Saturday, October 18, 2008

Confessions of an Unreformed Sweet Tooth

diagnosis: one of the best cheesecakes i have eaten. ever.
cheesecake shop's mississippi cheesecake.


Of course I knew I had low-fat yogurt in the fridge at home - I just bought them yesterday. Vanilla, cheesecake, and apple pie flavored yogurt, 8 tubs in all, each just 73 calories.

But there are just days when you can't settle for anything but the real deal.

Which was why I found myself at the nearest service station at 730pm (after getting there on foot, mind you), rummaging through the freezers and looking for the lowest calorie ice cream treat I could find. Did you know that most ice cream bars are AT LEAST a 180 calories? Frankly, I really never wanted to know - but, unfortunately, due to my diligent label checking, I now know.

Luckily, I did find something that suited - a small cup of classic vanilla ice cream, just 110 calories for a small sojourn in sweet tooth heaven. Just in time, too, because the people at the cash register were beginning to give me strange looks after seeing me hovering over all three of their freezers for almost 15 minutes before settling for my treat and paying for it.

What can I say? The spirit is willing, etcetera, etcetera. And when you live in the land of Cadbury chocolate and Tim Tam, it can be quite challenging for any forsworn sweet tooth to to stay on the side of low glycemic index eating.

As part of my personal health reform agenda, which I've embarked upon to avert certain disaster - specifically a date with probable early onset diabetes - I've been trying to wean myself away from unhealthy sweets and going for the more healthy substitutes. Which translates to stocking muesli bars for chocolate bars, fruits for lollies, and, yes, yogurt for ice cream.

While that has managed to work for me somewhat, it's hard not to give in to temptation every now and then. Not having the object of my addiction on hand may prevent me from indulging regularly, but when I'm craving for the real thing, going out of my way to get my fix is not going to be a problem.

I'm trying to practice the value of moderation in this particular area in my life - and buying into the joys of muesli, fruit, and yogurt more often when a craving hits. But I still allow myself one mini-sized chocolate bar every now and then, as well as real ice cream (gelato!) when I want a treat. And no matter what anyone says - I am never, ever going to be able to turn down a slice of cheesecake. Ever.

I am, and always will be, a sweet tooth. I consider it both a blessing and curse, but it will always be a fact of my life. Curse, because it can be so hard to resist indulging in my favorite things in the world and damning the health consequences. Blessing because it doesn't take a lot to make me happy - just a great dessert has the power to make my day.

And, really, in this complicated world of ours where there are just so many things that can get you down, don't you agree that it's sort of great to be able to experience joy from a simple sugar rush?

8 comments:

ness said...

I CAN SO RELATE, CLAIREBEAR. I READ EVERY WORD OF THIS POST LIKE I WAS SAVORING A QUARTER OF A CHEESECAKE. NOT A SLICE BUT A QUARTER OF A WHOLE... ::SIGH::

Manggy said...

Oh, I totally agree-- I love dessert and I'll never be able to let it go. But the resolution I keep failing to, er, keep is to be more discriminating as to which desserts I eat, para sulit. Sometimes when I get really hungry for some reason I still reach for those nasty M&M's or something! I need to actually make more dessert to satisfy my cravings while making it worth it!

dr_clairebear said...

@ness: aha! another cheesecake aficionado! you will LOOOVE the mississippi cheesecake. i bought half a few weeks ago on a whim on the recommendation of one of my co-workers - then brought it in to share with all of them. why should i suffer expanding thighs and hardened arteries alone? :)) bad influence! hehehe

@manggy: must be difficult to stay away from sweets when you make sweets yourself! buti na lang i never learned to do that sort of stuff. :) i know what you mean about picking the willpower battles we should lose. hehehe.

on a completely unrelated note, have any of you ever tried Mcdonalds soft serve ice cream topped with their hot apple pie? you order the sundae without the topping, then mash up the apple pie into the ice cream. FANTASTIC STUFF. haven't had one in YEARS but i still remember how it tastes...

MerryCherry said...

Hi Doc. Health buff ka na ngayon ah. ;)

I was just talking with my colleagues last week about sweet tooth and they are all amazed because I don't have one, not even half a sweet tooth.

But I try deserts/cakes, just like any other food. :)

Btw, TBR 22 is coming up. You might want to join. THE GIFT

Abaniko said...

I used to eat chocolate bars (at least 5 in one sitting) with a liter of Coke after a hard day's work while watching TV around midnight. I miss those days. Hehe.

dr_clairebear said...

@merry cherry: ikaw naman, celebrity! will try, am trying to prioritize certain career-related things at the moment, but i'll try to make your deadline if i can.

@abaniko: aha, a kindred soul! *LOL* i could never take that much coke, but the chocolate i could live on. dang these muesli bars!

drrayms said...

mother, wag masyado magpanggap sa pagiging health buff mo! hahaha!:). babalik ka rin sa mga grupo ng matatakaw! at pag-uwi natin, oysters with beer!!! yahoo!

Marjie said...

Ooohhhh....cheesecake. I'd eat it anyday, any time, and never ever regret it.

Looks really sinful :)