Sugar Sugar

I like sugar. A lot. I didn't realise how much it didn't like me though! You see, I (like much of the world) added a spoon of sugar to my tea and coffee without really thinking. I work from home most days and my mom and I probably have a minimum of 6 cups of tea or coffee a day... add a spoon of sugar to each cup and we're talking quite a lot of sugar every day - without thinking and without feeling like I was overloading in any way. After all, it's just one spoon of sugar in my tea, right?

A couple of months ago I stopped putting sugar in my hot drinks. I didn't really think about it and it turns out that I actually prefer the taste sans the sweet stuff! It wasn't for any specific reason - thank goodness it wasn't because I had early symptoms of diabetes, it was merely a flippant decision on the spot. 

The hard decision was to cut out super carbohydrate loaded drinks... I used to have a Grapetizer with meals out (we eat out a few times a week) until my dear man pointed out that there are enough carbs in 330ml to cover an entire meal's needs! Oh, dear... I will admit I miss Grapetizer terribly but given the facts, how could I possibly continue to drink them? This posed the problem of what can I have with a meal out? It will suffice to say that I have made friends with Rock Shandy's and sparkling water with lemon does the trick most of the time... I'm not a total kill-joy though. If I really feel like a sugary drink I'll have one but it's actually become easy to make the healthy choice :-)

The unintended consequences of cutting out sugar have been my waistline and energy levels... My friends know that I'm super sporty and I've never struggled with my weight in any way - I'm genetically predisposed to be skinny (this shouldn't be confused with healthy though!) but since skipping out on sugar I have noticed a MAJOR difference in my body shape: I have toned abs (without any extra training) and the cellulite I saw creeping into my bum has vanished (yes, it was there and it stressed me otu terribly but I'd made peace with it's existence) and all that for sacrificing a spoon of sugar in my tea and coffee! Best part was that i didn't even do it for that reason. Energy-wise I feel great: no mid afternoon slump and my mood is way more stable and I feel happier and less stressed. Again, this wasn't my reason for sutting out sugar - but it sure is a major benefit!

There are a few areas I feel I'm still sugar overloading: ready made foods, cakes and my weakness for sweets. In the beginning temptation isle (the queue area at Woolies) was pretty much impossible - all those yummy fruit gums and chocolates and nougat and jelly beans and yumminess... I was worse than a toddler (mainly because there was no mommy to say no and I was armed with my credit card!) and would start nibbling while I waited for my turn to pay. I'm pleased to say that the tempation is now limited to Lindt chocolates (chilli, pinch of sea salt and 60% dark) which I feel much better about adding to my basket because they get shared after dinner as a treat (I wouldn't dare to open one in the queue and thankfully I haven't felt the need!)

I managed to cut out the extra (high GI) carbs, so can you!

I know it's still winter, but.............................

Cape Town had a cold front last week (I know you're thinking "it's winter, of course you had a cold front" but we've had the mildest winter I can remember and most of it hasn't felt like winter at all...) which promted mom to light the coal stove in the kitchen. This is such a treat and all of our cooking and baking happens as it would have a hundred years ago with temperatures at the mercy of whoever takes responsibility for stoking the fire.


The house is divinely warm and we all spend most of our time crammed around the kitchen table. I still have to venture outside to feed the chickens and on one such morning the gardening bug bit. Hard. I dug the seed box out of the garage and finally put to use some of the toilet roll inners that I'd forced the family to collect for me for months! I only planted a small seed tray but it's got some basics that I can't wait to get into the veggie boxes once the threat of cold fronts has passed... the tray has pride of place next to the stove but gets moved around the kitchen during the day so as to catch as much sunlight through the skylight as possible.

Authentic Farm Experience

I'm not normally one for promoting stuff through my writing but it may just happen this time :) This is mainly because I had such a great experience that I felt I just had to share it!

Prompted by uploading photos from my camera (I have this nasty habit of forgetting to upload them as I have 6 massive memory card's which I swap in event by event...) I was reminded of an absolutely fabulous day we spent on a very special farm. Aunty Karen (coming from an Afrikaans family this just happens...) and Oom Michael have been family friends for many years - they used to live in Cape Town before they moved to Lelieblom Farm in Darling. Karen has an amazing sense of style and has translated this into a farm restaurant. We spent Father's day being spoilt rotten with the yummiest of plaas kos (potato and bacon soup with homemade bread for starters, roast goat meat with sweet potatoes, pumpkin fritters and veggies for mains and an amazing chocolate mousse and coffee for desert). The menu is decided based on what's fresh on the farm (yes, the meat is from Michael's goat herd) and in the village.

Lunch was a lazy affair - don't for a moment think you'll stop by for a quick meal! In the country there is no such thing... After lunch Michael decided to test my horse riding skills (he says I'm OK for a city girl!) and we were shown around the extensive property before being plied with yet another cup of coffee... The potbelly pigs get the lunch leftovers at the gate which was fun to watch and chickens free-range through the garden (they've been banned from the dining room!) The restaurant is open on a booking only system and Karen and her daughter Nicolette buy and cook accordingly. They're open every Sunday and are more than happy to open during the week for functions - the farm would make for an amazing small, exclusive wedding venue. All in all a fantastic day and a truly authentic farm experience. 



Check out Lelieblom Farm here or call Karen on 082 573 7736