Here it is a couple of days after Christmas and I am seriously craving something green to eat.
I don’t mean green as in donuts or cookies with green colored frosting. I mean green as in cucumbers or salad or something (anything) that will give me a dose of vitamins and nutrients. Something that grows naturally and that God intended for nourishment of our bodies.
Oh, what a difference a week makes.
It was only a week or two ago when I posted about how un-Christmasy I felt. And how that was good because it probably would help keep me from overeating during the holiday season. You know how it is when you pray for patience, though. God starts giving you extreme situations to hone your patience. Well…
My downfall started the week we were at St George Island. Keith and Carla immersed us in the Christmas spirit which included lots of home-made sweets. They greeted us the first day with a delicious meal, topped off with a chocolate cake in honor of our anniversary. They left candy filled Christmas stockings on our pillows as a welcome gift. All week they worked together, right in front of our stomachs, making chocolate covered toffee, popcorn balls, and fudge. And they shared so generously with me and my highly advanced sweet tooth.
The day Lynn and Dave arrived (the 21st) was Dave’s birthday. We were trying to detox from the sugar but we hadn’t yet finished the fudge Keith & Carla sent home with us. David is a chocolate aficionado. Because I love him and wanted to make his birthday extra special, I made him a from-scratch cake recipe called Sinful Chocolate Cake. It’s devil’s food with chocolate pudding mix, chocolate chips and pecans mixed in. It made a huge (HUGE!), dense cake, more than half of which is still left almost a week after his birthday.
We went shopping at BJ’s two days before Christmas and goldarn it, they already had Valentine’s and Easter candy out. I scarfed up an industrial sized bag of Cadbury Mini-Eggs. I’m addicted to them (there, I’ve said it out loud!) and these mini-eggs are only available a certain time of year. To be fair, I haven’t yet opened them. I need to first get rid of all the other toxic sugar lined up on the counter and purge my system of the memory of Christmas confection overload. Then I can truly enjoy them.
Our neighbors brought over cookies they made. Twice. They were so good, I decided that since we’d have a 6-year-old great-niece here overnight on Christmas Eve I should make just a few cookies (for her?) as a Christmas treat. I didn’t even make double batches! Still, we ended up with about 6 dozen frosted sugar cookies and melt-in-your-mouth Mexican wedding cakes. When we moved from Missouri I gave away ALL my cookie cutters. Somewhere along the line since we’ve been in Florida I picked up a very large circle, a very large heart, and a wine glass (no clue what I was thinking that day) cookie cutter. We have cookies in the shapes of angel wings (a heart cut in half), half moons (a circle cut in half) and wine glasses. I have to admit I like the wine glasses best.
On Christmas Eve I went shopping for a few last-minute grocery items and there were a dozen really cute Christmas decorated mini donuts on the clearance rack they park (conveniently and temptingly) next to the eggs in the dairy section. They got me even though I deliberately stayed out of the bakery section! I know, I know. Every decision to choose or walk away from the sugar is mine, and mine alone.
And then, on Christmas morning, we had a special brunch of sausage balls, eggs, and a decadent pan of cinnamon rolls soaked in heavy cream and topped with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon that Lynn found an irresistible recipe for.
Oh yeah, I was finally feeling very Christmasy.
And that, dear friends, is how I woke up the day after Christmas feeling like I was coming out of a sugar coma. Alarmingly, there are still A LOT of opportunities to do it again and again and again. Not alarming enough that I’m going to throw anything away though.
So right now I’m dreaming about salad and cucumbers and carrots (yes, I know they’re not green). My body, just the way God designed it, is craving healthy food. And tonight’s the night we’re planning to feed that craving. I might even skip dessert. Maybe. Well, probably not. After all, we have to get rid of this stuff!
P.S. This week is my favorite holiday of the year….New Year’s Day….a time of new beginnings. I’m gonna beat the lingering aftereffects of this sugar coma yet! I’m just grateful there are 3 other people in the house to help consume the rest of this sugar.
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