Day 30

THOUGHTS-

HAPPY ONE MONTH TO ME!!!!!

I did it. I made it to a month on the earth diet and still going strong. I'm finding new ways to make things. New recipes and even new foods to try. Working in a health shop is the best I am discovering all kinds of things. Recently I have started having coffee but have never been much of a coffee drinker. I used to live on like 2 mothers or red bulls every day and have now had a bout 4 coffees in an entire month so my caffeine intake is way down and is just the naturally occuring caffeine in the beans that are grown in the earth.

I made a decision today to buy some stevia extract. I miss sugar. But I know that sugar is so processed and goes through alot before it is at the point that we see it in the shopping centres. Also I recently found out that raw sugar is actually more proccessed than white. Raw sugar is actually just white sugar with some molasses added back in for the colour.

Wiki info on stevia-

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.
With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.
The availability of stevia varies from country to country. In a few countries, it has been available as a sweetener for decades or centuries; for example, stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan where it has been available for decades. In some countries, stevia is restricted or banned. In other countries, health concerns and political controversies have limited its availability; for example, the United States banned stevia in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement, but in 2008 approved rebaudioside-A extract as a food additive. Over the years, the number of countries in which stevia is available as a sweetener has been increasing.

It's amazing you only use the smallest amount and it makes everything so sweet. It's low in calories and doesn't have all the chemical additives that artificial sweeteners have.

CHALLENGES- Being at a party where there was free beer, wine and soft drink.

TRIUMPHS- Refraining from any and just having water with lime wedges.

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Buckwheat and soy milk pancakes cooked in coconut oil topped with agave syrup.

LUNCH- Cos lettuce, chickpeas, tofu cooked in tamari, shallot, red onion, red capsicum, asparagus, sunflower seeds, pepitas and parsley.

SNACK- Tamari nut and seed mix cooked in olive oil.

Edamame and goji blend.

3 pea pods

6 blueberries

Soy latte- organic fair trade coffee beans, home made soy milk and stevia

Soy mocha- As above with added ground cacao beans.

DINNER- 1 corn cob, 1 tofu cutlet (Blue lotus)

3 waters with lime wedges.

LATE SNACK- Home made tofu cooked in tamari and olive oil.

EXCERCISE- Lots of walking and a bit of dancing at my friends 21st.