Sweet Tooth

I dream of ice cream...

Sometimes I get a little nervous when I meet new people and they ask me what I do for a living. I'm afraid that word, "Dietitian" in many people's minds = 'one of those crazy people that always eats healthy and will totally judge me if I ever eat with them'. It's not true! Believe me! Yes, I do have to practice what I preach, but that does not mean I don't indulge in the good things in life every once in a while. Let me tell you, I love me a soft serve waffle cone with sprinkles, or a cupcake from Muddy's bakery, or a cheesy bean and rice burrito from Taco Bell. I just don't do it everyday.
You see, the real reason I'm telling you all this was to make a confession. I'm a dietitian and I have a sweet tooth. I mean it. Even when I was little I knew I had a problem. (Dad, I'm not sure I ever told you this... haha!) I used to sneak slices of Wonder bread (because to me as a little kid, "brown bread" was icky!) out of the pantry. Then, I would sprinkle sugar (that's right, sugar!) on top of that melt-in-your mouth slice of bread and tiptoe outside with to munch on it. In secret. Yep. That's how I catered to my sweet tooth as desserts were limited to me as a kid. We were only allowed to choose one dessert after dinner, but I was always complaining that I wanted more than just one dessert. So one night, my Dad decided he would let me eat as many desserts as I wanted. Of course, I indulged! I think ate at least 3 (maybe more!) desserts - ie. cookies, a popsicle, ice cream... That night though, I learned my lesson when I was rudely awakened by a nightmarish stomachache (and the subsequent loss of all my dessert goodies...)!  If only that would have cured me...

 Browned-butter chocolate chip coconut cookies = incredible!!

It has taken me a several years, and a few repeats of that night of overindulgence as a kid, but I may have finally learned a decent way to cope with my proclivity for sweets. I like to think of it as a sort of bank account. I choose to curb my sweet cravings throughout the week with fruit or chocolate milk which I keep around the house so that on the weekends, I can "cash in" on my dessert account and go big - like a bowl of ice cream with all the fixin's from YoLo or a decadent slice of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Corner just down the street. It's all about moderation, yo! The other key to keeping sweets out of my mouth, is simply not keeping them around the house. Especially cookies. They're dangerous. I would know.