sugar-free

for at least two years now, i have wanted to eliminate sugar from our diet. the operative word here being wanted. even though i know that sugar is not good for me. and i know why sugar is not good for me. and i even more or less know how to live without sugar, still it never happened. it just seemed too hard, giving up on sweet tastes altogether. not to mention...

- baking. the need to bake. cookies, bread, buns, scones, etc.. the more down, depressed, burnt out or generally miserable, the greater the need to bake.
- yogi tea. absolute addiction. cannot be drunk without sweetener (yuck!).
- regular dosis of chocolate, particularly during pre-menstruation time, this can mean the difference between life and death (...of close relatives and friends).
- amazingly beautiful tin of organic maple syrup (see above). am in love with tin (don't anybody dare say i could have the tin without the syrup).

anyway, this time around, inspired by Mirjam's example, i thought i'd make a more gentle plan. maple syrup can stay, as can honey. in limited dosis. and occasionally, some extremely dark (above 90%) chocolate. our first forray into the sugarless world consisted of making our own crüsli (granola). i used the recipe from Apples for Jam, and tweaked it a bit. it was lovely to make (very child-friendly recipe and the house still smells delicious) and it gave me that amazing kick that comes from making something you have formerly only bought. it turned out fantastic too. (Granola recipe adapted from Apples for Jam, by Tessa Kiros

pre-heat oven to 180 degrees
- 200 gr. 7-koren vlokken
- 4 tbsp. sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- handful of almonds (chopped)
- pinch of salt
mix the above in large bowl. use hands (preferably little ones).
in small saucepan, on a low fire, make sauce by melting 50 gr. of butter with 1/2 cup of runny honey and 1/3 cup maple syrup.
pour sauce over mixture in bowl. use little hands again to mix thoroughly.
use little-finger-licking time to spread mixture thinly over baking sheet/tray (covered in baking paper).
put into oven for 15 min.
turn mixture around.
put back into oven for another 15 min.
allow to cool.
put in jar.
admire jar.
eat.)