Betina Thygesen

A few weeks ago I had lunch with a group of nice, I guess what you would call quite “health conscious” people, in a small, simple organic lunch cafeteria type of place. We are all eating our individual sprouted quinoa, tofu wraps, black bean salad and herbal teas, and as some of my fellow lunchers are engaged in a somewhat heated discussion on good vs. bad foods, one gentleman is joining the group with a cup of coffee and a really delicious looking large cookie. Everybody is eying the cookie and somebody asks: ”how is it sweetened, is it agave, brown rice syrup or (god forbid) sugar?” After a few seconds of kind of awkward silence the cookie eater responds: “I don‘t know … and would you people just let me enjoy my cookie?” Ha, I really liked his response!  

I have a sweet tooth and I like something sweet with a cup of nice strong coffee around 10 am. I give in to this craving most days, it is a habit that comes very close to an addiction! Anything that is having a hold on me like this is annoying, especially since coffee and sweets aren’t exactly health promoting, or are they? 

For years I have tried to come up with recipes for healthy whole-wheat, dairy and fat free cinnamon buns, healthy cookies, dairy free ice-cream, low fat chocolate mousse etc. all with very little success! It simply just never turns out quite right, in fact imitations of any kind never do (this reminds me of an Elton John impersonator I saw last summer!). 

I have also tried to not have anything sweet and tried to not have any coffee. And I have definitely tried to have too much of both! None of which have seemed to fit my temperament! 

So what to do?? Is evaporated, organic cane juice or high fructose corn syrup, and “natural sweeteners,” the answer? Manufacturers of boxed cereal, crackers and cookies certainly are doing their best to make us all believe that it is as is my local Whole Foods market with their display of “healthy”, organic sweet treats on the shelves! But unfortunately, “buyer beware”, all these really healthy sounding sweeteners are nothing but different ways of saying sugar. And sugar certainly is not doing our health a favor. That the body doesn’t know exactly how to process something as innocent looking as sugar, that sugar depletes our bodies of important minerals promoting tooth decay and bone loss, that sugar is highly addictive, that sugar messes with our moods and in some individuals promotes aggression really is not fair - something that good tasting! 

The good news is however, that there are ways for those of us who like that seductive taste of sweet, to stay in control of our blood sugar whilst feeding our sweet tooth: 

-       Make sure to eat lots of real whole foods with adequate amounts of protein, fats and carbohydrates. Do never let anything sweet (not even dried or fresh fruits) crowd out or replace your meals.

-       Use natural sweeteners such as maple syrup and grain syrups, dried fruits, fruit juice and applesauce in small amounts. Do not sweeten anything with white sugar or, even much, much worse, with artificial sweeteners. This is tricky if not preparing your own snacks and meals as reading labels isn’t as straightforward as it ought to be!

-       Enjoy the stuff, really put your mind to that indulgence, and thank yourself for eating just a little. Do not eat because your car couldn’t start or because there is still snow on the ground or because your husband has still not fixed the whatever he promised to fix! 

The body is so amazing that it knows best how to process and digest real food, this includes those that taste sweet. The foods I am talking about do have calories and that is OK because we need calories. 

Whilst writing this, I have enjoyed 2 pieces of the most delicious kind of truffle fudge that I made last night. You should try, it is really good and very easy to make, just follow the recipe in the recipe section named Chocolate Truffles.

About coffee ... let's do that another time! 

Enjoy!