Happy Valentine's Day!!!!
Just thought I would take a quick minute to share with you a yummy AND healthy dessert that I made for my family to enjoy today.
A year ago this month, I went cold turkey giving up refined sugar. For me, this was a test, to see if it would actually make a difference in my blood sugar since the previous time I had my blood labs done I had actually tested into the pre-diabetic range. And let's just say, the land of diabetes is NOT a place I want to visit. So I told myself that I was just going to give up sugar temporarily to see if it would actually make a difference. When I had my blood work done again at the end of February, the good news is it made a HUGE difference. The bad news is that it made a HUGE difference. I had known for a long time that SUGAR was my addiction. I am not saying everyone is addicted to sugar if you eat it--but for ME, it is VERY addicting. Like, I find it hard to eat just a little bit of a sugary something. My hubby can do this just fine--not me. He can have a bag of candy, and just occasionally eat a piece. His bag of candy will last him for months. For me--an open bag is an empty bag!
SO. That month that I gave up ALL refined sugar, I had withdrawal like something terrible. I spent probably three solid weeks in cravings. Every time the cravings were really strong, I ate another piece of fruit. It wasn't WHAT I was craving, but it was something sweet and the fiber DID help fill me up. Ever notice that when you are stuffed full you really don't have food cravings? It didn't make my cravings totally go away, but it definitely helped!
I have noticed something else about sugar and my body. When I eat a lot of sugar, I am DEFINITELY more short-tempered with anyone who is around me. I hate that. That is NOT the kind of person I want to be, and I could see it very clearly. After my "cold turkey" month, I allowed myself to occasionally eat something with sugar in it, and I could see very clearly that if I ate beyond a VERY tiny amount, I would just become irritated and I would think to myself "Why am I feeling this way? Whatever they did really isn't that big of a deal?" And then I realized--I had eaten some sugary dessert.
ANYWAY, this is a long way to say that based on my little experiment, I realized I needed to seriously make some changes to my consumption of sugar. Nowadays, I will occasionally allow myself a VERY small amount of refined sugar--like perhaps a tiny bit of chocolate, but I keep these times pretty rare. I do not want to be back into my sugar addiction and then have to suffer through the cravings and withdrawal again! Once was more than enough!
So--over the past year I have moved more and more to sweetening with dates. Yes, I know, someone is going to tell me that dates are also a condensed sugar, and I would agree with you 100%. Any dried fruit is a condensed fruit sugar. But for me, eating dates or raisins do not effect me the same way that eating white or brown sugar does--I think because the dried fruit comes still having it's original fiber. But if you are trying to lose weight, any dried fruit is still much more calorie dense than the fresh fruit, so keep that in mind.
That being said, my daughter wanted a little something special for Valentine's Day today. I "had" been planning on making some of my Chocolate Tofu pudding--yes, it does have a small amount of refined sugar in it, but just a smidgen and I would put Valentine's Day as one of those "special occasion" types of days. Problem is, she has come down with a sore throat this week, so refined sugar of any amount is not going to be a help to her body fighting that sore throat. So Chocolate Bites was my substitute recipe for something special. The three simple ingredients were already in my house, and there is nothing in them that will keep her from getting well. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
Yes--I do know what these kind of look like. If you want to make them look a bit nicer, roll them in some unsweetened coconut. I didn't have any of the fine shredded coconut in my kitchen at the moment, having only the large type which is way too large to roll these in, so we will enjoy them this way. Just remember what your mother taught you--if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all! ;)
Chocolate Bites
(adapted from original recipe by Nora Cooks www.noracooks.com)
1 1/2 cups walnuts
12 large dates, pitted
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1-3 tablespoons water, as needed
In a food processor with an "S" blade, add the walnuts, dates, and cocoa powder.
Process until a sticky dough is formed, about 1-2 minutes. You should be able to roll it into balls without the dough falling apart. If it is still dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough is sticky, be careful not to add too much water. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place in a container. Store in the fridge or freezer.
Hope you enjoy this healthy, chocolate treat!
~Susan
