I never give up anything for Lent because I’m no good at giving things up. Mind you, I say that and yet I remember that I spent about 6 months ‘giving up’ certain foods when I tried to get my health better.
One of those things I gave up for a good long while was sugar. I got to a wonderful place where I reintroduced it and only ate tiny amounts and felt satisfied with only a quarter of a slice of cake or brownie.
The problem is it’s so easy to slip and life gets a bit much and that quarter of brownie becomes a half and then the whole thing, and then you need the whole thing the whole time.
So we (poor Mr Rigg has been dragged into this too) are going to attempt to give up sugar for Lent. Hopefully by the end of it we won’t be wanting so much and so often.
I say ‘attempt’ because I’m realistic. Not because I can’t give it up 100% – I have before, as mentioned above. But realistic that we’re approaching a time of change in our lives (more on that at a later date), and that I am a breastfeeding mummy to a 6 month old whilst juggling my own business, one dog, three rabbits, and who likes to cook ‘from scratch’ almost every day of the week.
Oh and did I mention in the middle of this ‘give up sugar’ experiment is baby T’s Christening complete with cake fuelled ‘after party’…
I will have blips. I will need that piece of Montezumas 70% chocolate some nights (maybe most…). So whilst Lent is usually about giving up something completely, we are more using it as a start date for an attempt at bettering our health.
So what are we cutting out? Processed sugar in all it’s forms – white, brown, light brown, Muscavdo (oh how I love it sprinkled on porridge!), icing sugar, etc. Both in foods we make and bought pre-made foods. All sweetners, not that they are part of our lives much.
We are also going to limit natural sweeteners, so in our case that means honey, maple syrup, and Rapadura.
I am openly admitting that I will be having the odd square of 70% chocolate and I’m anticipating I’ll slip up at some point. But the aim isn’t to beat ourselves up about it, instead it’s about focussing on reducing sugar in our diets and through removing it for a period of time hopefully adjusting our taste buds.
I will try my best to share snippets here to let you know if we’re surviving! If you fancy joining us and giving up processed sugar then it would be lovely to hear from you. Are you giving anything up for Lent?
Eat the Earth 
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March 12, 2014 at 1:35 am
vicky
I also gave up sugar for lent, although I have not given up honey, maple syrup, raisins and dates. I justify that they add good flavor, but don’t have the intense effect on the blood sugar. Lets see how I do, so far so good. I did have a rather sweet chinese food meal tonight, which may have been a poor choice, but mostly I am avoiding those syrupy sauces.
March 14, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Charlie
Great to hear from someone else who’s also giving up sugar for Lent. We’re not doing to bad, although it’s where it’s hidden in foods you don’t automatically think of it being (like a bag of crisps!) which is catching us out – but certainly making us more aware. Best of luck x