No HFCS: Day 12

Okay so I haven’t updated you all on my quest to be free of High Fructose Corn Syrup in a while, so here I am to give a state of the union as it were.  It has been 12 days and I have to admit that I have cheated a couple times (way less than I thought I would, to be honest).  My biggest vice is Ginger Ale and I have such a whiny baby for a stomach that I just need to drink some sometimes.  Other than that, I have been 100% strict with this whole HFCS thing.

Now for the weird stuff.  Starting at around day 5 and continuing up until probably day 10 (and a little yesterday as well), I have had a series of migraines like no others I have ever experienced.  Apparently, I am in the middle of a migraine cluster; migraines are very predictable when they come in a cluster and they generally begin at the same time every day and that is exactly what I have been experiencing.  Now, I can’t say for certain whether or not this migraine cluster is related to giving up HFCS, but I will say that I find the timing and the severity of these migraines to be extremely suspicious.  In addition to that, my stomach was feeling pretty weird for the same amount of time as well.  The Man and my mama suggested that I might actually be detoxing from the high fructose corn syrup, which is seeming more and more likely to me considering that as I get farther into this little experiment, the better I feel.

Now for the part that I was the most curious about: weight loss.  In 12 days, I have lost 2 pounds.  I made no other changes to my diet or exercise other than cutting out HFCS, so I can only assume that the change there was from that.  Yay for my pants fitting better!!

Also, if you’re thinking about doing this yourself, the only advice I can give you so far is read labels like a crazy person.  Watch out for words like “maltodextrin (corn)” or “dextrose” which is another label given to sugar made from corn.  Now, I know I’ve seen commercials from the Corn Refiners Association and I’m sure you have too (if you haven’t, YouTube is a lovely thing and I’m sure you could find them there if you wanted to see them).  It’s not that I disagree with them saying that biochemically, table sugar and corn sugar are the same – because I don’t disagree with that.  Most of the research that I have read on the topic says the same thing.  My issue is that corn sugar in this country, nine times out of ten and probably more so, is made from genetically modified corn crops.  THAT is what I take issue with.  I do not take lightly to large agricultural companies biologically altering the food I eat and I would imagine that much of the disease in this country (cancer especially) comes from so many genetically modified foods being consumed.  As unfortunate as it is, eating fruits and vegetables doesn’t guarantee that you are eating healthy due to GMO’s and pesticides and all the other things that we cannot control when buying fresh produce from the grocery store.  It sounds like I’m being a typical germophobe when I say it, but you have no idea how many people have handled my food before it meets my mouth and that, to me, is disgusting.

Hence, the reason why I have a flat of seeds sprouting in my house right now – peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.  Not to mention the lettuce, kale, spinach, herbs, cucumbers, zucchini, and beans that I haven’t started yet.  I want as much control over the food that goes in my mouth as possible and the only way to be sure about it is to grow it myself.  (Disclaimer: this is not a new wrinkle.  I am a gardener and have been since I was little growing tomatoes on the side of my house with my daddy and my Poppy – I just feel WAY better about doing it now because of all of this nonsense that I have learned about the food I eat).

And as my grandmother says, I will get off my soap box now.

Has anybody else given up HFCS for Lent?  Or for any reason, for that matter?  What has your experience been?

-Sara

Homemade Pizza Bites - Pinterest recipe!

Oh my word are these delicious. Check out Lick the Bowl Good for the recipe, I can't take credit for it at all! And this was the easiest recipe ever in the history of life. Seriously idiot proof. Go check it out. I dare you not to love it.

Yum!

No HFCS: Day 2

Day 2 and I’m starting to realize that corn farmers or the Corn Refinery Association (or whatever it’s called) must be making money hand over fist because High Fructose Corn Syrup is legitimately in things that I never would have expected it to be in… like a jar of spaghetti sauce.  It occurred to me that tomatoes sometimes need sugar, even in homemade sauce, to balance out the acidity – especially in the months when tomatoes are out of season.  So when I decided to have ravioli and meatballs for dinner last night, I realized I had to check a jar of pasta sauce for High Fructose Corn Syrup.  So unnecessary.  Anyway, I found out that Francesca Rinaldi’s regular pasta sauce does not have HFCS, it has regular sugar in it so that’s good.  I ended up having ravioli and my mom’s meatballs for dinner and was good to go, HFCS-wise.

This morning, I again had to fight with the bread drawer to find a kind of bread that did not include HFCS.  I decided on Nature’s Pride 100% Natural Stone Ground Whole Wheat with Honey – that’s a mouthful, but it was yummy.  I ended up having a tuna sandwich because Hellman’s mayonnaise has no HFCS in it either.  All I’ve been drinking the past two days is water, which is definitely a switch for me because I am a soda drinker.  If there is soda in the house, especially ginger ale, I am absolutely drinking it.  Ginger ale is probably my favorite drink of all time, I just love it – and I have such a sensitive stomach most of the time that ginger ale always makes me feel better (it might just be in my head, but I really do believe it helps).  So not drinking soda is definitely a change for me.  I weighed myself yesterday (but I am SO not sharing that information for the entire internet to see) and I am going to continue to weigh myself once a week for the next 40 days to see if this HFCS experiment has any effect on my weight.

All in all, I am finding this experiment very interesting.  I’m beginning to realize that millions of Americans are eating HFCS every single day in massive quantities without even realizing it because it has been added to so many random foods and drinks that we consume every day.  We spend so much time trying to understand the rise in obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments in Americans… well, I’d be willing to bet a HUGE part of it is right here. 

And that’s not even beginning to go into the possibility that the corn that is being used to create HFCS might be genetically modified in some way, causing a whole slew of other problems.

This is crazy.

Love to you all,

Sara

No High Fructose Corn Syrup: Day 1

My grandmother believes that High Fructose Corn Syrup is poison.  Since she is one of the smartest, strongest people in my whole world, I believe her.  That’s why I am giving up HFCS for Lent this year.  It is my quest to leave HFCS behind for the next 40 days and when Lent is over, I will revisit this and tell you all how I am feeling (whether it be better, worse, or indifferent).

So this is my official day 1.  I’m not specifically a church-going person, so for all I know Lent may have started yesterday but I am beginning this quest today because that’s when I decided to do it haha.  And let me tell you, people – HFCS is EVERYWHERE.  I slept VERY late today and decided when I woke up that I wanted to have a sandwich and some salad for lunch (which was technically my breakfast because I am a lazy mess who slept until 12:30pm… don’t judge me).  I assumed bread would be a safe option because I’ve made bread from scratch before and I’ve never once used HFCS or anything like it, so I was safe right?

WRONG.

I had to look through FOUR different kinds of bread before I found one with no HFCS in it.  HOW is that possible?  Even the whole grain/whole wheat bread I had in the drawer had HFCS fairly close to the top of the ingredients list.  Luckily, I had no such trouble with the cold cuts (Boars Head, which I had previously Googled) or the salad dressing (Wish Bone Balsamic Vinaigrette) which specifically states on the bottle that they use sugar and not HFCS (and there are no sneaky “maltodextrin (corn)” lines in the list of ingredients either – that is one you definitely have to watch out for because it’s the same thing, just under a sneakier name). 

Who knew this would be so hard? 

And how do I eat at restaurants now?

This is going to be a doozy.  I’m going to try to post at least once every day from now until the end of Lent to keep everyone updated on this little journey.  Please leave any questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them!

-Sara

A sneak peek!

So I just finished frosting my cupcakes and they look amazing so I thought I'd share a little sneak peek!

Hope you love it!

I found it…

 

I found it.  The best chocolate cupcake recipe ever.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have found it.  It’s incredible and I’m not sure how I only ate one so far.

More info and some pictures of the decorated cupcakes soon (hopefully tomorrow)!

YAY! My boyfriend is going to be so impressed.

Cupcakes, anyone?

So I’ve been watching increasingly large amounts of Cupcake Wars on Food Network and I am constantly in awe of what these bakers are capable of.  The first thing I want to do is go to Food Network’s website and try out some of these winning Cupcake Wars recipes.  So I do, and I’m met with this disclaimer:

“This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.”

SERIOUSLY?!  Okay so first things first, you’d think that wouldn’t be a big deal right?  With any other kind of recipe, I would agree with you – all Food Network would need to do is scale down the recipe to be used for a smaller number of people.  However, if you know anything about baking or have ever watched the episode of Barefoot Contessa where she talks about baking huge amounts for the Barefoot Contessa store, you know that recipes for baking should stay the way they are.  Baking has such a specific science to it that recipes don’t double or triple well, nor do they reduce well.  Something about the reactions between the ingredients that makes baked goods so delicious turns wonky and disgusting.

Or something.

And on top of that, how in the world can Food Network justify listing recipes on their website that no one has tested?  I just think that’s nonsense, if you ask me.

Did I also mention that The Man has been watching all of these Cupcake Wars episodes with me?  And now wants me to hold my own Cupcake Wars competition in my kitchen?  Me versus myself?  Weirdo ingredient list, fancy decorations, and everything?  So what’s a pretend baker to do?  Find the best vanilla cupcake recipe in the world and the best chocolate cupcake recipe in the world and begin to use them as a base for all kinds of confectionary concoctions to try and blow The Man’s mind, of course!  So if you have a suggestion for a standard (but ridiculously delicious) vanilla or chocolate cupcake recipe that I could use as a base, I would be so appreciative!

The cupcakes I will make are so going to blow The Man’s mind.

On the menu for Sunday (The Man and my candlelit Valentine’s-ish dinner, since we didn’t really celebrate yesterday because he was working): Chicken Francese with rice and some kind of a vegetable that has yet to be determined, and Valentine’s cupcakes of one kind or another (hopefully decorated prettily so The Man won’t think I’m the worst baker ever). 

Stand by for updates on Sunday!

PS: Making knock off Olive Garden breadsticks to bring to a friend’s house for dinner Friday night – can’t remember if I’ve posted that recipe before, but if I haven’t then that will be up Saturday (and might even include some snazzy iPhone Hipstamatic pictures with my new Foodie lens… wow, I am such a dork)!

Love you to all – hope your Valentine’s Day was wonderful!

Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake–update!

Hey all!  Okay, so I stand by my frozen peppermint cheesecake.  It was delicious and honestly, I kinda think (with some tweaks to the recipe) it would be a fantastic ice cream base.  Anyway, here’s my update on this recipe: line the spring form pan with foil.  I saw that line in the recipe, but I never do that with a regular cheesecake, so I skipped it thinking that whoever wrote the recipe was writing for dummies and didn’t realize the extra step was unnecessary.  Silly Smucker’s. (Cue menacing music.) 

Cut to me slicing into the frozen peppermint cheesecake, scooping out a piece, and realizing that absolutely every little bit of crust was stuck to the bottom of the spring form.  Yes, folks.  My cheesecake was on my plate effectively bottomless.  That’s a problem. 

So don’t make the same mistake I made!  Take the time to line your pan with foil because otherwise, you’re never getting that crust off the bottom.  And it’s just too delicious to waste that way.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with love and joy and family!

xo