Weaning off sweets

Ya know what absolutely baffles me? The fact that  I can go a whole month without sweets and then one indulgence, and the cravings are back! The day after I finished the paleo challenge, I had a piece of red velvet cake, and every day since, I've craved sweets. What gives! I swear sweets are like drugs, and just one taste can throw me back into bad habits. On a positive note, even though I've eaten a few grain products, I really haven't craved them. Winning! I've been gradually weaning myself off sweets by indulging in a couple pieces of dark chocolate, and 1-2 dates, every other day or so. What usually ends up happening is that I quell my cravings with nut butter , so I need to watch that as well. Work in progress!

Today I was pretty productive. Chad and I went to CrossFit and I did some cleaning, grocery shopping, met with my boss, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen. Today chuck roasts were on sale at Wholefoods so I got a 2lb roast and decided to attempt to make some beef jerky. I thinly sliced the meat and then marinaded it. Here's what I used:

2 tbsp coconut aminos
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

I cooked the meat at 170 degrees for about 4 hours and I think it turned out pretty well.

I also made some carrot-ginger muffins that I thought would be great to grab on the go. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
3 large eggs
1 large extra ripe banana mashed
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp coconut oil melted
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt

I mixed all the ingredients and baked the muffins at 350 for about 10 minutes. I think they turned out great but they are definitely not sweet, which may be a problem for Chad. Adding more honey would help but I like them as is.

For dinner I made turkey meatloaf, roasted veggies, and carrot-sweet potato cakes. I also made some ketchup to use for the meatloaf, but this time I made it a bit more savory than usual.

Ketchup is soo easy to make and this way you can control the ingredients. All you need is tomato paste, salt, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, either dry mustard or dijon, and honey.

I am so stuffed but happy that dinner was a success. I can't wait to try out the beef jerky!