I have a problem. I had dessert after every meal today. Breakfast dessert was the last leftover chocolate cupcake that I needed to "get rid of." Lunch dessert was angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. That was intended for family night treat, but we forgot about it on Monday, and could I really refuse when Matt got it out of the fridge at the BEGINNING of lunch and it was sitting there being tantalizing through the whole meal? My dessert tonight was an oatmeal raisin cookie, because Matt really needed some cookies to take to his LAST study session for med school final exams and I really needed to sample one. I have to note it was reduced in fat and sugar. Still, it was my third dessert of the day.
This isn't really the norm, but it is symptomatic of a problem I have of often reaching for sweets when I get hungry between meals (and I always get hungry between meals). I think the problem is I don't really want to avoid sweets. I observed Lent this year by going without chocolate, and by the end of the 40 days, I was doing great. I was eating less of other sugary foods too, and I found that I had less tolerance for sweets when I started eating them again. Unfortunately, I seem to be fully desensitized again. The thing is I think dessert is an important part of life. I really do! I don't want to eliminate it from my life, and I don't think I want to do the one-day-a-week sweets thing. Is it possible to train myself to be more moderate?
Maybe my salvation will be the scorching summer months that are due any day here. I seem to be less interested in food in general when it's hot.
Oh, and here's my lower-fat, lower-sugar, still-yummy oatmeal cookie recipe, if anyone's interested:
Mix
3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
In another bowl, combine
1/4 cup softened butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Mix wet and dry ingredients. Add pecans and whatever else you like (Matt always chooses raisins; I go for milk chocolate chips). Use a tablespoon to measure the dough--this always results in 24 cookies with an allowance for dough sampling. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
3 comments:
I hear ya! Making it especially difficult (at leat for me, I don't know about you) is the fact that I'm home all day with a kid who seems to eat every few hours, so while I'm getting him something to eat, I grab something too (usually something fast and easy and full of sugar). I hear it's pretty effective to limit your dessert consumption to one treat at the END of the day. That way it gives you something to look forward to and you can remind yourself throughout the day to eat healthier options in anticipation of the dessert. I've tied it - and I think it can work. But it still requires discipline. AND for me it works better if there aren't multiple dessert options lurking around (because then I justify the three desserts a day in order to sample all the options - sad, yet true). Sorry, this was a long comment. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing your cookie recipe! Now I can't wait to try it!
I will definitely try that recipe! I use stevia (truvia) to get my sweet fix. It's natural (from a plant), not a chemical, and it's yummy. Sugar is sooo addicting. I'm trying to get off it too right now.
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