Sweet stuff

Kyle and I are probably the worst influence on each other because we both have zero self control when it comes to chocolate.  We both have dessert every single night and it’s not even a question of what we are going to have, but how much.

Half of the time I make us stuff…usually cookies or brownies for him and chocolate bark or cups for me.

The other half of the time we buy (massive amounts of) chocolate bars…Kyle and I can dominate a TJs pound plus bar (the dark chocolate with almonds is our fave) in 3-4 nights.  So you can only imagine what our cart looks like for an average weekly grocery haul.

Here are some of what we’ve been enjoying lately…along with some rambling.

I just discovered Lily’s chocolate and I LOVE it.  My mom (errrr…the Easter bunny) gave me a Lily’s chocolate egg in my basket and ever since then I’ve bought a bar or two whenever I go to WF.  It’s stevia sweetened so it’s not as much of a sugar bomb which is ideal since I eat at least half a bar per night.  Also, it doesn’t destroy my gut the way xylitol does.

And more good news!  They sell Lily’s chocolate chips on Thrive Market for way cheaper than you can find them anywhere else!  Yeah, I have totally drunk the Thrive kool-aid.  It’s an awesome company and I’m probably going to end up keeping my membership after the trial is over because the prices are phenomenal and the annual fee isn’t too bad when you break it down ($5 a month).  Beyond that, they do SO MANY promotions that you can always get something free or even more discounted.  Also shipping is free if your order is over $50.  You can get sooooo much stuff for $50.  Oh!  AND they donate a membership to someone else for each paying member who joins.  So legit.  Have I convinced you to get on board yet???

I don’t really take photos when I make bark anymore because I make it almost twice a week now.  I realize that frequency is kinda insane, but I truly believe the coconut oil is helping my gut like nothing I’ve tried before.  [TMI warning] As a lifelong IBS-C sufferer, I can firmly state  that second to following a low FODMAP diet, coconut oil is making me regular in a way that nothing else has ever ever ever been able to.  And I’ve tried everything.  I mean, way back when HHH started, it was to sort out a diet that worked to manage my IBS.  Since then it has morphed into much more, but tweaking my food choices to minimize symptoms has always been at it’s root.  In large amounts coconut oil can be a little bloating, but it’s a short lived bloat and I’ve found that if I eat it at night, it’s gone by the morning and my digestive system is almost like a “normal” person’s.  I hope it continues to work and isn’t some hormonal thing that is exclusive to this postpartum phase.  We shall see…in the meantime, it’s a delicious excuse to eat lots of coconut oil chocolate.

The other major source of coconut oil in my life is home-made crackers.  I make them once a week and have them with lunch almost every day.  Basically, I alternate the days I eat crackers with the days I eat bark so I don’t overload my system with coconut oil.  The crackers are so addictive it’s hard to stop so I only make them in batches that will last a week.  But, truth be told, they are so easy to whip up I have a hard time not making them as frequently as I make bark!

I used to buy unsweetened puffed corn (Arrowhead Mills brand) for P when he was a baby in place of sweetened “puffs” but lately I can’t find them anywhere.  While he eats them very sparingly now, I do continue to buy them to keep them in a tupperware in the car.  I combine them with dried fruit to make a trail mix of sorts that serves as a car snack distraction for P.  I know they still make the puffed corn but all the stores near me are out and you have to order in bulk online.

All that is to say, I’ve been buying GF (rice) chex mix to fill the void.  It’s more processed (duh) and has sugar in it, so that sucks.  But then I get to use it in my bark, so that’s fun.

These cookies were from Nigella’s cookbook Nigella Kitchen that I got from the library a couple weeks ago.

Kyle always always always wants cookies in the house.  And then he blames me for having cookies in the house.  I lose.

These lasted him a really long time though.  I was impressed with his self control.  It’s not something I could have done.  They had butter though so he didn’t have to share with anyone else.

Needless to say, he was pretty pleased.

And then WF had a #onedaysale that I just couldn’t resist.  I swear they knew what they were doing when they scheduled it for the week that the temps spiked to 105.

I mean?  What did they think I was going to do???

I bought an almond milk flavor and a coconut milk flavor.  I can’t recall which was which but one was butter pecan and one was chocolate.

More bark.

We had friends over for brunch last weekend and they brought the most massive bag of Ghirardelli ever.

Kyle doesn’t know it yet but I have no intentions of sharing this  😉

Good thing I finished my box of See’s candy because the pantry can’t hold much more chocolate than it currently has.  I know I will come up with a solution somehow…I just know it.