just desserts

I have a problem.

When my children ask what is available for dessert, and the answer is "we don't have any dessert at the moment," I feel like a bad mommy. It's as though I've failed to meet some basic criteria for a happy childhood. What's that? The cookies are all gone, and we finished off the ice cream? Mo-ther!

Of course, they don't really sound like that. In fact, I have no doubt that the mommy guilt I suffer is far greater than any angst or disappointment they may feel in those moments. And truly, they don't seem to be suffering. They'll almost always shrug, then go on with their day.

The thing is, I rarely have to give that answer: I make sure of that. We usually have some kind of treat, be it cookies, ice cream, homemade Power Bars (one my absolute favorites!), or something else. The One Dessert Per Day rule which we instituted a few months ago has helped our supply hold out longer, I suppose. But still, I do try to stay on top of it. I like having something available. Not only for my kids, of course, but Jeff enjoys them, too. As do I, the sugar addict.

I do believe that Americans eat too many sweets for our own good. And even with natural sweeteners, I think moderation is best. But I can't seem to shake this need to have something available for my family. Even if we don't eat it...which usually, of course, we do.

(Actually, I have improved a little in that area. I now try to keep myself to a somewhat vague dessert-every-other-day-or-so rule. I do much better if I do that, both with general health and with my own mentality. But I do still love my sweets!)

I've thought of deliberately making fewer desserts. I would like my children to grow accustomed to not having treats of this kind on a daily basis. It would be healthy to not feel entitled to something sweet, to have it be more of a treat. I've heard of families who make dessert a special, once-a-week treat. But I'm not quite sure if we could handle that!

And my children do not see fruit as a dessert item. Perhaps it's because I serve them so much fruit as it is - fruit and dessert are not in the same category in their minds, at all.

So I suppose we're a work in progress. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to let go of my mommy guilt, and truly realize that my children will survive if they don't have a sweet treat available to them every single. Maybe someday I'll take the plunge, and take a break from supplying my family with goodies.

But for now, I have No Bake Cookies in the fridge, and smoothie popsicles hardening in the freezer, and plans to make ice cream someday soon. After all, in the heat of summer one needs some creature comforts....

the "Beyond Sugar" Challenge

Lately I've read a few things that are causing me to re-think how I view and consume sweeteners, even natural ones. I do believe that natural sweeteners (honey, Rapadura/Sucanat, and molasses, to name a few) are infinitely healthier than the refined white stuff. While refined sugar is actually detrimental to one's health, unrefined sweeteners offer nutritional benefits - such as minerals.

Yet our culture today relies heavily on sweets. I've already talked about how sugar and high fructose corn syrup are in so many products on the grocery store shelves: peanut butter, pasta sauce, ketchup, and even cereals like corn flakes, and yes, Cheerios. I recently read this post at Food Renegade, which talked about the increased consumption of sugar over the past century or so. It said that our great-grandparents typically consumed around 5 lbs of sugar a year, whereas today the normal American eats the same amount in about two weeks. Wow! We're out of control, here!

Shortly following that, Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS posted the "Beyond Sugar" Challenge. She and her family are eliminating all sweeteners (natural or otherwise) from their diet for 30 days. Any readers who are interested in participating, at whatever level, are invited to do so. I had already been thinking along those lines, and I welcome the compananionship and ideas that will come from shared goals.

I, however, am not (yet?) aiming to eliminate all sweeteners from our family's diet. I fear that I would have utter mutiny on my hands if I attempted that! My goal is to cut way back personally, to encourage my family to focus on enjoying the wonderful variety of flavors and foods which God has given mankind. We tend to be fixated on incorporating "something sweet" into our day, several times over. While I do believe that sweet things have their place, I think they're a bit too much of a priority around our house.


My goals:

• For me, only one sweet treat per day. I know this sounds a bit wimpy, but it's a significant change! I never have completely tamed my sweet tooth, not yet anyway.
• Come up with popular, healthier alternatives for my family at snack time.
• Convince my children that they don't need dessert (even a healthy one) every night.
• Become content with fruit as my last bite of a meal, as opposed to, say, chocolate.
  

If anyone has any ideas for wonderful, healthy snacks, I welcome them! Some our family's favorites are: crispy nuts, homemade crackers with peanut or almond butter, cheese, popcorn (popped on the stove in coconut oil, then buttered & salted!), bean dip or Cream and Chive Dip with fresh veggies, and apple slices. I'm also hoping to try making hummus soon.

I encourage you to check out the GNOWFGLINS (which stands for "God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season") website. It has many wonderful recipes, techniques, and tutorials. Or, better yet: join us on this quest. I'm confident that we'll all be better for it.

There are so many wonderful foods in God's creation, a wild variety of flavors, textures, and combinations. I'm ready to stop fixating on the sweet stuff, and embrace the bigger picture of the tools the Lord gave us for our nourishment!

homemade "pop tarts"

My boys love pop tarts. And frankly, I refuse to buy them anymore. So I was thrilled when I found a recipe for homemade pop tarts online at Chez Pim. It's genius! Why didn't I think of this? (Well, I guess it could be that I'm not a genius....)

First you take a piece of pie crust dough, shape it into a rectangular shape, and roll it out...

I like to trim the edges a bit, although I couldn't cut a straight line if my life depended on it. Then I transfer to a baking sheet & spread on some jam. I like to use 100% fruit spread; this is blackberry. Mmm!

...Fold it in half & crimp the edges with a fork. I had a little 3-year-old help with this project.

Brush it with an egg wash and cut some vents in the top...

Bake... And voila! Homemade, refined-sugar-free* pop tarts.**

No, the jam on the bottom was not intentional. We had a little over-stuffing problem (more child "labor") and there was a jam issue. But still, delicious! My kids were thrilled, and I am too.

*I used a pie crust recipe which called for flour, butter, salt, and a pinch of stevia. It's also my preference to use a 100% fruit spread instead of sugar-sweetened jam.

**These are obviously not traditional "pop tarts" in the sense that they would go in the toaster and pop out again. But a toaster oven would be lovely. And frankly, we've never toasted pop tarts in our house, we like 'em straight out of the box...

sugar-free me: how it's going

I've been feeling that I should give an update on my decision to stop eating refined sugar. It's been a bit more than a month since I made that choice, and it's been an interesting month. I said at the time that I didn't think it would be an easy change for me to make, sugar addict that I am. And parts of it have been hard, for certain.

But do you know what? Mostly I don't miss it. Honestly, I'm having so much fun experimenting that I've hardly missed refined sugar. We've had homemade coconut almond candy, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, shape ("Sugar") cookies, nut butter cookies, molasses cookies, two delicious kinds of fudge, and, possibly a family favorite, almond cookies. Our family is enjoying these sugar-free goodies so much that I'm making cookies at least twice a week. And Jeff and I just whipped up a batch of chocolate chocolate chip ice cream made with coconut milk.

Alternative sweeteners used include: raw honey, brown rice syrup, xylitol, date sugar, and Rapadura. I especially love honey & date sugar, since they are incredibly close to their natural state.

I suspect, though, that the trouble will come when I'm away from home. Certainly, I can maintain a climate in my house where foods are made without refined sugar, but that kind of thing is very hard to find in the World Out There. If I want sugar-free, and artificial sweetener-free (sucralose, aspertame) ice cream, for example, I can't just waltz into Baskin Robbins or Ben & Jerry's. I have to know where to seek out these products and prepare accordingly.

Another hard thing is social eating. Eating sweets is such a group thing. Even beyond a craving for a particular flavor, or taste sensation, I long to be part of the group that is doing the enjoying. This is something I'm still working on figuring out. Click here to read an honest and intelligent essay on the Psychology of sugar. It's very much what I'm wading through right now.

So on the whole: it's going well. There are definitely obstacles, though, and I'm working through them. I don't want to always be the odd man out, but neither do I want to compromise. Because when I do, I can tell that I'm putting something very, very bad into my body. And also? I find that I don't like myself very much when I do give in.

sugar alternatives

Since I've had a few questions, I thought I'd give a run-down of some of the sugar alternatives out there, and how well they work in certain foods. These are taken from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, an awesome book. I encourage you to check it out for yourself!

1) Raw Honey: Raw (not heated above 117 degrees) has natural enzymes which aid in in digestion (especially grains) and also has nutrients from plant pollens. It does not raise blood sugar levels as much as refined sugar.
Especially good in: sweetening oatmeal and toast...it retains its healthful properties best when not heated.

2) Maple Syrup: It's rich in trace minerals.
Especially good in: baked goods, cream-based desserts

3) Rapadura: This is dehydrated cane sugar juice (whole sugar), and it is rich in minerals (especially silica). It behaves very similarly to sugar in food preparation, and has a great flavor.
It's important not to overdo this sweetener, as it can alter blood sugar levels as badly as sugar.
Especially good in: cookies & cakes (I've also used it to make chocolate chips, and it worked beautifully)

4) Stevia Powder: This powder is made from an herb native to South America. Use sparingly: a pinch of stevia is as sweet as a spoonful of sugar. A problem with this sweetener is that is adds no bulk, thus it does not work well in baked goods.
Especially good in: salad dressings, smoothies, whipped cream & pie crusts.

5) Date Sugar: This is made from dehydrated dates ~ very nutritious! However, it does not dissolve well (will not work in many desserts).
Especially good in: oatmeal (I would like to add that I have a wonderrul cookie recipe that calls for date sugar, and I am dying to try it. I'll let you know how it goes)

6) Molasses: Molasses is a by-product of refined sugar. It can contain many minerals.

7) Malted Grain Syrups: Usually made from barley. It is low in fructose.

8) Sorghum Syrup: This syrup is made from a grain. Ittcontains B vitamins and irom, calcium, and phorsphorus.

9) Naturally Sweetened Jams: Jams sweetened with dehydrated sugar cane juice are much preferred to fructose or high fructose coryn syrup.

.......And a couple which Sally Fallon does not address.......

10) Agave Syrup: This syrup is the sap of the agave plant (which I believe is kind of cactus). It has a low glycemic index, which is a huge plus in my book. A drawback, however, is that it is high in fructose. I have read that it has a variety of uses: I have used it in a crunchy apple salad, and it was outstanding.

11) Brown Rice Syrup: Made from cooking brown rice and then evaporating most of the water, this syrup is said to have a caramel-like flavor and can be used in a variety of products. I haven't used it yet, but I have some and plan to use it soon.

12) Coconut Sugar: I have not tried this yet but hope to some day. This "sugar" is made from the sap of coconut flowers. The sap is then boiled down into various forms: paste, granulated, or rock. It has a low glycemic index and has the advantage of being a traditional sugar. I find this sugar very exciting!



So there you have it. There are more sugars out there, but these are the ones I've either (a) tried, (b) want to try, or (c) have heard really good things about. I hope this has helped to answer any questions you might have had.

I don't know about you guys, but I find this stuff so exciting!

Sugar-free "Sugar" Cookies

I have been itching to try this recipe for a week or two now, and yesterday Ben & I did it. The cookies are melt-in-your mouth delicious; they were a huge hit. They don't even need to be frosted, although I did find a frosting recipe that I like, and may try it in the future.

And they are fairly easy to make. I would recommend rolling out half of the dough at a time (maybe less) and refrigerating the portion you aren't using yet, because it gets soft pretty fast. Benjamin and I both had a lot of fun, and I will definitely be making these again!

Sugar-Free "Sugar" Cookies

1 ½ C. flour

¾ C. butter

¼ C. honey

* Combine flour and butter in food processor (or mixer) until fine. Drizzle in honey while pulsing until mixture pulls together. Roll out and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 300 for 10-15 minutes. So good, you’ll never want to eat another cut-out cookie with sugar again! You can also add a flavor extract. Be creative! Almond extract, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon etc.

(***This recipe is from My Year Without. There are so many great ideas there!)