It Hasn't Been Easy

Hello Folks;
Well, I am on Day 30 of my "no sugar" goal. It has been my most challenging goal to date. I would like to say it has been perfect but that would not be totally truthful. There was the holiday party with the dish that appeared to be a casserole but turned out to be some delicious pineapple dish. It was on my plate so I ate it! It was a small portion, I promise. Then came the day after Christmas. We had company for dinner and I made my very first pumpkin pie. It looked beautiful and how could I not have a piece of my very own pie?? I enjoyed a glass a wine with dinner and a piece (and a half with whipped cream (no sugar). One of our guests hails from Germany and brought with her some traditional German desserts. Wouldn't it be rude to not at least try a small sampling? So I did, a small sampling of German desserts. David was king enough to take care of the rest of the pie but not before I had another medium sized bite (with whipped cream). And then I went to Kimberly's yesterday and she hands me a bag of Icelandic Dark Chocolate. Here is my confession - I had one small piece of it before I put it in the fridge for safe-keeping. Right now David is reading this and is in shock that he had no idea that there is delicious Icelandic choclolate in the refrigerator. Don't worry honey, I'll share it with you :)

So there you have it my friends, the honest-to-goodness truth. I have found that this goal was easier in the beginning and as the end of the month quickly approaches I am wondering how I am going to maintain this goal as I honestly believe it is one worth maintaining. Having more energy, sleeping better, and seeing progress on the scale will have to be my motivators. As for New Year's Eve.....I am going to the house of dear friends where there will be sugary treats galore! I plan on running (or walking, depending on the weather) a 5K on New Year's Day so indulging in alcohol or too much sugar will not a great race make. Wish me luck.

Yesterday, I made this delicious healthy scone recipe and wanted to share it with you. It calls for sugar but I chose to omit it. The applesauce and dates are enough sweetness for me.

Happy 2010 my friends!

Delicious Date Scones (From Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook)
1 1/2 cups of spelt, kamut or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup buttermilk or skim milk soured with 1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp of Sucanat or rapadura sugar
1/2 cup pitted, chopped dates

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment or wax paper.
3. In a bowl of a food processor with the dough hook attachment, place flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Add buttermilk, and applesauce. Pulse until a ball of dough forms, the process for several moments. The kneading helps to form elasticity in the dough. Now add chooped dates and process again until evenly distributed. If you prefer to knead by hand, add the dates before kneading.
4. Remove dough form bowl and place on floured working surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough t a thickness of about 3/4 of an inch. Cut into eight triangles and place on prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until scones are golden brown on top.
Enjoy!