I can’t believe that it’s already Friday! I’m not complaining– but, man, did this week fly by! Why can’t all work weeks be like this?!
I woke up bright and early with my hubby this morning. It’s nice to have some quiet time to ourselves while the little Gremlin sleeps. Once he’s awake, it’s all about him! 
Breakfast
For breakfast this morning, I made us a big batch of oats with ground flaxseed meal, carob soy milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. I topped our bowls with trail mix and a scoop of Barney Butter.
I really wish that I had a banana to throw into the mix, but this was still a good batch of oatmeal.
Like usual, I enjoyed a glass of iced coffee with my breakfast.
Valentine’s Day 2010
Are you looking forward to Valentine’s Day? I definitely am! I love love! 
Tomorrow morning, Mal and I are exchanging our $10 (or less) gifts and then Beth and Corey arrive tomorrow night for a mini vacation in Boston. I’m psyched to show them around our city. We have some cool stuff on the agenda!
Last night, Mal and I reminisced about past Valentine’s Days. It was fun to read old blog posts about what we did to celebrate– another benefit of starting a blog!
- Valentine’s Day 2009: Mohegan Sun (Part One, Two, Three)
- Valentines’ Day 2008: Dinner at Fuji 1564 and Christmas Cookies
Q & A with Ashley Koff
I recently had the opportunity to ask Los Angeles-based nutritionist Ashley Koff a couple of questions– one about sugar (how much is too much?) and one about multivitamins and supplements. She replied to each of them in a personalized video segment. Check out the links below for Ashley’s responses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh01Tq1W_LE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YnHkLfN1Lw
Quickie Reminders
- You can vote for our Mod Squad cake everyday. Please vote!
- It’s Fashion Week at OpenSky! The Thomas Paul Pufferfish Wristlet in my shop is on sale for 25% off! Cool!
- Check out what’s happening on Trading Up Downtown!
Question of the Day
Speaking of sugar…
As some of you know, Ellen has recently embarked on a sugar cleanse. Have you ever tried to eliminate/reduce the amount of sugar in your diet? How did it go?
Personally, I think that I eat too much sugar, but I’m not sure that I would do well with a sugar cleanse. I love sweet treats too much!
{ 105 comments… read them below or add one }
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Good morning! I just saw your picture from the Cake Contest on Rachel Ray!
I think I saw a picture of you on the Rachael Ray show when she was talking to Kelly Ripa about the Electrolux Event!
I tried to give up sweets for lent last year & it was a giant fail! Somehow, I thought if God was involved I would be more likely to stick with it. What can I say? I’m weak!!!
I actually just finished Phase I of the South Beach Diet, which was basically a sugar cleanse. The first 5 days were really hard – I felt like crap! But after 2 weeks, I feel simply amazing! I have energy, and my sugar cravings are gone. Now, I’m slowly adding fruit and complex carbs back into my diet, but will continue to severely limit refined sugars. The best part – I love 7.6 pounds in two weeks!
I could NEVER do a sugar cleanse….I could maybe cut back but never take it out completely. Honestly, I’d rather be happy and a tad unhealthy, than unhappy and very healthy!
I just saw the picture on Rachael Rayt, too!
Cutting out sugar would be a miserable life for me. No thanks.
I believe in everything in moderation!
i’ve eliminated white flour before… but not sugar. i <3 it too much!
I’m sure I eat too much sugar – but guess it’s just an occupational hazard of deciding one’s blog is going to be half about reviewing chocolate
I’m not really too keen on the idea of doing “cleanses” – I think people can get a bit restrictive and negatively affected by designating something as a “never” food.
I eat a lot of sugar but don’t think I would ever avoid it, I just try to stray away from overly processed/refined sugar as much as I can.
I can’t really eat sugar with my IBS because I get massive pains when I do. The sugar cleanse I did when I first found out the sugar was causing the pains was hard. All I wanted was sugar. But now I can have a tiny bit in moderation without the pains or cravings. If I go overboard I’m back to square one.
I buy vanilla stevia and plain greek yogurt to cut down on the sugar there. Beyond that, I just keep it in moderation and all natural. It’s surprising how tasty a little raw and unrefined sugar can make things!
stevia and agave nectar are my sweeteners of choice, both work well in most things… I used to put sugar in my coffee but I cut that habit out! Great post, very informative!
i don’t know if i could do a sugar cleanse either, but mainly because I don’t do well with restricting myself…it makes me want it even more! i do try to use stevia or agave nectar more than anything else sugary, but sometimes only the real thing will do
I went cold turkey on processed/added sugars last month when I learned in class that one teaspoon of sugar suppresses your immune system for 2-6 hours. Gross! Every time I thought about sugar, I just tried to remember how baaad it is for you. And then I’d reach for more natural sugar, like fruit. I’ve had probably like 4 or 5 desserts in the past 6 weeks and my cravings have nearly disappeared! I feel soo good not to be “controlled” by sugar anymore.
I’ve actively been cutting back on my sugar intake for almost 4 weeks now! I really try to eat foods that have very little added sugar anyway, except for fruits which are naturally higher in sugar, but I do have a bad penchant for brownies, cookies, and other baked goods. After having way too many over the holidays I have only had two small cookies in almost a month. I do think I feel better and I don’t really crave it like I thought I would!
You do eat a lot of sugar it seems.
I don’t eat any foods with added sugar except for a half ounce of dark chocolate every day and a special treat (coookie, ice cream, brownie etc) once a week.
I did a 3 week “detox” in January where I eliminated all added and artificial sugars. I felt really great and had so much more energy! No sugar coma! But as soon as it was over, I got back into my chocolate and cookies habit.
okay, just wanted to add that I have two adorable fawn pugs ( one is 1.5 years old and the other is 3.5) they are the best and my husband and I miss them each time we leave the house. They stare at us through the window as we drive off.
I love your blog by the way and I’ve tried to have a sugar detox…very hard for me. I think you have a good balance.
A picture of you and your cake team was on Rachel Ray today
Kelly Ripa is a guest on Rachael Ray today and she showed a picture of you and your group this morning!!
I also think I could cut down on my added sugar and it wouldn’t kill me
Tina, whenever I go to your blog, the page is all weird! The sidebars are at the top and you have to scroll to the bottom to see the post. Is this just me?
I have a lot of sugar too. I always wondered if I eat too much “fruit.” When I try to get away from the added sugars like in baked goodies, I replace it using fruit. I figured fruit is a better option but maybe I eat to much of it! I always feel like I need something sweet after a meal and that is something I’m trying to stop doing!
I feel so much better without any added sugars in my diet- BUT, it’s hard- the stuff is like crack- and when you get a tiny hit- you just want more- thanks for the great links and great information!
I went on a sugar free (and fruit free) diet in high school and lost a good bit of weight. However, I couldn’t imagine life without a sweet thing here and there. Thank goodness i’ve learned moderation
I don’t typically try to avoid sugar because it’s one of my purest joys. I eat well almost all of the time and have dessert every single day. Life without it would be sad for me.
I am not too worried about sugar-maybe i should be?
I do not add it to anything and try to bake with agave.
Have a great weekend!
Cutting back on sugar is a good thing but I find, as a nutrition manager, that people just tend to replace it with “fake” sugar…like Splenda, Sweet n Low, etc…and that is not the answer. My reccomendation is use the real thing but in MODERATION. I also find that some better options that white sugar are brown sugar, honey and agave nectar.
About a year ago I decided to go two weeks with no sugar. It was hard, but I was glad I did it. Since then I have one or two treats a week. I don’t feel deprived, and they feel more like treats now that I’m not having one every day.
I definitely need to cut out some sugar – I did very well cutting it out during the summer, but recently I’ve been eating too much of it again.
I wanted to say that I saw a picture of you on Rachel Ray this morning! Kelly Ripa was on talking about her Cake-off and there you were in one of the shots! I was excited – “hey I read her blog!”
Anyway, thank you for always inspiring me to try and eat healthfully!
I’ve cut down on sugar A LOT this last year! I used to be a huge candy fan – gummi bears were my favorite! Then, I started to realize how terrible sugar is for us. I began to see gummi bears as just empty calories. I still LOVE sweet treats but they’ve changed. Now, I heat up an apple with a bit of syrup or agave nector and add some granola. Pure heaven… Plus, I don’t crave the sweet stuff as much now. It gets easier and easier…
yeah i definitely prefer sweet to savory and probably consume too much sugar!! i doubt very much i could do a sugar cleanse
i dont eat hardly any sugar to be honest; its usually only on special occasions…but i wonder if this sugar cleanse includes not eating foods that TURN TO SUGAR in your body??
We don’t really celebrate Valentines Day but we are this year! So pumped!
I eliminated sugar and sweets from my diet for a year. It was tough the first month,but I did it. I had a lot of energy. the pitfall came after allowing myself to taste alittle dessert. Huge mistake, now I find it more difficult to totally cut it out. The key is if it is going well don’t have not even a taste of sugar. I still don’t eat a lot of sugar but every now and then I will have a treat.
Hey Tina! I just wanted to let you know that a picture from the Kelly Ripa Cake off of you and Sabrina was on the Rachael Ray show this morning! Kelly Ripa was a guest and she was talking about the event and a picture popped up of you both! I thought you should know since that’s pretty cool! Happy Valentines Day!
Congrats on getting your pic on the Rachael Ray show! So cool! I tried cutting down on my carb intake a few months ago and that included sugar. It wasn’t too bad, but once I went back to it, I craved it more. Now it’s leveled out a bit. I think it’s good to have sugar every once in awhile – if we cut out sweets, then are we cutting out having anything ‘sweet’ in our life, too?
That’s super exciting about the Rachel Ray show! IT’s one of my favorite! i’ll be looking for it!!
My box from the Valentines Scavenger Hunt came (even with 3 feet of snow the post office is still trucking it here)! Thanks so much for all the goodies! It was a fun box to open on a snowed in day!
I have Williams Sonoma sugar cookie mix that my husband bought be for Christmas, so that is on the agenda this weekend. I made it once before, but had a huge fail with rolling them out (I think it was because I used Promise instead of real butter).
While I would love to cut down on sugar, I am training for a marathon, so I’m giving my body what it craves.
I have such a sweet tooth! I try to limit myself on sweets but it never seems to last! So I just try to balance and make sure I eat lots of healthy stuff too…the whole “adding in the good” rather than “eliminating the bad” mentality. I don’t know how well that’s working out for me though (to quote Dr. Phil).
I’m definitely a sweets girl, but I’m learning moderation. Instead of having something every day, I’m learning to have it once in a while so that it seems more special, rather than a regular occurrence. I try to have natural sugars throughout the day … like, in fruit … that helps, but sometimes I just get a craving that I have to listen to!
K
I have a HUGE sweet tooth and am struggling with my goal of eating more veggies and less sweets. It seems I just want them more! Yesterday I gobbled up quite a few muffins, cookies, and rolls. I am trying to incorporate more veggies into my snacks, have my treat be after dinner (because I can’t give up sweets completely), and find healthier baking alternatives.
I have found reducing sugar intake resulted in some weight loss for me. I don’t count calories or grams of fat, but if I pay attention to how many grams of sugar I am eating it helps my diet to be healthier. I should clarify, I only pay attention to sugar amounts in processed foods or desserts, not natural sugars like fruit. When I am being really good I try to keep the “extra” grams of sugar under 23g for the day. Have a wonderful day!
i’ve done sugar cleanses in the past. but with my eating disorder, not a good idea to cut anything out. i did notice my skin got uber clear, and i had lots of energy, but to be honest, i am pretty much the same now when i just have sugar in moderation.
Hey, just wanted to say that I’ve considered eliminating sugar from my diet because of my massive sweet tooth, but I find that when I try cutting it out, I crave it more. I find it much more sensible (and I am much happier!) when I just eat healthy the majority of the time and allow room for treats. Also, I just wanted to add that my landlady is a thin and superfit woman nearing 70, looks like shes in her 50s and she eats this way. My mom who is also almost 60 eats this way too (she HAS to have chocolate EVERY day) and she has always been teeny tiny and looks way younger than she is too. They both eat healthy the majority of the time but allow room for indulgences everyday.
Your picture was just on Rachael Ray!
Give up sugar? I think NOT! I really don’t think I could quit it without getting cranky and twitchy. On the other hand, I’m exercising all my willpower and staying MILES away from that yummy-looking cheesecake you’ve got up there in the next post. Holy Death By Dessert!
Hey tina!!!! i’m not sure if someone already told you, but this morning on the Rachael Ray show, Kelly Ripa was on and she talked about the cake off, and she even showed a picture of your team and you were on tv today!!!!
thought i would let you know! hope your having a good day!
so who’s this “Cory” guy you’re talking about?………;)
When I was in my holistic/natural culinary program, I did a sugar/caffeine/alcohol cleanse and cut them out completely for a months. It took only 10 days and my sweet tooth and caffeine cravings were gone (I never crave alcohol, so that was easy to quit). Now I eat little to no refined sugar and don’t really have a sweet tooth anymore, it’s nice to not have those kind of cravings. Right now I am doing no coffee/sweets during the week and enjoying moderately on the weekend. It’s amazing how good it makes you feel.
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