Day two is down, and I have to say, I’m not wishing for any of the sweet stuff. I rolled over another four points and I’m feeling good about that accomplishment. A pro tip to share, I mixed in spaghetti squash with a 1/2 cup of linguini and topped it off with homemade sauce, a 2 oz meatball and a spoon full of part-skim ricotta cheese. It was very delicious. I even had room for a piece of Italian bread which was also excellent. My whole dinner was 7 SmartPoints. Try it, it’s a nice alternative to just eating pasta.

Write one memory in detail that involves eating sugar.

Monday How Sweet It Is Seven Day Sugar Challenge

Looking across the table there were so many good things to try. A box of Russel Stover’s chocolates, a try of holiday cookies from my favorite, Copenhagen’s Bakery, a bowl of fruit with chocolate dipped strawberries, pineapples, and apple pieces sticking out of it on skewers. a tub of creamy vanilla Hagen Dazs ice-cream, homemade apple pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue, and a cherry pie glistening with a sugary crust. I sighed in anticipation, and took a plastic dessert plate, it was small and round with pleated edges lined with a gold stripe. I took:

• a thin crisp chocolate chip cookie
• a skinny slice of lemon meringue pie
• a small slice of apple pie with a spoon full of ice-cream
• a chocolate dipped strawberry
• a piece of Russel Stover candy – a raspberry creme

My little plate had not an inch to spare. I bit the cookie and it was a combination of sweetness and crumbly sandy texture. I listened to the conversation, smiling and nodding. My brother had found a new house he wanted to buy and it sounded like it had the potential to be the perfect home. Then I tasted the meringue airy and delicious with a tart lemon taste that was anchored by the soft crust below. I listened to my nieces and nephew give me his college update, how it was going what he was learning. Now my fork dipped down into the flakey pie crust into the glistening gooey apples that are tucked within. I complimented my niece as she was the baker, she had created another triumph. My teeth broke through the thick chocolate shell into a sweet strawberry as I laughed out loud at a story my brother was recounting from his wild youth. I looked down at my plate at the last lonely piece of candy, the raspberry cream, another celebration was ending.

So many happy times are tied to food aren’t they? Eating is an experience, and it’s one that can be easily revisited when times get tough. It’s easy to turn to food if I’m not aware of its power and hold over me. Who knows maybe that is why I want a bigger dessert. Maybe, it pulls in some of those other feelings of love, acceptance, and home that I want to be connected to. All of that is very possible. It’s funny, after writing out this memory, I am not craving any of the food, the sweet stuff I am craving is being with my family. It’s about love not cookies.