your just desserts

i'm on the last couple chapters of a great, life-changing book, "THE WRITING DIET" or "WRITE YOURSELF RIGHT-SIZE", by Julia Cameron, who also wrote "THE ARTIST'S WAY" another life-changing book for me!

this chapter i just read is about dessert, and at the end of each chapter, there is a task. this one is about creating a list of sugar-free desserts, of which there are many. one recommended in the book was frozen fruit, ricotta cheese and a touch of splenda, blended together, and you have a fake ice cream, so to speak. great idea! i would use honey because i don't like splenda, but it's a great idea.

here is my list. PLEASE add some in your comments if you have any! and take my ideas if you like them and let me know what you think!

1. a spoonful of honey. pure heaven, if you ask me.
2. cut a banana lengthwise and throw it in a frying pan with the tiniest bit of butter. like a 1/2 teaspoon. carmelize and add cinnamon.
3. do the same with pineapple. oh man.
4. bake or microwave an apple or a peach and add cinnamon and splenda or honey on the top.
5. yogurt with frozen blueberries, warmed up in the microwave. add slivered almonds if you need crunch.
6. fruit. really good fruit. spend some money on it.
7. granitas. this takes some time, but i bet it would be fun in the summer. take your favorite unsweetened juice, like natural cherry or pomegranate, etc. add lime juice and brewed and cooled mint tea. pour it in a shallow tupperware and throw it in the freezer, scraping the top with a fork every two hours, until the entire thing is little crystals. yum! (i just made up that mint tea thing. how cool! might not work, though. i'll try it and see)
8. i love dried fruit, but dried cherries, figs and dates are my favorite. those are never added to a trail mix, but i think i would reach for a trail mix more readily if those favorites, sunflower seeds and nuts, would be used. yum!

okay, now she says to treat yourself with one of these desserts every day of the week and see how you feel. she is really saying NO sugar as a rule. i don't think that's a bad idea. i'm pretty much there, but could definitely use a boost to go the whole way.

by the way, i had the time to pick up this book today, because i did it instead of eating. i'm on a mini fast until friday and i already feel like i have backed away from "need this need that". i don't really need a sandwich ~ i need peace. i need time. i need to feel like God is providing for me. so i thought a fast was a good idea. and this being Holy Week, what better time? anyone out there have any suggestions? i'm drinking tons of water, eating some nuts and fruit when i really need energy. maybe some hot tea later. lots of quiet. lots of prayer. writing. it may not last as long as i want it to, but when God plants this idea into your head, and i think it is God, it's more fun to listen and go with it...