Not for the faint of sugar. . er . . .heart

Okay, for those of you who don't already know, I absolutely adore cooking and baking. I love food. Trying new things, new tastes, experimenting, making things I didn't think I could make at home. . . and finding out how easy and delicious it can be. When a recipe works out and Brad actually likes it (he can be pretty picky, at times) it is such feeling of success!! A huge rush!! Anyway, I really, really enjoy it and try to do it as often as possible.

I also try to stay as healthy and budget-conscientious as possible which (unfortunately) takes a lot of the fun out of cooking. But a big pro of cooking is how much money you are saving by not eating out, which is a big vice that Brad and I have. We love food and eating out is fun and easy alternative to making dinner when we are wrecked at the end of the day. Besides the waste of money, eating out also tends to be much less healthy than making the same kinds of food at home. One fun thing that I love to do is recreate a dish that I ate at a restaurant that we both liked. It's fun to try to make it at home for less money and more health benefits.

But then the holidays come and all that health and budget stuff goes flying out the window. The last couple of weeks I have spent hours in the kitchen making goodies for the holidays and they are positively sinful. My best friend, Kristen, and I made a pact that whatever we didn't eat before New Year's Eve will be served at our New Year's Eve party. Because eating all that by yourself just isn't a good idea.

In other attempts to keep from consuming all these calories myself (with the help of Brad and Raina, of course), I have also taken to giving some of these treats out to friends. And, in response, I've gotten a few recipe requests. So I've posted some of our yummiest recipes over on our food blog but, be warned, these are NOT nutritionally or diabetically friendly!! But these treats are amazing, so allow yourself to enjoy some deliciousness . . . in moderation, of course!

Homemade Marshmallows (Yes, it can be done!)

Saltine Toffee Candy (Sounds weird but cast aside your doubts, this candy is phenomenal!)

And just so you know that I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that I've literally got thousands of calories worth of homemade sinful-ness stashed in my fridge, here's the evidence!

Hope you enjoy!
~Layne

Note: Believe it or not, my sugars have actually been pretty good this holiday season. I had one day this weekend where my sugars where bouncing all over and I was dealing with high's one minute and lows the next (I hate that!). But eventually I got it under control and for the most part the rest of the time I've managed to stay on top of my sugars. But I won't say anymore for fear of jixing it!