One of the frustrating things for me as I started my sugar-free journey was definitely securing the products I needed in order to make the recipes and ideas that I found. I am not a store-hopper. I don’t like to go to more than one store in a week (with an Amazon order thrown in most weeks!). It goes back to my efficiency-expert-wanna-be ambitions—shopping feels like a waste of time since it takes so much time.
Another shocking recipe! I never expected these pecans to be anything close to the ones at the mall at Christmas time. Not without real brown sugar or real granulated sugar. And definitely not without butter. (I always thought all flavored nuts had butter!)
And oh the ease of the crock pot. Mix and forget. (They don’t call those popular books Fix It and Forget It for no reason!)
I love this recipe just as much with almonds as I do with pecans. Make them both for Christmas or for sugar-free gift bags for those you love.
![Healthy Sugar-Free Substitutes [FREE eBook Chapter]](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5457/31182254411_ff43db3de5_z.jpg "Healthy Sugar-Free Substitutes [FREE eBook Chapter]")
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I had always heard so many terrible things about sugar. You know them. Sugar spikes blood sugar and causes Type 2 Diabetes. It causes you to crave more and more unhealthy foods. It “feeds” cancer. It causes obesity. It is as addictive as this drug or that drug. And on and on.
But nothing deterred me. I just couldn’t do it. I tried the “normal” tips—switch to honey (still the blood sugar spikes and calories); eat fruit instead; just go cold turkey; eat peanut butter or apples or sugar-free candy (aspartame and sucralose!) instead; cut fat not sugar (i.e. low fat angel food cake or graham crackers or Weight Watchers cookies, etc.); drink Diet pop in place of the sugary treat; eat more protein; just cut portions; etc. etc. etc.
But I still ate like a ten year old and craved sugars and starches all the time. I couldn’t just eat two cookies. I always ended up eating six or eight. I couldn’t bypass my favorite donut shop. I couldn’t skip the candy at the gas station. Sugar was controlling me!
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”Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
CHEESEBALL ON CRACKERS—they want me to bring,
These are a few of my favorite things”
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Yep……everybody’s favorite cheeseball. Always asked to bring it. Simple to make. Loved by everybody.
Win. Win. Win.
Can cheese balls really fit in with a healthy eating plan? How about a low carb one? Well, the answer is yes and no.
If I can only have one chocolate treat in my freezer, this is the one. I have been making a “messy” version of this for a couple of years. My recipe assistant often came to test recipes with me for the day and found this blob lying on a plate covered with plastic wrap. She pointed (probably hoping that we weren’t going to be making that!), and I smiled and said, “Yep…they’re Tagalongs!”
Well, they were Tagalongs….but I never took the time to make them pretty. I just crisped up two low carb tortillas, spread peanut butter between them, and drizzled melted chocolate over all. A big, yummy, chocolate-peanut butter mess. But a delightful one, for sure!
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Thank-you for visiting Donna Reish.com. If you are reading this post, you are probably a subscriber who received my e-book, Sugar-Free Solutions, as a free gift. I hope you like it and are learning a lot!
One of the frustrating things for me as I started my sugar-free journey was definitely securing the products I needed in order to make the recipes and ideas that I found. I am not a store-hopper. I don’t like to go to more than one store in a week (with an Amazon order thrown in most weeks!). It goes back to my efficiency-expert-wanna-be ambitions—shopping feels like a waste of time since it takes so much time.
One of the true delights of low carb cooking (if you are not lactose intolerant or following some other non-dairy plan) has got to be cream cheese. While I was never one to eat cream cheese and bagels (too bland for me—I like sweet!), I have grown to love cream cheese in many other ways (sweet and savory) in my low carb and healthy cooking and baking.
As a matter of fact, I have loved it so much that I developed the Cream Cheese Dessert Base that uses cream cheese as the foundation for many desserts. I found that if I make this mix and have it in my refrigerator (or freezer) at all times, I am less prone to wander from my healthful eating path.
