It was a glorious hour of snoozing. Maybe more. Incredible.

Rain, NatGeo and Allowance

This morning I could hardly believe my eyes and my ears. It was RAINING! First time in months. Smells delicious. A very nice change from the taste of dust. It's been blowing hard since yesterday morning and we've had to relight the hot water heater twice. The wind blows it out.

In other fun news, yesterday I signed Eva up for a subscription to NatGeo Little Kids magazine. I think it will be fun for her to get her very own mail and her very own magazine. I'm also going to try giving her an allowance starting in May. I thought I'd give her $30 (about $3 CAD). I am thinking of setting up a 3 piggybank system: 1 for God, 1 for her to spend as soon as she wants, and 1 for saving for something big later. Or maybe the last two should be just one?

For those of you with kids, what age did you start giving an allowance? How much? How did you teach your child to manage it and what kinds of choices have they made?

Big Shoes

Monday Fun

We had a good day today! I was pleased to have fed my family a hot breakfast, washed and stashed all the laundry, kept the house tidy, and purchased some fun items from the import store. These include the mysterious ingredient I've been seeing in recipes I'm forced to reject. Creme of Tartar. I saw the stuff and bought it. Now I have to figure out what to do with it. I also bought some sunflowers seeds. Mmmmm. I've missed you, sunflower seeds.

Made quiche for supper. Micah had FOUR servings, plus two servings of mini-wheats. Eva had two and two. And this considering that it contained both mushroom and onions! They both rejected the celery outright. It was the bacon that kept them coming back, I think.

And of course we played. Eva got the stickers out and put some "earrings" on her ears. Micah got a single earring. (Interesting how that worked out.) Then everyone became "clowns" (one sticker on the end of the nose). Micah dug into Eva's closet and found some shoes he liked:

note the "earring" and the "clown nose"

Eva tried on some running shoes that are still too big and then decided she wanted to be a superhero. When Andrew came home I was getting Micah into his jammies. When I set him loose to greet his Dad he was nudie-poodie except for his fancy shoes. That's some kinda welcome home!

NRG

I feel much better! Lots more energy today than last week. And Micah was up at 5 this morning. Whoohoo! I'll chalk it up to sugar withdrawal, then.

I'm expecting an enjoyable and relaxing week. Gymnastics is cancelled so our only commitment is Bible Study tomorrow morning. No rushing to make supper this week! I'm excited about that. And the very best thing about this week? Andrew has Thursday and Friday off!! SO looking forward to some awesome family time.

Eva Bowling

Eva's first time bowling. As one of the other moms put it: "Eva has bowling fever".

Medal Ceremony

Eva receiving her first place medal

An Exciting Saturday

This morning Eva had a gymnastics "fun competition". It was awesome. Here's a video of her doing her thing (the funny noises are from Micah who wanted to be held). She did great! She is gaining such confidence lately!


Eva doing her thing

After that she had a birthday party for our neighbor and friend Corrina, who turns 6 today. She loved the bowling. And while she has gained lots of social confidence, she wasn't particularly social. I am sure that will come!

That Last Post

That last post was actually written by Andrew (you may have realized it from the writing style). He was logged in as me by accident.

Gymfantastics

There is nothing better than watching your daughter perform on the big stage. She was tumbling, balancing, cartwheeling and smiling. She scored 9 out of 10. I was yelling at the judges because she should have received at least a 9.5. I blame it on the Russian judge. Everyone received a first place medal which was cool. They all got to go on the podium and a man put the medal around their neck...Very funny.

Now that I'm not playing competitive sport I hope I don't live vicariously through my kids. But I gotta tell ya, I was all jacked up watching her compete. I even was coaching her this afternoon on the trampoline. It will be fun to see both Micah and Eva competing in the future. I hope I never miss a game or competition.

A Winner

I'm not a big fan of ground beef. However, I make chicken entirely too much and I am always looking to expand my cooking horizons. So I mixed it up by purchasing some ground beef. Last time I made meatloaf it was a disaster. I wasn't ready to go there again yet. I considered hamburgers, but that would mean eating them with sugar-laden white buns, and ketchup of course. So I decided to go for meatballs. I sidled up to my trusty laptop and Googled "meatballs recipe kids" hoping to hit on one that would be enjoyed by all members of the family. Bingo! Italian-American Meatballs and Marinara Sauce from The Food Network came up. I went for it!

It was a winner! And there was enough to feed a family of 8, I think. We will enjoy it again later this weekend.

Today's Doctor Visit

A look at Micah's limp

Today's doctor visit went really well! I liked him a lot. The kids liked him a lot. I felt like he listened to me. I didn't feel rushed.

He examined Micah's leg (pants stayed on. No need to advocate today). He noticed the bruise and slight swelling on his shin, which I think may have come up only a couple of days ago but I am not positive isn't a result of his fall Sunday morning. Micah lay on the examining table quite relaxed as the doctor moved his various joints and poked and prodded for signs of pain. His diagnosis was that the shin was sore enough that Micah is compensating and therefore limping. He suggested anti-inflammatories. When I asked if we could do without the anti-inflammatories he was perfectly ok with that (which I liked a lot). Said that the observation period would be longer though. If Micah is still limping in 2 weeks then we will pursue further testing.

I asked whether it is possible it might be a fracture. He said that fractures are very painful. Since Micah is not showing signs of severe pain we can rule that out. He said also that most other disorders and deformities would have shown up from birth or at least since he started walking.

So I came away satisfied.

I also asked about fluoride. I was concerned that the kids might not be getting enough fluoride. They only drink bottled water and I'm not sure that it contains the stuff. I have been letting them swallow their children's toothpaste, which we apply in very small amounts. He said that it is ok but to limit that to one time per day. He also told me something very interesting. A Brita filter is all we need to drink our tap water. Who knew?! I will look into one of those Brita filters that you put right onto the end of the tap. Cool!

The Sugar Experiment Concluded

The Sugar Experiment is officially over in the sense that I am not quite so strict about avoiding every single source of refined sugar. However it lives on in what I hope is permanent change to my eating habits and attitudes. And hopefully those of my family as well! I am even less inclined to eat at fast food restaurants. I'm reading labels more than ever and will continue to actively search for alternatives and substitutes for refined sugar in my recipes and snacks. Yesterday I made the most delicious whole wheat pancakes yet, containing only a little bit of sugar, two mashed bananas, and frozen blueberries. We didn't even need syrup to enjoy them!

What it comes down to for me is the realization that refined sugar is not just nutrition-neutral. It is anti-nutritional! When we consume it, it actually uses up our nutritional stores. It is not food. Dictionary.com defines food as any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.

Some final notes:

- I was very surprised to find that my energy level seems to have dropped rather than improved. I really thought I'd feel better. Maybe it is withdrawal?
- My teeth feel so smooth!!

Stats

I forgot to note Micah's current stats:

11.7kg = almost 26lbs
83cm = 33" tall (when Eva was 2 months older than Micah is now, she was 30" tall)

I just weighed and measured Eva and here are her current stats:

34lbs
38.5" tall

Welcome Michel!

Claudia had her baby girl at 8:17 this morning! Her name is Michel. She was 3.1kg (6lbs, 13oz) and 53cms (22") long. They are doing great! She was nursing well. Claudia described her birth as "good". Whoohooo!!! The hospital was a little sketchy feeling in the reception area and hallways but had a good, relaxed feel in the ward where she was. Praise God for answering our prayers!

Second Opinion

Tomorrow morning I'm taking Micah to see another pediatrician, recommended by a couple of moms I know. Hopefully I come out more satisfied and less angry!

Doctor Visit

Sunday morning Micah tripped and fell. He cried a little more than usual, but that was it. Since then his left foot has been turned out and he limps. This is the same limp that I saw twice while we were on NerdFiesta in January, and I linked it with extended riding in the sling on my back. I figured it extended his hip so much it got sore. Both times the limp disappeared overnight. Well, this limp has been here for three full days and shows no signs of disappearing.

Yesterday we took him to the doctor. The doctor pooh-poohed our concerns! He said that kids don't walk well until they're three, and their feet can point in weird directions and its all good. Of course I understand that babies don't walk like adults, and I might even let the foot pointing go. But my child is LIMPING. This is not normal, even for a baby who is learning to walk (and Micah has been walking for at least 6 months). He also told me that Micah's socks have been slipping down inside his shoes and that could have caused it. I know for a fact that Micah's socks don't slip down inside his shoes. They just don't. I told him so and he looked at me like I was a liar. Yes he has many years of experience and education and I respect that. But I have spent every day with Micah since he was born (and before!) so don't tell me what I do and don't know about my SON! I have found it so difficult to find a doctor who actually trusts what a parent or patient knows and observes and believes.

There was one more thing. I hope Micah won't be too mad I posted this! Some of you may want to stop reading now, as you may consider this Too Much Information. I hesitated to post this, but it was a pretty major incident to me. It made me so angry I was fuming long after we left the doctor's office. I was upset as much by my own silence as I was by the doctor's actions. During his examination of Micah, the doctor retracted Micah's foreskin. Well, attempted to. Up until that point Micah had been lying quietly. At that point he began crying and resisting. The doctor told me I should be retracting it like that every day in the bath. Inside I was screaming NO! but I couldn't bring myself to contradict him. I knew what I had read but I couldn't prove my information and sources at that moment and I felt so uncomfortable telling this authority figure to stop. Finally he did. I will not let another doctor do that to my son again no matter how uncomfortable I feel.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states: ...foreskin retraction should never be forced. Until the foreskin fully separates, do not try to pull it back. Forcing the foreskin to retract before it is ready can cause severe pain, bleeding, and tears in the skin.

At Least He Wasn't Crying...?

The last few days Micah has been awake at precisely 5:54am (less the 10 minutes my clock runs fast). I have been bringing him to bed at that time, where he nurses quietly until 6:20 when Andrew gets up and showers with him. Then I get a blissful 30 extra responsibility-free minutes of sleep. While the day starts a little earlier than I'd like, it's a sustainable arrangement.

This morning Micah was awake at 5:15. Not crying to get our attention, which is good. But singing. Loudly. Which we could probably tune out. But we don't expect Eva to tune it out, since she sleeps in a bed right next to him. (We recently redubbed her room the playroom and moved her to the bed in Micah's room. We are reconsidering the wisdom of this decision). Andrew tried to convince him to go back to sleep without success and finally brought him into our room. There, the situation deteriorated. The loud singing was punctuated by loud cries as he railed against my strong suggestions that he lay down quietly. Eva let loose with an anguished, frustrated cry. Andrew went to attend to her. Again I was up long before I cared to be up. Ah well.

I remember wee me dashing into my parents' room in the mornings, raring to go. I remember my mom's groggy requests for more sleep and I remember that I didn't understand how she could possibly still be sleepy. And I also remember their admonishments to teen me that I was wasting my day by sleeping in to the noonday hours. And I know that soon enough I'll have the opportunity to sleep in again and I won't want it!

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday March 9 for Canada and the US. Here in Mexico it doesn't begin until April 6! Let the four weeks of confusion begin. Especially for those travelling or working between these countries.

Sugar Experiment Update

Oh, I am serious about this experiment. I passed on a delicious looking cake at the Circle of Friends meeting yesterday. And of course on the decadent chocolate cake, the brownies, and chocolate chip cookies (no exceptions this time, Mona).

Some observations about the effects of this experiment on my life:

- This diet is too extreme to be sustainable in the long term- unless I lock myself in the house or move to a community where everyone eats this way. Missing out on enjoying tasty food with others stinks! It is so socially satisfying to enjoy good food together with friends.

- It is extremely challenging to find packaged food, such as crackers or cereal, that is transfat free, low or void of sugar, and doesn't taste like birdfeed. Especially in Mexico where the selection is much more limited than north of the border.

- This challenge forces growth and that is good! It is interesting to try new recipes and to search for alternatives to staples in our diet.

- I am hungry! If I snack after supper, it's an apple and maybe some carrot sticks. I have been going to bed hungry and waking up ravenous! There is no more filler in my diet and so I'll need to figure out how to replace the junk calories with real calories. I've lost a pound or two and that's fine but I'm not doing this to lose weight but rather to improve the quality of my family's diet and therefore our health.

- I thought I might feel more energetic, but so far, no noticable change. The two dust storms this week (another one last night- right after the cleaning lady was here, gahhh) might have something to do with it. I'm sure the body has to work a little harder to process all the junk in the air. Andrew is suffering right now.

- I still have the occasional craving for sweets, but now it is just in my head, not in my body.

Adventures in Peanut Butter

Good peanut butter is hard to come by in this city. Not just good in taste, but also in ingredients. Everything sold here contains trans fats! And most of it is full of sugar as well. Now, I have tried 'natural' peanut butter which is just peanuts and maybe some oil, and I know it tastes great. So I Googled "homemade peanut butter recipe". Looked easy enough! Almost all of the recipes called for 2tbsp of honey or peanut oil per cup of roasted peanuts. Pop them in the blender or food processor and voila! Homemade peanut butter. Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Since I don't have peanut oil in the cupboard I used honey. We had some whole roasted peanuts in the cupboard so I shelled a cup's worth. Eva helped me put the ingredients in the blender and away we went. Either the authors of the recipes know something I don't, or I have a sub-standard blender. It took longer to mix than it did to shell the peanuts!! I ended up adding some olive oil, which made a negligible difference in blenderability. I finally called it done well ahead of the 'creamy' stage. Our peanut butter was kind of crumbly, very chunky, and not very spreadable, as you can see above. That said, the kids and I loved it!! They both ate more toast than I've seen them eat, and they wanted more.

Conclusion: I will try again, this time with the food processor. Also with shelled roasted peanuts. Hopefully these changes will increase the smoothness and speed factors.

Peaceful Day

Eva playing Little People while I make supper.

Yesterday was a very peaceful day with the kids! They tend to be quite demanding of my time and attention. It is usually an uphill battle to get dishes done or food cooked. But yesterday had a different feel. The intensity was turned down a notch. Micah was still busy (in fact, I found him on top of the kitchen counter taking coffee cups down from the cupboard- that was scary) and Eva still wanted me to look at her and help her with stuff, but it was different. I got a chance to play with the kids and give them attention, but also to do things around the house relatively uninterrupted. I'd like to credit reduced refined sugar intake, but I haven't changed the kids' diet as dramatically as my own (yet).

The view out my front door.

February and March are windy and therefore dusty months. Yesterday we had a prolonged dust storm. We could barely see the house across the way. My eyes burn from the dust in the air and Andrew has been sneezing like crazy. And so much for the clean van! This is one of the major reasons why I am so grateful to have domestic help. The house needs to be dusted at least once a week.

Further to Maple Syrup Mania: Scary Sugar

I have been doing some internet research about sugar. Now, I realize how important it is to confirm the credibility of resources when using the internet, and I can't tell you 100% that these are the best resources out there. However, I can tell you that I am seeing the same information over and over as I search, and that many of the statements are footnoted with references to journals and studies. Here are some of the things that I have read:

A list of "76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health" by Nancy Appleton, Ph. D is found on Dr. Joseph Mercola's website. The first six are:

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.

3. Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.

4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.

5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.

6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.

Healing Daily.com links cardiovascular disease and cancer to the increase in average sugar consumption in the U.S.:

In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! [one site I found quoted 175lbs per person per year] Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's.

We might not realize just how much refined sugar is contained in foods that are staples to many Canadian and American diets:

...highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce...

Vitality Magazine.com talks about what the term "refined sugar" means:

When raw sugar is refined, a lot of the minerals are lost, including 93% of the chromium, 98% of the zinc and magnesium. Even more minerals are lost when wheat is refined to make white flour, including 88% of the manganese, 87% of the chromium, 77% of the potassium and 60% of the calcium. Refined sugar and flour are also lacking in vitamins. A number of these lost vitamins and minerals are actually needed by the body to turn these foods into energy.

It also talks about the impact on our immune system:

Refined carbohydrates also inhibit the function of our immune system, which can decrease our resistance to opportunistic viruses such as colds and flu. Simple sugars increase our body’s production of adrenaline, putting our body into a state of “fight-or-flight.” This stress reaction can increase the production of cortisone, and cortisone again inhibits immune function.

... and on the proper functioning of our bodies' systems:

Since refined carbohydrates do not contain the vitamins and minerals needed to convert these foods into energy, our bodies must use their own stores in order to metabolize these carbohydrates. As our vitamin and mineral stores are depleted our bodies cannot perform certain other necessary functions as well as it should (such as the metabolism of fat, the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids to be removed from our bodies in our stools, or the burn-off of excess fat as heat or increased activity). As a result, our cholesterol levels rise, our metabolic rate slows down, fats are burned more slowly, and we have less energy, which makes us feel lethargic.

Is it possible to bake without refined sugar?

We can also make our treats more healthy by replacing white sugar with alternatives such as maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup or molasses. These are still sugars and thus can cause the rapid rise in blood glucose, so consume these items in moderation. They do contain more of the vitamins and minerals lacking from white sugar including calcium, magnesium, potassium and some B vitamins, which means our bodies do not have to rely on internal stores to metabolize them. To replace sugar with maple syrup or honey use 2/3 to 1 cup maple syrup or honey for every cup of sugar, and add 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup of maple syrup or honey. For brown rice syrup try replacing 1 cup of white sugar with 1 + 1/3 cups of brown rice syrup, and add 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup of syrup. For molasses use 1/3 cup molasses for every cup of sugar, and reduce liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of molasses. It may take some trial and error but many baked goods can be altered to include healthy ingredients.

On Friday the kids and I made "sugar free" cinnamon buns. I replaced the sugar with maple syrup. I wouldn't say they were fantastic, but they were good enough we finished them all handily! I think they were actually lacking in the cinnamon department, not in sweetness. Will confirm that theory later this week with a new batch.

Global Healing Center agrees with the above sources and contains a long article which, among other things, also links the consumption of refined sugars with reduced brain function:

Excessive sugar has a strong mal-effect on the functioning of the brain. The key to orderly brain function is glutamic acid, a vital compound found in many vegetables. The B vitamins play a major role in dividing glutamic acid into antagonistic-complementary compounds which produce a "proceed" or "control" response in the brain. B vitamins are also manufactured by symbiotic bacteria which live in our intestines. When refined sugar is taken daily, these bacteria wither and die, and our stock of B vitamins gets very low. Too much sugar makes one sleepy; our ability to calculate and remember is lost.

All this information scares me and scares my sweet tooth! My favorite treats are the sweet ones. Many of the sources I've found on the internet would call me an addict. One site I found even talked about the similarities between the chemical structure of refined sugar to that of cocaine. Wild.

Every evening I would be driven to the cupboard for my sweet treat, generally chocolate. Well, I have given up chocolate for Lent. That business of it taking three weeks to kick a habit really is accurate! I am finally not craving it so badly.

Experiment time. I will eliminate as many sources of refined sugar as possible from my diet for the next week. Then I will evaluate how I feel. It's hard! It is tough enough to find ingredients as close to their natural state as possible to use in the controlled environment of our kitchen. Trying to stick to this when we are on the move and in social situations- even more difficult. But I will give it a try, and report back at the end of the week.

Weekend Update

Had a good weekend! Saturday morning we walked up to "The Wink" for some gorditas.




Mmmm, just as yummy as ever!

Then we walked to the park. The kids had a blast!

Andrew and Eva rented Toy Story 2. At least as big a hit as Toy Story 1. We have watched it quite a few times. I'm impressed with Eva's ability to watch an entire feature length film. Micah will actually sit and watch for quite a while as well.