Sweet tooth takes over!

My stomach is back to normal. It was back to normal very quickly. I'm still mystified. Now I am super leery about eating foods that could contain gluten. Will I have the same reaction next time? Was it a fluke? Was it food poisoning? Let's just hope there is never a repeat.

Moving on.

So I will be the first to admit I have a sweet tooth. On occasion it will rear it's head. "Feed me!" I dip into my candy reserves. As I have gotten older it seems to take smaller and smaller portions to satiate the beast. Usually. Sometimes I can ignore the monster. Other times it is more insistent. "FEED me!!" And into the freezer I dive for some ice cream. A couple of candies. An extra scoop of ice cream. The creature is more adamant. Then there are the days that my sweet tooth roars. "FEED ME!!!!!" Lord help me on those days. No matter what I put in my mouth it does not seem enough. Chocolate, ice cream, sweet tea, bakery goods. I need more! Today is one of those days. I am sure in a few days I will have a hormonal...visitor that will explain this intense craving, but for now there is no reasoning with the beast.

The beautiful thing is that in the (almost) year since going gluten free, I have found many safe options for feeding the cravings. On my way home from getting my hair cut (it's so cute!) I passed by the Vosges store. Yes, a store completely devoted to amazing, decadent chocolate. Amazing, decadent, expensive chocolate. Nearly all of it is gluten free! (I'm telling you, my sweet tooth is developing expensive tastes.) I sampled three "exotic candy bars" (remember my post about the Naga Bar?) One was white chocolate with kalamata olives, another with dark chocolate and Mexican peppers. The third was one I had already tried and LOVED. It is going to sound gross, but you must try it: milk chocolate, smoked salt and bacon. Heaven!

So there I was, looking all cute fresh from the salon, and surrounded by chocolate. What a blissful morning. :) By the time I walked out of there I had also tried a white chocolate-olive oil-kalamata olive truffle. Amazing. It should be for $3 a piece. The very nice (cute) boy working there gave me a free sample. Oh, and it pays to chat up the employees. He gave me a 10% "teacher" discount on my purchase of a Naga truffle and two candy bars. I have not yet tried these bars, but don't worry, I'll let you know how they taste. I anticipate more ooh-ing and ahh-ing.

Since I was in the neighborhood I also swung by Swirlz (the cupcake bakery that has GF offerings every day.) I had a coupon for a free cupcake. Which one should I get? Grasshopper mint-chocolate? Vanilla-chocolate? Cinnamon-chocolate? I asked the employee for his opinion. Mint-chocolate it was. Oh my! The cake is great, but the frosting is amazing! Light, creamy, slightly sweet. Perfect. Is my craving fulfilled? Well, it has quieted down for the moment. Although it does seem to be eyeing that Naga truffle with undue interest.