PINK TREATS

Yesterday, I baked.

I made some amazing sugar cookies that have been my favorite at Cutler's, a local favorite from my hometown of Bountiful. Thankfully Si, over at ABountifulKitchen.com, shared their actual recipe... I confess: I tasted the glaze when I made it. And I took a bite of G's cookie. You can't trust a cook who doesn't sample her own product! 

I have lots... anyone want any? 

But seriously, do you?

Tell me what your favorite Valentine treat is-- want to know something totally gross? Conversation hearts are my favorite and I nearly cried when they changed their recipe a couple years ago. An old boyfriend's of mine mother would track down the original Necco brand and get them for me. I wish I could find them now! I could go on and on about Valentine's day treat... Cherry chocolates, cinnamon hearts, cookies, pink wrapped favorites like Laffy Taffy and Reese's. Ugh. Someone help. 

What do you love/hate about Valentine'a day?

Do any of you have a classic, favorite cookie recipe? 

FRENCH TOAST TOPPERS

I'm obsessed with French toast. 

It's my favorite menu item at breakfast restaurants and when I get a new box of eggs from my family's chickens you can bet I am grilling toast 'till the eggs are nearly gone. 

Normally, I pile mine with berries, syrup, cinnamon and brown sugar-- the works. But, quitting sugar has been tough on my favorite dish. This past weekend I played around with some things I had on hand and came up with some amazing toppings for french toast. For those of you who think quitting sugar would be hard, try eating stuff like this!

French Toast Batter - Serves 2

Whisk together:

2 large eggs

1/3 C. almond milk

A dash of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla (optional) 

Quickly soak 4 pieces of stale/toasted bread in batter, grill on lightly buttered skillet. 

Whipped Cream 

1 small carton of heavy whipping cream

1/2 packet of Stevia

A few drops of lemon extract 

With a hand or stand mixer, begin beating cream on low. Slowly increase speed until stiff peaks form. Quickly mix Stevia and lemon. Store leftovers for a day or so in the fridge. 

Cinnamon Butter

1/2 stick of butter, softened

1 Tbs warmed coconut oil

1/2 packet of stevia

1 Tbs cinnamon

Beat butter and oil until smooth, add Stevia and cinnamon. Spread on toast and enjoy. 

Tell me what your opinion is on artificial sweeteners? Do you use artificial sweeteners to cut back on added sugar, or do you prefer something natural like Stevia?

What's your favorite breakfast item?

DISCLAIMER

*I do not have one of those fancy pants Canon DSLR Rebel ULTRA to the MAX cameras.

I take pictures of my food with my iPhone (gasp!) and so DUH the pictures don't look like this. When you cook, I'm pretty sure you don't tie burlap around your mason jars filled with salad or serve pasta with flags in it. I am an amateur and I want readers to feel like they can make the dishes I post! Raise your hand if you have ever tried to make a recipe and it didn't turn out like the professional picture at all-- I know I have.

*Sometimes I say that the dishes I make are "lighter fare" or "healthy," but let me assure you that someone, somewhere is already sending me a message about how I should use spelt flour or how I shouldn't be using any salt. Somebody is rolling their eyes because I used butter (instead of some fake, processed alternative that has less calories). Someone thinks that I should be using rice syrup or some type of paste instead of a particular ingredient in my recipe.

Oh well.

Here's my motto: Moderation in all things. When I say my recipes are healthy, I mean that I have made adjustments to traditional versions of recipes to make them "better" for you. My opinion of "better for me" means I don't feel guilty after eating it. I don't press my own almond milk, but I use store-bought almond milk often. I won't even be in the same room as Kale chips, but I do make some mean oven dill-fries; however, I will ask questions about how you would change recipes to make them even "better"for us, or how you would make my sweet taco chicken if you don't have Stevia on hand.

*I'm not just going to post recipes. I've decided that I want to blog more and along with my love of cooking comes my love to write. I've made it easy for you to sift through my posts-- just click the live, love, or eat tabs at the top of my page to filter my posts by your desired topic. Woo!

*I get way too excited when people comment. I love your advice and support. I love how technology can connect people in all sorts of interesting ways.

*Sometimes cooking gets pushed aside and I order out. You should, too.

HARD HAT REQUIRED

Under Construction

If you were looking for something to read, check these ladies out out:

Alyssa 
Kelsey 
Catherine

I really, REALLY love them.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: I'M QUITTING SUGAR

via

Here's the deal. I'm quitting sugar. 

I stumbled across Sarah's blog when I was searching for recipes to experiment with and I connected with about EVERYTHING she wrote about sugar.

I get mood altering cravings after meals for something sweet. I often consume more sweet treats and fruit in a day than foods that don't contain sugar. I find myself experiencing emotional highs and lows that I use treats to cope with. All too often I find myself thinking: I deserve this doughnut. I deserve these skittles. I deserve this ice cream. I will start my day of trying to eat right, but end up just eating less. Then evening rolls around and I'm starving. I binge on anything in sight-- feeling guilty. I spend so much time obsessing over what I eat and I'm done.

Basically, I am a sugar addict.

If that's not enough to motivate me to change, than my inspiring mother certainly is. Last year, my mother was diagnosed with diabetes and she wasn't okay with that. She got RIGHT into motion. Literally. She changed her diet and cut sugar. She started exercising. She lost weight. She brought her blood sugar down. She made a change because she deserves it.

I deserve to respect my body and take care of it.

Last week I started my 8-week journey to quitting sugar. I didn't go cold-turkey because I knew I needed to ease into the process, plus Wilson's guide suggested doing just that. I have been paying attention to my cravings and my "food feelings." I've been collecting recipes to try and grocery list ideas for my sugar-free eating and I'm pretty excited. By adding fat (the good kind-- found in avocados and eggs and nuts), I will be able to curb cravings. Read more about that here.

"You know that fruit is good sugar, right? Fruit is healthy." 

Yes. Fruit does contain vitamins and minerals and good stuff for you. But, it also has sugar. Sure, fruit contains "complex" sugars and none of that refined stuff found in candy.  Fructose is fructose-- no matter HOW you disguise it. During my 8-week detox, 6 weeks are completely sugar-free. That includes fruit. But, guess what? After I can detox and get a hold of my cravings, I will be able to have a couple pieces of fruit a day and even have some dessert every once in a while. After I detox, I'll be able to have dessert every once in a while and not want to go back for seconds (or thirds. or midnight fourths).

I'm not saying everyone needs to quit sugar-- but I am choosing to quit.

This has not been an easy decision, just so you know. I LOVE treats. I love anything whipped and sweet and rich. I love how sweets make me feel. I love the flavors in gummy candies. I love the way chocolate melts in my mouth. I love everything about sweets. But, isn't it scary about you could replace the topic of sugar with smoking or cocaine and most of the content in this post would apply?

I just want to experiment and see how I feel in 8 weeks. Sarah Wilson tells me my cravings will be gone. She tells me my emotions and moods will make more sense. She tells me that I'll have more energy. She even says I will feel lest bloated and that I may even lose a few pounds.

I deserve all of that. 

Well, I've talked the talk. Let's see if I can walk the walk.

If you have questions, please feel free to comment or shoot me an e-mail. I'd love to tell you more about Wilson's 8-week guide.