Day 21 - Feb. 1, 2010

It is no big deal to stay on the Word of Wisdom. I've made that a habit and a way of life. I am not struggling at this point to live this way and I am happy and content. A few years ago (and many years ago) this lifestyle would have been so radical to me. But now it is as normal a way of life as breathing. I still battle with urges for thick grilled hamburgers, but even that is lessening. I am also very comfortable doing without sugar. I have been using agave as a sweetener and have been looking for recipes that actually turn out as good as the sugar ones. The only problem I have is that sometimes I over do it, eating too many of them. I have this mind set that says because they are healthier for me, I should have as many as I want. MISTAKE! I have got to work on that...portions Pam, portions!! So as far as diet goes, I feel really good about what I'm eating.
Today marked one month of trying to eat a healthier way and trying to lose weight. I have lost a total of 11.5 lbs which means that I have lost 6.1% of my weight. I'll take that, but now comes the difficult task and that is to eat less than my body uses. I need to figure out how to eat the correct portions and then I think I'll be on my way.
Yesterday, we had Family Home Evening at my house for everyone in the area. My job was to make the treat. I made a brownie cake, cut it in small squares and drizzled chocolate frosting all over it. They said they were really good. I don't know because I didn't have any. Yay! I had just a few leftover so I'm thinking they told the truth. I also made a healthier treat for those of us who don't want to indulge in sugar. I'd like to share that recipe. I was pretty proud of myself because I tweaked it a little and it turned out better than expected. The recipe called for canola oil and it said that the cookies should turn out to be crunchy. I don't like crunchy cookies so I substituted coconut oil (the consistency of shortening) for half of it. They were so good and chewy. Now mind you my older grandchildren did not like these, but my 1 yr old grandchild gobbled them up and loved them. They got rave reviews from the adults, so here it is:

Oatmeal Cookies w/ dried fruit, nuts and agave

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup spelt flour(whole wheat or oat flour)
1 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries (You could use any dried fruit, I used dried cherries.)
1/2 cup agave
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 - 1/2 cup nuts (I used walnuts.)

Mix dry ingredients together, add dried fruit, mix, add liquids and mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

***Note - I doubled this recipe and added one egg and about 1/2 - 3/4 cup more flour. I kind of played with it a little til I thought it was the right consistency. It worked really well. They came out perfectly!!!!