Hi everyone,
I hope everyone is feeling the Friday feeling. I am definitely suffering today - my body clock is so off still, leading me to be very behind today, I am feeling very unwell - I know this is what I have to go through for my body to heal but at the moment I am guilty of just wanting a bit of a break, a bit of an easy ride. I seemed to keep being faced with hurdles - have I done something wrong? I am trying to turn everything into good vibes and positive vibes, but when you are feeling under the weather, tired, you are trying to be positive it's tough.
Matthew and I are cooking Thai tonight - I have been looking forward to this all week but feeling so ill I was all for calling this little Thai party off - but no. I need this, I know we will have a laugh, I love Thai and I want to make a vid for you guys, as it's been a few days now. I won't be revealing all of the recipe as that will be in my new book, but both Matthew and I are missing the Thai dishes we enjoyed on our trip. Plus after being together for 20 days, I haven't seen him for 4 days - it's weird.
So watch out for the Friday Thai Fun - follow on Snapchat @sophwardy and hopefully I'll get a YouTube vid up for you guys our home cooking too.
Don't worry I will ensure I am buzzing, I will eat a banana right before and be set for you guys.
We also have our American Independent's Day party at the holiday park tomorrow so I need to feel better for that so that we can eat, dance, have fun and spread good vibes as it WILL be manic day. Again follow Snapchat for updates and I will try and vlog throughout for YouTube! Okay so lets get down to business -
today I came across a post about sugar by Holland and Barrett when ordering my food from them. Of course I already use plant-based sugars, Trivia and Stevia because they keep your teeth healthy which help when I am so ill, (acid reflex- I don't want rotting teeth) but also refined sugar is processed with artificial colours, e-numbers and animal products so is like eating Chinese or having oil to me - it upsets my stomach.
Basically though Holland and Barrett were supporting the intake of Trivia and Stevia - these plant-based sugars get a lot of stick in the media as being a 'low calorie fad' however, yes they are low calorie, but they have NO artificial products within them, because the sweetness comes from pure plants. I didn't know this but due to this as Holland and Barrett brought to my attention that these products are also good for our bodies because they don't give us 'sugar rushes' they don't 'increase our blood pressure then make it decrease dramatically causing that hyper then crash and burn cycle. It gives you the sweetness but allows your body to keep and stay constant. This of course helps keep mood constant and prevent moodiness, plus e-numbers some of them are VERY addictive, fast food chains use them so you keep going back for more, so you never feel fully satisfied, your body is tricked, because when you are crashing you feel tired and think 'Oh I am hungry I need sugar or I need a sugary drink I feel tired and light-headed. ' When really your body is in the process of flushing out the toxins and your body is returning to normal. One big problem is that we all crave that buzz and always feel we need more energy because of our fast pace lives. Though we have to realise and educate ourselves on getting this well needed energy the correct way as I am not saying we don't need it - we do!! Though we are surrounded by processed products that sell us the message that they can quickly cause our tiredness and give us the energy we NEED. For a time you will feel like you have more energy, but it is like a drug - the come down isn't pleasant and then you crave more because you hate the come down and you want that energy again, sending your body's blood pressure and hormones to go hay-wire.
We need to look into cutting out these and getting natural energy to avoid the crashes and feel better through out the whole day. America - sorry but you are the WORST for selling this crash and burn message being the way forward. Whenever we stopped at a gas station or went into a shop all over there are 'energy shots', 'energy drinks' 'protein bars' 'sweets' and much more the shops were covered, all processed, all full of sugar that is process, salt that will dehydrate you, e-numbers that are toxic and addictive and protein that won't digest properly and will sit in your gut for days. Is there anything good or beneficial about that? No.
Now if you eat right you won't crave these processed products and will be able to skip them when the are eyeing you up at the cashier. If you make sure you have eaten enough carbs with good glucose in that is slow processing keeping you energized for longer you won't go seeking that energy rush.
So get eating your fruits and veggies. Your healthy carbs - potatoes, rice etc. Just see the difference.
Just try Steiva or Trivia for a week and log how you feel, long your energy levels and if you have any crashes. See how you go. Of course trying to cut out processed foods in the process otherwise you won't see results or any difference.
Holland and Barrett have an amazing Stevia selection - they have lots of different flavours of stevia drops which I love, because they are great for coffees, smoothies, sauces and Trivia is easy to find in your local supermarkets. So just have a think about that guys and maybe have a think about how you are feeling after you have that sugary soda, or energy drink. Do you crash and burn and need another 'sugar rush' two hours after that sugary cuppa you had to wake yourself up. Just have a think.
I know the change is tough - as restaurants,cafes, store etc know exactly what they are doing to get us wanting and buying more to get the buzz, ( a hot chocolate at Starbucks has 24 teaspoons of sugar in it- now if that's not going to send you bouncing off the walls I don't know what will and of course half the time the chemicals within the sugars can never be digested and used so are stored as fats by the body and the toxins set up house forever in our bodies. ) Just take a moment to think and realise the long term damage being done for 5 minutes of pleasure.
There was a quote on the wall of Bubba Gump's that I thought was perfect and a really good message - 'If I had known,I was going to live this long would have taken better care of myself.' So take care of your bodies, you have to live with them, you have to feel how you feel, you only get one life.
Thank you for reading and have a great Friday night and a fun weekend.
I will try and keep you up to date with food and adventures.
Love and Peace,
Get cooking.
xo