Connecticut Green Living

The following article by the author originally appeared on Examiner.com June 10, 2016 I want to cry right now - probably for no reason. I am aware, though, that this has as much to do with the sugar making its way from my bloodstream as it does a link to anything in particular (missing my family, my mentee's upcoming high school graduation, how much I miss Ho Hos...) So here's where I stand. I'd give myself a solid A- for how well I'm doing off sugar. I've switched from adding cream and Splenda or dried creamer and sugar to my coffee to going with some vanilla extract and/or cinnamon as needed. Sometimes I'll just drink it black. I've bought a new kind of meusli-ish cereal that doesn't have sugar; snacked on cashews; and rediscovered how much I love grapes. But there are slips: feeling the need to finish the cans of Pringles I'd bought prior to starting "Seven Days" , and then wondering if the balsamic vinegar-olive oil combo I was soak...

The following lightly edited article was originally published by the author on Examiner.com, June 8, 2016 Quitting smoking is a terribly difficult challenge. This writer tried in the eighties, only to resume the nasty habit in the mid-nineties. But eventually, it was mind over matter, and I quit in three days (smoking fewer and fewer cigs each day) in 2008. If only giving up sugar were that easy! Here in the US, refined sugar is in everything from spaghetti sauce to "healthy" breakfast cereals and bars. Fruit juice is one of the biggest culprits, with more per average serving than in many candy bars. The only way to really avoid juice sugar is to juice the fruit (or vegetables) yourself. Nevertheless, I'm taking on what I've coined the "No Sugar for Seven Days Challenge" and implore my readers to follow suit. Whether our motivation is losing weight, setting a good example for our kids or, in my case, stopping constant cavities and other dental woes, ...