Confessions of a Sugar Addict

Yep... that is me. A self-proclaimed recovering sugar addict. After years of eating lots of sugary treats every day, I have finally come to terms with my addiction and am working toward recovery. I haven't sworn off sugar completely but I have been trying to eat less. My biggest problem... I like to bake. And what do most people bake... cookies, brownies, cakes, crisps, cobblers, all that good stuff.

Now, I have nothing against treats... a person only lives once and part of life is enjoying yourself, which to me means enjoying all of life. But, too much of a good thing makes it not so good anymore, right? And, sugar, in any form, just plain isn't good for you.

So, why am I discussing this on our blog? I have noticed that the recipes that are most popular on the blog are the treats. There are some obvious reasons for that... a lot of treats contain eggs (and/or peanuts) so they are an obvious choice for recipes that need to be modified. And, everyone loves treats so, of course they are popular.  In our family, we try and do one treat per week (for us we do it on Sunday evenings. I will discuss some of our other nutritional goals in another post) . I am working on teaching The Princess and her brothers that they don't "need" a treat after every meal, or even every night after dinner. Bad habits are hard to break... it is easier to never learn them. Because dessert recipes are so popular,  I have felt a lot of pressure to post them here on the blog and have therefore been cooking way more dessert than I would generally like.

So, here is my warning that you may not see as many dessert recipes posted here on the blog. While this isn't a new years resolution, it may help some of my readers with their resolutions. Everyone can use a helping hand when trying to be healthier. There will still be yummy treats, but also more healthy breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner recipes as well.

Thank you to all our readers for your support! Please share our blog with your friends and don't forget to 'like' us on Facebook.

Jana

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"Egg-less" Sun Butter Fingers With Chocolate Frosting (AKA School Lunch Bars)

I am only somewhat off the ball when it comes to posting - like it is still Thursday so I'm not late, just later. These few weeks during the holidays have been crazy busy. Throw in some stomach flu and I am just now getting on top of the mess in my house and everything else I am supposed to be doing. So, we are finally back with a new recipe. Hope you didn't miss us too much over the holidays and that your holidays were wonderful!

Peanut Butter Fingers are one of my absolute favorite goodies (well, I should say anything with peanut butter was an absolute favorite of mine). Although, I am getting over my long-time addiction to peanut butter and all things peanut butter thanks to The Princess. Isn't it funny how if you haven't had something in a long time, you honestly don't really miss it and somehow it isn't quite as wonderful as you remember it being? Well, that is how I feel about peanut butter now. After a year and a half of mostly avoiding it, I don't miss it much.

Anyway... sometimes though, I still like to make things from the past and these are one of those things. This is actually one of the first recipes I recreated after The Princess's diagnosis - yet we haven't made them again until now. We needed a yummy recipe for our New Years Eve party (which consisted of the 5 of us at home watching a movie - well The Princess was in bed because she had the stomach flu) and these sounded so good. I substituted sun butter in place of the peanut butter but you could use any kind of nut butter. The sun butter gives the bars a slightly greenish tint after baking (can anyone explain this to me) but the taste is still super yummy. Cover them in chocolate frosting and if it is an extra special occasion (or you are looking to put yourself in a sugar coma) add some ice cream on top!

"Egg-less" Sun Butter Fingers With Chocolate Frosting 
(AKA School Lunch Bars)

For Bars:

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups whole grain flour (I used wonder flour)

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup sucanat

1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp. water)

3/4 cup sun butter (or any nut butter)

1/2 Tbsp. vanilla

For Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/8 tsp salt

5 Tbsp butter, softened

5 Tbsp. boiling water

1/2 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl until well incorporated and set aside. Mix all wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until well blended. Add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix until just blended.

Scoop dough into 9 x 13 inch pan and press with fingers until bottom of pan is completely covered.

Bake until light brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes (but it really depends on how thick yours end up).

While bars are cooking, make the frosting. Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add softened butter, boiling water and vanilla. Beat until smooth and glossy.

When bars are cool to the touch, spread on frosting and cut into squares. These can be eaten still warm and gooey or completely cooled (and don't forget to try them with some ice cream!).

Recipe adapted from an old family recipe book

Jana

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Happy New Years

I can't believe it is the starting of a new year already. The old saying sure is true... time really does fly!

Do you make New Year's Resolutions? I don't think we need to wait for a new year to decide to make changes in our lives... we can do that at any time. It is probably better if we make resolutions more often than just once a year. But anyway... I have 2 things I have been thinking about working on so I guess you can call them new year's resolutions.

First, organize my house. I'm sure this is the same as many people, but it feels so nice to declutter and simplify! Since The Princess is not a baby anymore, we can finally clear out all the baby stuff. Only to make room for princess dolls, princess castles,  princess dress ups and all other princess type toys!

Second, to spend more time with my family and less time on things that aren't as important in the long run. This is a hard one because there are a lot of things that aren't "bad" or even a "waste of time", but that can take us away from the things that are more important. Kids are only little once and it would be a shame to waste away their childhood worrying too much about other stuff. Although, I will still be spending time in the kitchen. In my opinion, spending time cooking healthy, safe foods for my kids is not a waste of time, but a gift to them (a gift of a healthy future).

I wish that your new year will be full of joy and happiness!

Jana

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Merry Christmas

The Princess would like to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas!

We are enjoying the snow (we had a white Christmas at our house thanks to 8 inches of new snow yesterday), fun new toys and christmas presents and time spent with family. We hope you are enjoying the same and have a wonderful (and safe) holiday season!

Jana

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"Egg-less" Gingerbread Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

I haven't been putting "egg-less" in the titles of my posts because lately it seems so tacky to me, but as you have probably noticed the term "egg-less" has made a reappearance into this title. It wasn't that my other recipes weren't "egg-less", it just seemed tacky to always be adding that to the title.  But I decided this week that the term "egg-less" sets my recipes apart from other recipes, hence it is back to stay.

So, today's recipe took me FOREVER to perfect. I can't even remember how many batches I made to get this one right. I even tested a few different recipes, trying to find the perfect one. One batch was so crumbly they were near impossible to eat, another batch pretty much overflowed their muffin cups and and went all over my oven. Not pretty!

Anyway... I finally made the perfect cupcakes! I LOVE molasses - almost as much as I love spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves... those yummy spices) so when the two get put together with some maple frosting on top, it is the perfect combination. And gingerbread is so christmasy and festive. These would be great for that holiday party coming up!

"Egg-less"Gingerbread Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

For Cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups wonder flour (or other whole grain flour like spelt or kamut)*

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

1/3 cup raw sugar

pinch salt

1 cup no-sugar added applesauce

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

For Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp. maple syrup

Almond milk  (if further thinning is required)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare muffin tin with cupcake liners (the more festive the better - since it is Christmas).

Mix the dry ingredients together. *If you end up using white flour, cut the measurement back to 2 1/3 cups.

In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients until well combined. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until just barely combined.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan. The batter should come just short of the top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, prepare the frosting by putting butter in a large bowl and beating until whipped. Add powdered sugar and beat for another minute. Scrape down the sides and add the maple syrup. Mix for another 2-3 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Cool in muffin pan for a few minutes, than remove to wire rack.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost in desired manner.

Recipe adapted from The Village Vegan

Jana

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