My Truth About Sugar...

My uncle died when he was 52. He had severe diabetes and his pancreas was totally exhausted. In the end he was blind, had heart issues and was clinically obese. Before he took ill, there was a little joke in my family “he’s an eater!” They would say. He loved his desserts.

 I watched my grandmother check her sugar every morning and then take insulin shots- she looked like a junkie with her arm stretched out, I saw it so often it was the norm. She adored blueberry pie among other sweet things.

Sweets have had their pull on me too, at the height of my sugar addiction I was eating 5 candy bars a day, I was 11 years old. I was often alone and those candy bars were everything to me.

 Now at 41 my relationship is different. It is a balanced and healthy relationship, but it took a lot of work to get to this place.

I see the other part of the sugar story – there is so much love there. I asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday last week and he said, with a huge smile “a chocolate cake and some cookies… can you make me those?” “Of course” I said with enthusiasm.

As I mixed the batter, I remembered a love of baking, I remembered being 4 years old, before my father and mother divorced, before the fighting and turmoil, Mom and I would bake cupcakes. Just Mom and I, my brother was at school, my father at work, there just us two alone in the bright blue kitchen. We focused on nothing else but each other and baking… cracking eggs, creaming sugar with butter, looking at the clock for the big hand to move to the 3. We giggled, I got chocolate all over myself as I liked the wooden spoon and she adored how cute I was. There was so much love. 

So, as I mixed batter, cracked eggs and creamed sugar with butter for his cake and cookies, I thought about how much I love my husband. I thought about the joy in his eyes as he saw my finished sweets, I imagined him slumping back in his chair overcome with pleasure from my efforts. There I poured my love. And when the time came, after I lit the last candle … it was just as I envisioned, a huge response full of joy and mouth watering. I made him happy with sugar.

Sugar is like anything, some sugar is ok, too much can kill you. Some water is good for you, but too much water is called drowning. Sunshine is good for you, but have too much and you get hurt. One glass of red wine is great for your heart, but too much will reek havoc on your liver.

I know from years of study and a life of eating just how hard it is to navigate sugar. I know more than most just what it takes to actually have a safe and healthy relationship with sugar.

If you’d like to know more about how you too can develop a healthy relationship with sugar, and how to find some healthier versions of the sweets that have a hold on you now, I can help you. Join me August 21^st at 6:30pm for my SUGAR WORKSHOP and learn everything you ever wanted to know about sugar and some things you didn’t even know existed in the world of sweets. You’ll also learn how to side-step diabetes & manage it if you are in the throes of it. You will learn the truth about why you can’t shed those extra 10lbs, you will learn why your skin acts up and why you have mood swings, also, why you are so tired all the time.

Click here for more information and to register…

Here is my recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made:

4 ounces (115g) organic / pastured sea salted butter, at room temperature2/3 cup packed (110g) organic brown sugar1/2 cup (100g) date sugar1 large egg, at room temperature1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract1 1/3 cup (180g) oat flour1/2 teaspoon natural baking soda1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt1 1/3 cups (200g) coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped or ground up 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter, brown sugar, and date sugar just until smooth and creamy.
2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the beaten butter until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate (including any chocolate dust) and the chopped nuts.
5. Cover and chill the batter until firm. (It’s preferable to let it rest overnight.)
6. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a golf ball Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even.
8. Bake the cookies for ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies look about set, but are not browned.
9. Remove from the oven and quickly tap the top of each with a spatula, then return to the oven for two to five more minutes, until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cookies cool.
Storage: The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to five days in an airtight container. The dough can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for one or two months.