Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie Gum

This summer, I've been struggling with my desire to eat nothing but peanut butter milkshakes (and Peanut Buster Parfaits, and Tin Roof Sundaes, you get the idea!).  I've been able to maintain my weight all summer, but nothing has been happening on the weight loss front.  Instead of getting frustrated, I've been trying to nudge some of the bad habits I've picked up in the summer back to healthier habits.  I saw this gum in the checkout aisle last week and decided to give it a try since I'm a fan of the Extra Dessert Delights Mint Chip ice cream gum.  I'm glad I took a chance, because I'm now a big fan of this Apple Pie Gum!  I know it sounds weird, and I have to say, it is a little weird, but it tastes like apple pie!  It's just enough to take the edge off of a sugary dessert craving.  I do have to say that after about one minute, the taste starts to wear off a little and it gets a little blah, so it's not a gum you want to pop in your mouth to give it something to do for a while, just for a quick taste of sweetness.  Now Extra just needs to invent a peanut butter milkshake flavor and I'll be all set!

Summer

Oh my blog, how I have missed you!  I started this blog because I love food and I love to write.  Somewhere along the way, I lost my focus.  My blog started to feel like a burden.  I felt I had to compete with all of the other food blogs who took way better pictures and devoted so much time researching the backgrounds of foods and experimenting with kitchen techniques I could never compete with.  I started gaining weight and felt like a fraud writing about the French way of eating.  I felt I needed to update everyday with new recipes, yet my health and waistline were not happy with all of that food.  I needed to take a step back from my blog for a while.

During my blog hiatus, I joined Weight Watchers and rediscovered my joy of healthy eating.  I am 35 lbs down from where I was a year ago at this time and feel like I have rediscovered my joie de vivre.  For me, my food blog isn't about competing to make the most decadent dish and take the best pictures, it's about relating my joy of preparing healthy food for my family in its simplicity.  I realized I didn't have to compete with all of the amazing and wonderful blogs out there.  My blog is about my joie de vivre and a way to express myself creatively and at the end of this journey of self discovery, I think that is pretty wonderful.

For my friends and readers who have been gently (and sometimes not so) prodding me to update and post again, you will be seeing me here more often.  I can't always promise a fabulous recipe and I definitely can't promise fabulous mouthwatering pictures, but I can promise that I'll write about things, food, and experiences where I find joy.