Sweet Tooth

Did you know I have a bit of a sweet tooth?

No. That's a huge understatement.

I am a giant sweet tooth. If somebody drew my caricature, I would be a tooth with a sign labeled "sweet." In my heaven, I would be surrounded by sweets of all kinds: chocolate, ice cream, cakes and cookies. .. which is why this week at work has been horrific. And it's only Monday ladies and gents.

Last week was Teacher's Appreciation Week. And it was a complete disaster in the nutrition department. Now, don't think I didn't make an effort to eat healthy - completely the opposite. On Monday I brought a super healthy lunch to work (a greek yogurt, sliced red pepper, and hummus - yum!). Unfortunately, that lunch sat in the teacher's room refrigerator uneaten until Friday - when I threw it away.

You see, not only do teachers get paid absolutely zilch (is that still a word? If not - I'm bringing it back), but we are punished during Teacher's Appreciation Week. Local restaurants apparently want us to feel even worse about ourselves and continually drop off high calorie, fatty foods all week. It is a nightmare. Now, if this was December - bring it on! I've got plenty of bulky sweaters to envelope my muffin top. But I am supposed to be on the beach in San Diego in 6 weeks. Not good news. So much for my healthy lunch. All week I had to search through a fridge full of the following: Chinese food from Peking Garden, Garlic Bread from Paparazzi, Bagels from Brueggers, and Pizza from Papa Gino's. I didn't have a chance.

I went in this (Monday) morning with an iron will. I packed another super healthy lunch (a Greek yogurt and kiwi) which I wolfed down in a matter of minutes. A teacher (who apparently wishes me ill) brought in banana bread made with a new recipe, and we all "just had to try it." So I did. 2 pieces. The recipe was good, I gave it 2 thumbs up and it gave me an extra 300 calories.

But I did not give up. I just figured "I'll run an extra mile" (remember - this mile NEVER happens) and eat a super healthy snack and dinner. I made up my mind to try again tomorrow and almost made it out of the teacher's room free and clear - before I heard the librarian claim that her daughter (who is a pastry chef) is testing out new cheesecake recipes and she will be bringing in 3 flavors tomorrow for us to try. I kid you not.

And so, I have had it on my mind all afternoon - how can I avoid the cheesecake tomorrow? Hmm..

Lately I have been slicing ripe bananas and freezing them in ziplock bags. They taste like ice cream! I promise this is not a nutty health lie. I am a dessert snob - as I've mentioned before, ridiculous yogurt and granola parfaits do not cut it. But frozen bananas are the real thing.

If I have extra time, I melt dark chocolate and drizzle the frozen bananas with the melted chocolate. Divine.

I may bring some frozen bananas to work and see if they can tide me over during the cheesecake fiasco. I'm not promising anything, but let's hope for the best.