Spicy Ice Cream and Finally Reaching Goals

Mmm...ice cream. On the anti-Candida diet, I've had a hard time dealing with the loss of so many dessert items. But I finally managed to get one back.

I've been familiar with coconut ice cream for a while, thanks to my sister, but all the store bought ones I've seen are packed with sugar. So I set to find a more ACD-friendly version. Inspired by the recipe over at Caveman Food, I sought to make something creamy and delicious, while still being sugar-free.


It certainly looks like ice cream (it's soft because it just came out of the machine). Mmm...the flavor is creamy and refreshing, not too sweet but sweet enough. Ahh, yes. But wait...why is my face burning? I have a solution for that! More ice cream. Lather, rise and repeat your way into deliciousness.

This is not your average scoop of vanilla. I wanted something with plenty of flavor, but without the additional carbs offered by filling it with fruit (not that there's a problem with fruit). What started with cinnamon quickly spiraled into an unusual, tasty concoction. Baker beware, but it is an enjoyable, if unexpected flavor combination.

A bowl of ice cream was a great way for me to celebrate the long-anticipated success at meeting my weight loss goal. It took me three years, but I'm finally down to my 'ideal BMI' and am 30 pounds lighter. I have been down and back up over the long stretch, but the most recent loss (due to my new lifestyle) has put me 20 pounds lighter since Thanksgiving 2010. It was the perfect pace for me, fast enough to see progress and slow enough that I stayed healthy. I know my revised eating plan may seem extreme to some, but it is pretty balanced and I make sure to get enough healthy calories and nutrients.

The long and short of it is I am super happy to have reached a goal I've had for a good while, but I don't see any reason to let up now. Instead of a focus on weight loss, I can now look to muscle toning and shaping, as well as continuing to nurture a healthy digestive track and overall wellbeing. I look forward to seeing how things progress in the future. I would like to thank my loving husband, family and friends that have supported me and been patient as I've continued to stumble through this process. You all are amazing!

Spicy Surprise Cookies

Ok, so how do you make 'not too sweet' cookies that are still fun and exciting? Make them spicy! I started to look around for a recipe to try out. Most 'spicy' cookies involve cinnamon, ground ginger or maybe some cloves. But I wanted real spice. Like 'ow, what is this I've put in my face unexpectedly?' spice.

I finally came across a recipe for Spice Sugar Cookies. Black pepper? Cayenne? Now that's more like it! Being a connoisseur of the chocolate chip cookie (and having the recipe floating about in my head), I started to look over the recipe with a closer eye. Things were looking good until I hit the salt. That seemed like a lot. I figured I should check out the reviews, of which there were two. One loved it, the other...thought it tasted like Playdoh. Hmm. Not exactly what I was going for. So I made a few revisions and here's the finished product.


I love this cookie. So dainty and unassuming. They're dense and not overly sweet, almost like a soft shortbread. Only about halfway through you start to realize that your mouth is starting to burn in a way that should not be connected to cookies. Good thing milk was made for cookiedom and will neutralize that capsaicin (the substance in peppers that sets your mouth on fire). I also thought it could use a bit more flavor, so I tried out a glaze on them too. The review from the test kitchen? Devoured. There seems to be division over the glaze vs. not glazed, so I think next time I'll make half and half. And there will be a next time, oh yes.


NOTE: This was my first experience with fresh ginger. I've used the ground kind several times and while I don't hate it, it's not my favorite. Obviously I didn't have fresh when researching this recipe so I looked up the conversion. Turns out there isn't one; they're totally different flavors. And they are! Fresh ginger packs a sharpness which is marvelous. And it turns out you can freeze it. So I recommend picking up a small nub and throwing it in a sandwich bag in your freezer. I'm looking forward to experimenting with it more.