One day, at the tender age of fifteen, I noticed my growing belly and announced to my mom that I was going on a diet. By the end of the first day I had managed to devour an entire  banana cream pie!  Just the mention of going on a diet can inspire us to binge.  There was the time my sister went on The Watermelon Diet. It ended with us devouring a gallon of Dryer’s Rocky Road Ice cream. I still remember the feel of the spongy, sweet marshmallows and the creamy dark chocolate on my tongue.

Why is there such a strong tendency to binge when we deprive ourselves of the things we love? What you resist, persists and sure enough as soon as I declared my weight a problem, it became one.  What finally cured me of this debilitating pattern? Moderation and self acceptance. This small shift from fixating on my problem to focusing on balance and well being, liberated me from the constant worry about my weight.

As I’ve aged my metabolism has slowed down and again I had to shift my eating patterns.  Over the years I have slowly and so almost effortlessly eliminated some of my worst food addictions starting with white sugar and white flour. So many of our food choices are habitual and surprisingly some of the healthier alternatives are more delicious than the traditional desserts.

Interested? Read on….

Coconut Ice Cream

1 can coconut cream

1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbs raw cocoa

1/4 c  Xylitol

1 tsp vanilla

2 bananas

2 tsp chopped walnut

Blend all the ingredients together except the walnuts. I use a Cusinart but a blender would work too. Freeze for 2-3 hours and serve with sprinkled walnuts.

If you are unfamiliar with Xylitol it is a natural sweetener made from the Birch tree. It has the lowest glycemic index of any natural sweetener and is one third of the calories of white sugar.