No Sugar, Thanks – Day 1

I am so fed up being fat. After the awful winter we’ve had, I feel like this most days, but yesterday it was worse than usual. I had spent a couple of days with my dad, who is a demon for sugar. He has broken his ankle and isn’t driving so I went to the shops for him. He rang me while I was there.
“I was wondering why you were taking so long,” he said.
“I’m stuck at the dessert aisle,” I said. “I can’t decide which ones to get you.”
“I love junk food,” he said, which was his way of saying, buy whatever you like. “And don’t forget the wine.”
My mother is away, paying her last respects to her beloved brother in their native Canada. So Dad has to fend for himself while she’s gone, despite the fractured ankle, and a torn cruciate ligament in his knee on top of that. That’s why I was there, cooking and so on, until other family members were able to call in and do the same. Dad and I had a great time, watching schlock horror (Tremors) and flashmobs on You Tube, arguing politics, drinking wine and G&Ts and of course sampling desserts from the supermarket.

Apple strudel. Macaroons. Coffee mousse. An almond croissant. In two days we managed to put away a lot of sweet things. The lethal combination of fat and sugar making things just too yummy. And just as I was about to hit the road for home, Dad offered me a last little treat from that dessert aisle, a tiramisù. When I got back to Galway I decided that was that. I would give up sugar for 30 days. I looked up “weight loss sugar-fee” or something online, and I figure that I might lose 3kg in as many months by avoiding sugar. I can, by all accounts, expect clearer skin, more energy and an end to sugar cravings.

I’ve tried giving up sugar before and caved in fast, so this time I am going to try something different: I’m going to sketch the things that I prepare for myself that may normally have contained sugar. Not everything mind, just things that look nice. I hope you travel at least part of the way with me as I share my effort on my blog. I know that I sketch a million times more than I ever did before I started posting my work online, and I’m hoping the same will happen with sketching healthy food…

So far today, so good. No sugar for me, thanks!

Spicy Sugar-Free Breakfast with Chickpeas

Into a hot frying pan splash some olive oil, then add about a third of a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas. Slice a vine-ripened tomato and add. Crack an egg or two into the pan and turn the heat right down. Finely chop a clove of garlic and a hot green chili and pummel them in a pestle and mortar with a bit of oil and some salt. Add to the frying pan, stir it around a bit and when the eggs are done to your liking – serve!