So, my plans of going Sugar-Free met with a good bit of questioning my motive. When I posted the challenge I got a few responses, and a lot of messages, and a lot of encouragement. Also, a good bit of reasoning and questioning my motives. I really am grateful, because a friend of mine tried to dissuade me from it because she thought it would be messing up my system. I feel really happy that she was concerned enough on my behalf to help me out. However, I have talked it out with a few people, and it should not be a problem, they all said, if I did not want it much.
SD I thank you from the bottom of my heart. When I took this challenge, I did know about the different schools of thought about sugar, and how its not just sugar. But my focus is actually not on weight loss. It is more on sugar cravings, and the best way for me to get rid of it is by going cold turkey. I think its an addiction, and I am trying to get rid of that addiction. Because I do not like getting addicted to something.
The first day was actually pretty good. I started off by eating a bit of rice (about 1/2 cup) with a generous serving of masoor dal, and pNeper torkari (raw papayas cooked with peas and tomatoes in a spicy gravy). In my plate, I also had one raw cucumber, chopped, and I squeezed a quarter of lemon on it, freshly cut.
After four hours, I was feeling hungry, so I made something called a chow-lette. This is a perennial favorite when leftover chow mien is in the fridge, and the quantity is so little that you know you will never be happy eating it (about 1/3rd of a cup).
To make this, start by beating one egg lightly with a couple of teaspoons of water, and seasoning it. I do not like adding pepper, so I add only salt.
Then, in a small nonstick pan (6-7 inches in diameter), arrange a very thin layer of store-bought or home-cooked chow mien. Make sure the pan is absolutely cold when you do this. In my house, I do not use any kind of grease on the pan, since the chow mien is greasy enough, and will be greasier once I put it on flame.
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| Pickled Chillies. They Rock My World. |
Once the arrangement is done to your liking, put it over simmering flame and forget about it for the next 8-10 minutes. What you’re aiming at is chow mien which is going to be crunchy on one side.
Then, at the point when the chow is pretty much fried to a lovely crispy bottom, I add a few pickled chillies on top of it. You can totally skip this, or add chopped chillies if you are a heat lover. The pickled chillies add a lovely tang to the recipe. Then, carefully pour the egg and spread it.
Let the egg cook till it is well done on one side. You can remove it at this point, if you like the slightly uncooked egg on one side and cooked egg on the other side omelette. However, I am not that easily pleased, so I flip it to cook both sides.
Before flipping, I season it lightly with pepper.
Afterwards, I serve it with homemade Dallay Chilli Sauce. Which is a fiery hot chilli sauce from the hills. I will post a recipe of it as soon as this batch finishes and I make a new one soon.
I was feeling pretty full afterwards, so decided to skip dinner. Well, best laid plans of mice and men, et al. Good news is, I did not crave sugar except for once – which was right after lunch. I decided to see whether it lasted beyond five minutes. If it did, I would have eaten something. However, it did not.
That ended day one.
