Dark Chocolate Bliss on a Cold, Rainy Night

Last night Jeff and I had an ice cream run. We needed it because we had not left the house in two days. So, just before the store closed, we ran in, grabbed our ice cream and drove home in the wind and rain.

He grabbed his usual pint of Ben & Jerry's and I grabbed my favorite naturally sweetened ice cream line made by Luna and Larry's called Coconut Bliss. They make the most fantastic coconut ice cream I've ever had. I've written about them before, but my taste buds made me promise to write something again this morning.

I chose Dark Chocolate, which I have not had in a long time. It was the sweetest, most decadent surprise. The last pint of Coconut Bliss I finished off was Strawberry Lemon Love. The strawberry flavor was incredible and creamy, but the lemon was a little icy and tasted quite sour. Normally lemon is my leading lady, but I could do without this version. It just didn't seem to have the oomph that I've come to enjoy in this line of ice creams. I found myself diving for strawberry in an ocean of sour lemon.

The dark chocolate is either pure heaven on earth, or my palate has become so jaded and needy that my opinion does not count. Eating no white refined sugar or corn syrup has changed the tolerance of my taste buds quite severely. It's a good thing for me, but when it comes to being a good judge of sweetness and flavor, I'm not the one to ask. Anything with a drop of honey makes my taste buds happy and satisfied. It was only a year and a half ago that my taste buds would not shut up unless I got them drunk on huge amounts of sugar: cookies, donuts, candy, chocolate and cake to name a few of my old favorites. Although I've always been a fairly good judge of flavor, since last year when my palette adapted to smaller amounts of sweetness, I've had to acknowledge that a sugar-free tongue is not the right judge in a sugar-laden world.

It's been a dark and rainy spring here so far in the northwest. Day after day of cold gray skies, rainy outbursts and spittle. No sunshine. So, it was a special moment last night when I experienced joy from a delicious spoonful of dark chocolate coconut ice cream. Jeff agreed to stay up late to watch Casablanca for his first time which added to the thrill. My favorite movie....my favorite ice cream....I felt like a kid again. Isn't the psychology of desserts a strange and mysterious thing?

Dark Chocolate Coconut Bliss Ice Cream Ingredients: Organic Coconut Milk (Organic Coconut, Water, Guar Gum), Organic Agave Syrup, Organic Fair Trade Cocoa, Organic Fair Trade Vanilla Extract

Casablanca: Not only is this romantic drama set during World War II, it was filmed during World War II. One of the best films ever made. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)

My Naturally Sweet Pantry

Here is a small list of the naturally sweetened items I have been sipping and munching on lately. Hope the links help. You might have to ask the company where to find their product or if you can order it from them. Some of these have been hard for me to find, but worth it.

• graham crackers (So far, I've only been able to find these at Whole Paycheck. They are so fabulous dunked in my morning cup of coffee.): Midel
• moist, bite-sized, chewy cookies (These wonderful little bite-sized cookies make me really tired. They contain wheat flour. They can really satisfy the sweet tooth, though and are excellent substitutes for donut holes with your coffee): Fabe's
  
• chewy black licorice (Trader Joes has them cheapest): Panda
• large, filling, very sweet cookies (Very crumby, almost too sweet, but perfect in a sweet tooth emergency): Nana's
• grape juice (You will never go back to cheap grape juice after trying this.): R.W. Knudsen
• rich, creamy coconut ice cream (The chocolate mint variety has refined sugar in the chocolate flecks. Personally, I love the cherry almond and the dark chocolate): Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss
• crumbly, very tasty cookies (Most of these have evaporated cane juice as a sweetener. Too bad. The naturally sweetened cookies are the plain shortbread and the ginger cookies: Pamela's Products
• prunes-Get 'em anywhere, but don't eat more than 2 or 3 at a time. Trust me.
  
• local apples. I love to slice them up for a mid-day snack or make them part of a meal. I either chop them up in a salad, or cut big slices and eat them with exotic cheeses.
  
• bananas and almond butter (This makes a very healthy, filling breakfast, especially on sprouted wheat toast.)

If you think of any tasty, naturally sweetened treats, please pass them on! It's very helpful to have a variety of options in your kitchen at all times so you don't stray from your goals. When there is nothing healthy available, it is too tempting to give in to whatever you do have lying around your kitchen.

Late Night Munchies Syndrome

You've eaten dinner. You ate enough to satisfy your belly for the rest of the evening.

But...

All of a sudden....

You get the munchies! You are not even hungry!

Do you have the late night munchies syndrome?

Look here to find out!

You have eaten a complete meal for dinner (maybe you've even overeaten!):

1. Within a few hours or less you find yourself wandering through your kitchen.
2. You look for something to eat, but you're not hungry.
3. You look for something to eat because you're bored.
4. You look for something to eat to distract you from something else.
5. You look for something to eat to procrastinate.
6. You look for something to eat out of habit.
7. Your sweet tooth is talking. Hollering. Screaming!
8. You begin to think of alternatives to eating, because you're not hungry, but you know there is ______ (add your naughty goodie here, that you currently have in your kitchen).
   
9. You want something to eat, so you try to feel hungry, even though you're not.
10. You're with someone who gets the snacks out, or goes through a fast-food drive thru.
11. You're at a party and (see 2-7 above).
12. You're angry about something, so you snack-out, but you're not hungry.
13. You feel bad about yourself for some reason anyway. You might as well have a few moments of eating something that tastes really good.
    

Having the late night munchies syndrome does not mean that you are hungry. You might be hungry, but more often than not, the late night munchies syndrome is a very, very bad habit. If you were really hungry, you'd eat some healthful food, right? A banana, some peanut butter and celery, toast, or cottage cheese to name a few. Unfortunately, the late night munchies syndrome has developed over time, and from your habit of giving in to it from the beginning. When you don't give in to it, you feel empty like something is missing. You would rather have that sick-to-your-stomach feeling from eating half a bag of chips/crackers/cookies, than have that empty, needy feeling. I understand because I feel like the inventor of the late night munchies syndrome!


How to Overcome the Late Night Munchies Syndrome

1. Eat a healthy, well-balanced meal for dinner.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Find interesting things to do after dinner.
   
4. Don't sit around watching television every night. If you do, prepare healthy snacks ahead of time.
5. When you feel like you're going to give in to the munchies, call a friend or someone that you have been meaning to talk to.
6. Go for an evening walk. This is one way people stay healthy, active and young even into their 90's.
7. If you are on the computer in the evening after dinner, have healthy snacks ready to munch on, and water.
8. If you enjoy reading at night, keep water and healthy snacks handy.
9. Purge your kitchen of junk food. Only stock healthy items.
10. Make friends with your mean roommate if you have one, and give that person all your junk food. Let them get fat.
    
11. Stop procrastinating. Do what's on your list of things to do, and if it involves house cleaning, either crank up loud dance music, or if you have little sleeping ones, listen to headphones.
12. Make a new evening habit. If it's eating, have healthy foods ready to snack on. If it's being more active, invite your partner or a friend or your pet to join you in being active.
13. Write out a list of reasons why you have the Late Night Munchies Syndrome. Work from there.
14. Keep snacks handy at all times. In your bag, in your car, in your pocket. Then if you are around others who are eating junk, you can join them in eating, only you'll be eating healthy. Who knows how this will influence your friends. (It's okay if they tease you, it's actually their way of caring and/or telling you that they are proud of you without actually saying it.)
15. Bake something naturally sweetened and share it with others.
    
16. Revisit this post and send it on to anyone else who needs to read it

Benefits of Overcoming the Late Night Munchies Syndrome:

• You will feel better about yourself.
• You will identify an unhealthy pattern and begin a new, healthy one.
• You may lose weight.
• You will find that evening walks are much more fun than vegging out.
• You might start eating healthier dinners.
• You will wake up feeling fantastic!
• You'll stop feeling sorry for yourself.
• You might be more productive.
• Your kids will learn from your habits. What you do, more than what you say.
• You'll realize your sweet tooth can be overcome!
• If you can overcome this bad habit, you're more likely to overcome other bad habits.
  

How To Politely Pass on Dessert

I must be getting my inspiration for this post from all of you, my readers! I have received a lot of interesting questions, suggestions and comments from you, some concerning this very topic, which have inspired me to write about it.

I'll cut right to it--It feels rude to turn down dessert! It's especially tough to turn down if you are a guest for dinner and dessert was made for you. Yikes! Your host doesn't know that you have decided to give up sugar for a week, a month, or a year. What do you do?!?

The psychology of this is quite strange, and I experienced situations like this last year. First of all, you want to please your host and let them know that you are gracious for their time and effort in cooking for you.

It starts off like this: You are welcomed into their home and smell brownies cooking in the oven. Your heart sinks. You forgot to let them know about your no-sugar diet. You start immediately obsessing about what to do. You could tell them about your no-sugar diet, but you know how much they love to bake for you. You know that they will either feel bad secretly, or really let you have it! So, you consider eating dessert anyway. Just a tiny, little piece.

Then, (supposing that you have not said anything about your no-sugar diet) all through dinner you wonder what you should do about dessert. Maybe you should say you're full. But you know that your good friend, or mom, or grandmother, or whomever is your host will talk you into eating dessert anyway. You've already played the "I'm really full!" card, and it's never worked before. All through dinner you are putting a load of pressure on yourself to do the right thing.

There are only two right things:
1. Eat the dessert so you don't offend your host.
2. Be true to yourself and pass on dessert.

What do you do?

At this point, only you know what the right thing is to do. There are a plethora of variables that only you know about your host. Some hosts may not be offended at all if you pass on dessert. Other hosts may act all dramatic and horribly offended but then draw you into a pleasant conversation about your no-sugar diet asking all kinds of great questions. Still others may get pushy and start to get angry that you won't take any--because you've always eaten dessert before and they spent hours working on the Tiramisu!

The "guilt-trip" is my least favorite tactic that a host chooses to use. Little do they know that you are already feeling bad that you didn't disclose your diet ahead of time, and little do they know how difficult it is for you to stick to a diet/resolution! The host who uses the guilt trip most likely uses food as their way of showing you how much they love you. Rejecting their dessert is like rejecting them. This goes way back, generations ago. Grandma always had hot, gooey cinnamon rolls for me because she loved me. Mom always has warm cookies or a chocolate cake made from scratch because she loves me.

I'm not saying that baking for somebody because you love them is a bad thing, but if it's to make the baker feel better about themselves, despite what the eater wants, then it is selfish. Like I said, the psychology of this is strange, and I may be way off. However, I've had a lot of time to think about the meaning of desserts and baking for others, because I've found myself in similar, quite precarious situations! Downright uncomfortable! Fortunately, I declared at the very beginning of the year last year, that I was going sugar-free. Believe it or not though, I had people bug me about my decision all year long! For some reason, going sugar-free makes some people really defensive. Please be patient. Win someone over with your patience and being kind. This will make a bigger difference than a shouting match that you won't win.

How about preventing uncomfortable situations before they happen? I'll share some tactics that I have used, and others that I thought of after offending someone. I never gave in--and I do not regret my decisions.

How To Politely Pass on Dessert:

• Let your host know ahead of time that you are currently on a no-sugar diet. Ask if you can bring a "naturally sweetened" baked good for dessert, or some naturally sweetened ice cream. (Luna & Larry's--delicious coconut ice cream!)
  
• If you've forgotten to let your host know about your diet ahead of time, bring some naturally sweetened goodies anyway, and perhaps a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine, or flavored tea. Let your host know, at the appropriate time, that you forgot to inform him/her about your no-sugar diet, but that you have brought some naturally sweetened goodies/fruit and wine that you would enjoy sharing with everyone.
• Let's say that not only have you forgotten to inform your host ahead of time, but you have also not had the time to pick up goodies or fruit or wine. My advice to you is STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF ANYWAY! If you give in to dessert out of obligation, not only will you feel bad about yourself, but you may unfairly resent your host for offering you the dessert. It is not your hosts fault if they don't know.
  
• In an effort to be polite and stay true to your resolution, if the time comes for you to either take a piece of dessert or decline, be graceful about it. This may make the difference between a pleasant reaction from your host or an all-out shouting match. Politely say, "No thank you. Looks and smells delicious, but I am abstaining from sugar right now." I hope that your host will treat your decision with respect. Whether or not it goes over well with him or her, you will feel incredibly good about yourself, and will be more likely to decline desserts in the future.

I really hope this helps!

2009 New Year's Resolution-My Dilemma

What is your New Year's resolution going to be?

I can not decide what to do for 2009! This has been the single most frustrating part of going without sugar--deciding whether to continue going without, or if I should loosen up a little, or if I should splurge on all of my favorites that I missed this year: Oreos, donuts, cookie dough ice cream, cookie dough, cookies, cheap store bought cake, hot chocolate with a mountain of whip cream, M&M's, Almond Roca, chocolate bars, etc.

I don't know what to do!

Of course I would love to splurge, and I know I deserve it after a year of giving up all of my favorites, but then again, why would I do that to myself after I've worked so hard to wean myself of these sugary sins?

I've been asked all month, "Why don't you let yourself have sugar in moderation?"

One of the reasons I quit sugar to begin with is because I have no concept of eating sugar in moderation! One Oreo has never meant one Oreo! I don't eat single bites of ice cream at a time. I clean out the entire pint in one sitting, albeit, nice and slowly, savoring each delicate cool, creamy mouthful. I really miss ice cream.

Here are the reasons I hesitate to go back to sugar, even just for one day:

• I feel so wonderful now without any sugar!
• I have a lot of energy consistently throughout my day.
• I have more confidence than I've ever had in my life.
• I don't ride the sugar high roller coaster.
• I don't think I'll be able to control myself.
• I believe sugar was my addiction (both physically and psychologically).
• What good reason do I have for reintroducing sugar back in my diet? It offers me nothing but unhealthiness and guilt.
• I wouldn't be able to be an anti-sugar advocate if I was consuming sugar. (I can't stand those who preach one thing and do another...)
  
• If I eat sugar again, I will feel guilty and bad about myself because I know sugar is wrong for my body. Knowing this ahead of time, why would I eat it?

Still considering my options and really trying to reflect upon what is important to me. I think if I decided to eat sugar again, I would be very jealous of all of you who have told me you are going to go without. On the other hand, going without sugar is quite a lifestyle change....

To be continued...

Tips on How to Quit Sugar

Here are tips for those of you who would like to quit sugar for a month, a year, or forever. I find it hard to make forever plans, so I take things one year at a time. I'll probably do this forever.

So, you want to quit white, refined sugar. Maybe you've tried before, maybe you think it's impossible. Maybe you don't want to quit, but you are still curious what the process of quitting looks like. Maybe you need a year to think about quitting. For me it's cold turkey or I won't do it. I realize this isn't the tactic for everyone, but even if you quit sugar slowly, weaning yourself from the addiction day by day, I think these pointers will work for you, as well. If you have any pointers of your own or suggestions or comments, please let me know, as I will most likely re-post on New Year's Eve. What works for you? Do share!

* * * How to Quit Sugar * * *

• Make a grocery list and visit a local health food store. If you don't have a health food store in the area, try to find these items anyway, or do some online ordering.
  
• Stock your kitchen with all kinds of naturally sweetened goodies. Here are some examples for when that sweet tooth comes a'callin:
• 100% fruit juice (I'm not a wine snob, I'm a grape juice snob. I drink R.W. Knudsen)
• Dried fruit, fresh fruit, frozen fruit (smoothies)
• Naturally sweetened cookies and ice cream
• Ingredients to bake with: natural sweeteners, grain-sweetened chocolate chips, pure cocoa, unsweetened almond or rice milk, honey, molasses, agave, brown rice syrup, etc.
  
• Buy some flavored tea that you wouldn't normally get. Get cream and make sure you have honey. You won't believe how wonderful some of those hot teas are with a drop of cream and a spoonful of honey. My favorites are the spicy flavors and the vanilla/nut flavors. Buy plenty. Treat yourself. Spend more money than you normally would on tea. This may be what it takes to keep off of sugar. It sure beats the price of hypnosis.
• Make sure you buy naturally sweetened breads, chips, crackers, salad dressings, etc. These normally have hidden sugars and you don't want to cheat just because all of your salad dressings have sugar, do you? Also, remember to get cereals and other snacky foods that are naturally sweetened. If you don't have a health food store, there is one huge commercial brand of cereal that consistently keeps sugar out of its ingredients: Post Grape Nuts.
  
• Double-check your kitchen. Is it stocked? Make sure it's full of naturally sweetened goodies.
  
• Keep junk food in your kitchen. Yes, you read that right. It's good practice to have junk food available, because then you can practice turning it down and choosing something healthier. I was going to throw out all of our junk food last year, but not only was that not fair to Jeff, but if I didn't see junk food on a daily basis, how would I react when I did see it? You'll have to think about this. Even if you live alone, you want to have junk food available to your guests, right? You still want to have visitors, and they certainly want their junk food. They don't want to go on your sugar-free diet! However, if you are an excellent cook, it is possible to make naturally sweetened goodies for your guests, but keep in mind that it usually takes white sugar to satisfy the sweet tooth of those on a white sugar diet. Honey will not satisfy. It takes a couple of months to change your palate and train your sweet tooth to like natural sweeteners. If you know yourself well enough to know that you will sneak treats if they're around, then by all means, clean out your kitchen. Just ask guests to bring their own goodies.
  
• Do not buy "Sugar Free!" labeled goodies. These are tricky gimmicks usually found in the regular cookie aisle, and they are sweetened with a laxative otherwise known as Maltitol. It's the worst sugar substitute I've ever experienced. If you read the fine print on the label, there will be a disclosure statement warning against eating too many. Well, I don't want to worry about a laxative affect. Sometimes I just want to eat the whole box of cookies, thank you very much. Anyway, name brands like Oreos will have a "Sugar Free" variety of their product right next to the original variety. Beware, I have checked the labels and they contain maltitol.
  
• Do buy "naturally sweetened" and "No Sugar Added", as these terms usually mean what they say. Read the label to be safe, but these are terms that usually identify good products.
  
• Check for "Sucralose" which is a generic term for Splenda. You can make your own decision about Splenda. I don't touch it.
• Decide how dedicated you are to eating sugar free--are you focused mainly on quitting desserts? Drinks with sugar? Breads and cereals? If you are just trying to stay away from "sweets", that's one thing. It is another issue to go without white sugar entirely, because it is included in so many ingredients. Now, before you start, is a good time to decide how far you are going to take this. Keep in mind that sugar is in just about everything packaged and hidden in foods at restaurants. If taking your goal to this extreme seems too hard, don't give up. Start with sweets/cookies/obvious no-nos. Consider going 100% sugar free later. You have to find your starting point. Something that is realistic. For me, because I had practiced going weeks at a time without sugar, it wasn't a huge deal to do it again for a year.
• Set a realistic starting point/goal for yourself!

Coconut Oil, Milk & Macaroons

I'm on a weird coconut kick. I've been stir-frying and baking with raw, virgin coconut oil. I've also been using it in my no-bake recipes. I've been using a lot of coconut milk with brown rice, heated with a fresh, locally made mixture of red curry paste. Delicious for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I've also been adding unsweetened (they are already sweet!) coconut flakes to things for flavor and texture, and last but not least, on a whim, I bought a can of coconut macaroons! The kind I happened to get were sitting with some other health foods I was looking for. When I noticed the macaroons I read the label and to my great surprise, they had no sugar! The only ingredients were: unsweetened coconut flakes, honey and egg whites. I tore into them on the way home and have been addicted ever since. They are incredibly moist and chewy. They are a little bigger than bite-sized and two or three will quench your thirst for something sweet. They are absolutely delicious! The brand is Jennies.

Oh, and have I already mentioned that I keep coconut ice cream (Luna & Larry's) in my freezer at all times? It now quenches my thirst for something sweet AND fulfills my strange coconut urges. It makes me wonder if I am deficient in some nutrient and it is coming out as a coconut craving.... I have always liked the flavor of coconut, but lately, I want it all the time. Hmmm!

Hot Fudge Banana Split

I have almost made it through the entire year denying myself all sorts of gooey, chewy treats. Off and on I get cravings, but I've been able to tame them with natural sweeteners or drinking a ton of water or hot tea. A few days ago, I was hit hard by a craving that came to me out of the blue. It was around the time I usually wander the kitchen and look at what I have to make dinner with. As I picked up my squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and other vegetables, and began envisioning a perfect soup, all of a sudden I started craving a hot fudge sundae...REAL BAD. I immediately quit thinking about dinner and started thinking about how I could satisfy my craving. I HAD to have a sundae. No, make that a banana split. With lots of vanilla ice cream and salty peanuts. I had to have hot fudge--I was obsessed with the thought of cold ice cream drenched in thick, hot chocolate sauce. I ran to the pantry and threw around all kinds of ingredients. Found the peanuts, large and salted. Ice cream....awesome! I had just brought home a container of vanilla Rice Dream the day before. I had ripe bananas on the counter so all I needed was to come up with the best part: hot fudge. I was determined to make it happen no matter what.

The only chocolate in the house that is sugar-free is my pure, organic cocoa. This would have to work. I did not give myself enough time to think this through, because I was lusting after my banana split so badly, so I skimped on making hot fudge. What I should have done was run online and looked up some recipes, but what I ended up doing was making up a hot chocolate sauce. I combined the cocoa with lots of honey and some heavy whipping cream and heated them together. I then added some boiling water to speed up the process, but it made my sauce too runny and thin. As if that was going to stop me. As soon as my chocolate sauce was hot and smelled delicious, I poured it over my Rice Dream and chopped up half a banana and then sprinkled a handful of peanuts on top. No whipped cream. Bummer. I don't like those rubbery cherries used on sundaes, and I think they're mostly for show, anyway.

I ate my banana split so fast I almost made another one. It was delicious. The runny chocolate sauce was not worthy of sharing with anyone, so I still need to look up a tried and true recipe for sugar-free hot fudge. But the next night I made another banana split instead of dinner, again. It was blissful. I highly recommend it.