A friend of mine proposed we cut added sugar from our diets for the month of January, starting Monday, of course (what dummy would ruin a perfectly good final weekend of break?). I said I could probably do that. Another friend said, “Yes, I’ll do that, but chocolate chips don’t count because I put those in my oatmeal every morning.”
I think I can meet this challenge. It’s not like the village challenge a bunch of us took on years ago when we could only eat raw vegetables for the first week, then we were allowed to add nuts and fruit, and then grains, and so on. It was ridiculous. I spent several weeks perpetually feeling mildly to very hungry.
One day, when I was almost home from work on my bike, I stopped to say hi to a friend and told her about the challenge. As I was trying to disengage from my clip-in pedals, I fell over. After I stood up and assured her I was fine, I explained, “I’m just hungry.” She said I should eat something. She wasn’t wrong.
It turns out, the village was no match for the lure of the pub on a snowy evening. With the ground blanketed in a foot of snow, school called off for the next few days, and households of restless children chomping at the bit, a bunch of us headed for good cheer (aka: a beer or two). The Sports Pub had recently added a third floor where our kids could run around and not be a nuisance to patrons. One lone villager was incredulous and disappointed. “You’re going to throw away the whole challenge for a beer?” Yes, we were, we did, and we were happy about it.
This is not that. This is simply not eating sweets and drinking alcohol for a month. I think I can keep my strength up just fine with a savory array of homemade enchiladas, chili, seared seafood and whatever else looks good.
My Corner of the Village 