I shouldn’t have said it, but I did. I told my daughter. “I need to cut back on sugar, and I will … right after Easter.”
I said it before I left to go supervise the St. Louis grandchildren and I resolved to not nibble away the tedium of travel with sweet snacks.
Before we left, my daughter-in-love Joy sent a message, “Please don’t bring any candy. We are trying Sam and Sophie on a sugar free, gluten free, dairy free diet.”
“No problem. I planned to start a sugar free diet myself,” I responded.
I lied. It was a problem. I like going to her house, looking in the refrigerator and finding the jar of raspberry jam she buys for me. I like raspberry jam. I like raspberry ice cream. I really liked the raspberry fluff inside the dark chocolate shell in the marked down Easter candy.
I only bought two this year. One for me, one for hubby, as well as two each of eggs with maple, coconut, caramel and chocolate fillings. All health foods because that shell of dark chocolate is a healthy choice. We ate all of it before we left.
I did not buy any candy to take to the grandchildren.
Instructions for supervising the children included a list of meals to prepare each day: gluten free, dairy free and sugar free (GDS-free) meals for the two oldest and parallel meals with another set of breads, pastas and mixes for preschooler Henry and his grandparents. Plenty of food, just no sugar, no ice cream, no candy or cake tucked in any of the hidden corners. I checked.
The kids ate their GDS-free food and shared some meals with us. Some dishes were not as popular as others. Still, Sophia wanted the homemade beef vegetable soup in her lunch. And Sam’s doubtful acceptance of cashew chicken with broccoli and pineapple over rice turned into a request for seconds.
Henry just asked, “What’s for ‘zert?”
“Would you like whole wheat toast, butter and natural honey?” I asked.
“Yeah!”
My husband also wanted his ‘zert. He went to the store to buy items for the house repairs he agreed to do. He came home with candy bars and told me, “I bought one for you.”
I broke off a small piece and left the rest. The man who says he needs to lose weight ate the rest.
No problem packing GDS-free lunches. Joy left clear instructions and food for the entire week. I found everything except food for snacks: stuff like the raspberry jam and leftover Easter candy. Okay I agreed to not bring candy, but I thought I would find one little piece left somewhere.
Nope. Nada. Nothing. Not even sugar to sweeten the coffee. I was told that the all natural honey and maple syrup used for toast, waffles or coffee did not count as sugar.
I do like maple syrup. I have ever since I tasted the nectar from my Uncle’s sugar bush and the whipped maple frosting my aunt made. It tastes so sweet it made my teeth ache. Excluded from the pricier, gluten free menu, we consumed whole wheat alternatives. My husband made private excursion to his private stash of forbidden chocolate in our car.
With all the resolve to cut back enforced, I sailed through my first week of cutting back on sugar.
After a week of supervising grandchildren on a GDS-free diet, I can barely hear the clarion call of sweets. We’ll see how long it lasts once I return home where I know all the hiding places.