Sugar-free Lent: Day one

Sugar-Free Lent: Day One

So it is Ash-Wednesday. I can remember when I was a child  my mother used to tell me about the people kneeling on the steps of the Cathedral in Mainz begging for forgiveness of their sins from passers by.

And of course, some children went to school 2 hours later because they went to church first thing in the morning to get their ashen cross on the forehead.

So it is a time of sacrifice and suffering, the 40 days before Easter.

This year I'm going to sacrifice something as well, and I'm sure I will suffer. I'm giving up SUGAR.

I know I'm eating too much SUGAR and I'm quite sure a lot of you do as well. I always wanted to stop eating sugar or make it something special for special occasions but I failed miserably. The thought of NEVER having ANY cake or dessert anymore made my heart sink because I love it. So just giving it up for a restricted time doesn't sound too bad.

And NO, I wasn't pigging out on cream cakes yesterday, they are still in the fridges in the shops even though it was already tough not to say good-bye with just one vanilla slice. I had my pancakes, home made and without sugar, but a bit of left-over brandy butter from Christmas. So the suffering started already and not only because that vanilla slice stayed uneaten.

My husband gave me a hard time about spelling "Lent" wrong even though he explained it at length to me. That might have been the problem. I work on short and clear explanations, particularly when it comes to spelling. I'm rubbish at spelling.

I had to think about the rules as well because SUGAR comes in many forms and disguises. So I will have no artificial sweeteners, no alternative sweeteners like stevia, maple-, date- or agarve syrup and no dried fruits like dates, prunes, figs or even raisins.  Yeah, oh, and no sweets, chocolates, cake or desserts of course.

I will have fresh fruit and bananas which are quite sweet. And that for 40 days.

THIS IS DAY ONE

Photograph by Roger Giraud-Saunders