21 days without sugar

^^ clockwise: cottage cheese and applesuace + salad in a jar, cauliflower crust pizza, basil cream artichoke baked chicken + asparagus, "apple muffins"-grain free, sweet potato and chicken burrito bowl, tuna salad in a jar, baked spaghetti squash bake, egg muffins, spinach and artichoke stuffed chicken with asparagus.

I know your thinking this blog is about cakes, happy home endeavors and my adorable little boy... and it is, but it's also a about our day to day life as well. So hear me out on this one.

Jason and I have been feeling so tired, sluggish and unhappy with the way our bodies just don't seem to get us through the day very easily. Hopped up on caffeine and sugar, these were our coping mechanisms to working long shifts, staying up too late, running a small business, renovating our house and caring for our son. We both decided things really needed to change, so we decided to cut out sugar for 21 days. We based it loosely off of the 21 day sugar detox. We did eat dairy and some beans, however. Those just felt like sacrifices we couldn't make. Other than that we didn't eat any sugar ( other than what was in our fruit of the day) or carbs. Spaghetti squash, cauliflower and sweet potatoes became my new best friends!

Let's just say the first couple of days were hard. We both had major headaches, irritability and some mild hunger. After 4-5 days, eating our whole foods became routine. It's not like we haven't eaten fairly healthy in our lives and have a taste for whole foods, we do, we just got off course these last few years. Our biggest obstacles to overcome were soda, feeling like I needed something sweet and mindless snacking. I packed breakfast and lunch for each of us each night before bed , so we didn't have to think about what to eat in the morning. We enjoyed a lot of new salad creations and dinners, thanks to some fabulous recipes found on instagram from @wholesome_goodness  @lesleywgraham @jennaskitchen @marcicooks @eating_whole 

We finished up last week and we both feel good. Really good!  So good that we think we are going to try and keep up this eating lifestyle, with the occasional sweet treat ( and taste-testing new recipes of course! I am a baker after all) We have energy again, so much so that I actually look forward to working out! We lost some weight and have a better idea of what our bodies need on a daily basis, instead of just shoveling in whatever we feel like and paying for it later.

So, that what's been going on around here this last month. Just thought I'd share, to inspire you if you are in a rut, like we were, crazy busy and overwhelmed. If you take just a little extra time per day and planning per week to make thoughtful healthy meals, you really can see and feel a difference in your health ( body + mind) in a short amount of time.