An Addiction I never Realized I had!

OK - so heres the set-up.

 

My husbands a chef, as many of you know, and we are both foodies.  We love making things at home from scratch (bread, cheese, so forth).  Theres not a lot of store bought things in our home, but a lot of raw ingredients.

For Valentines Day I plan on making chocolates for DH that represent things he is passionate about - music and culinary arts.  So to that end, I was practicing making milk chocolate for the shells from pure cacao mass.  I was making a 38% milk chocolate, so I had to add 44.5 percent sugar to the chocolate and 17.5% milk solids.

As I got the mixture incorporated , I took a small taste off the end of the spatula after tempering the chocolate.  That sugar in the chocolate lit up the addiction centers in my brain like the Fourth of July.  The rest of the night I was a junkie focused on getting another fix of that mixture.  Nothing would distract me for long.

I always knew I was a carb junkie.  Sugary stuff never made me crazy before surgery or even after.  It was always starchy stuff that was my downfall - Potatoes, etc.  This was insane.  

Those chocolates got boxed up and distributed before work this morning - the truffle fairy stopped by my friends and neighbors.  (For those seeking food porn, the chocolates were ganache truffles, dipped in tempered milk chocolate, and finished with one of several coatings  - crushed almond, crushed pistachio, crushed graham cracker, demerara sugar, powdered sugar, espresso, cinnamon-sugar, or cocoa powder).

And yes, I actually make graham crackers from scratch too.  I, however, do not grow the almonds or pistachios - LOL.  

So what did I learn from this - Carb sensitivities can come on at any time and take any form.  Just because something was not a trigger before, doesn't mean it cant be a trigger now or become one when you least expect it.    I had been letting some carbs creep back and that acted to make me more sensitive to them (i.e bread with both breakfast and lunch instead of just lunch).  The sugar bomb in this mixture was just the final straw.

Back on track and forewarned now.  

This is true for me too and like a true addict,ever heard of an alcoholic drinking Sternp,I don't care where that fix comes from. I bought papaya enzymes chewable to help with digestion. I knew they had a little sugar in them but I say oh I'll can do this. Um no 4 is the dose but I found I "needed" 8 to do the job. Then one more then between meals so they had to go and I knew better. Such is the life of a food addict. Sent from iPhone please forgive errors

You make graham crackers from scratch???  Holy Hell, thank gawd I don't live near you. 

But yes, I agree on the whole carb sensitive thing because there are some carbs that never used to tempt me before but that's a different story now.  Practically ALL carbs in the form of sweets, chips, ice cream, bread, rice, etc will make me want more.  I also have to be careful!!!

What was weird about this was that I made a ton of sweets as gifts at Christmas and they didn't do this to me.

I really think that letting some other simple carbs in actually made me more sensitive.  In talking to one of my doctors this morning I learned something of the mechanics.  It turns out that exposure to carbs can cause your taste buds to change shape over time.  The larger surface area of these taste buds (they elongate in the presence of carbs) makes them more sensitive to simple sugars.  That helps trigger the addiction center in the brain to recognize the good stuff.  When we detox from sugars during the liquid diet, that helps those buds resume their normal shape and is one of the reasons why we often report our tastes changing after surgery.  

So I am being a bit more strict about going back to my pre-holiday habits!  No more fried okra or fried zucchini for a while.  Cut back on the breads to only one sandwich a day.  Get those taste buds and my good diet habits back in shape.

Thank you for this information too.  I'm going to keep it in mind.  I noticed the longer I exposed myself to simple carbs during the holidays, the harder it was for me to get back on track.  I'd do good for a couple days then bam, back to some carbs here & there so yes, I can agree that letting some other simple carbs back into my diet made me more sensitive too.

My mouth is still watering from your description...

Those chocolates sound amazing! I have a question about the type of bread you eat. I have been eating "sugar free" 100% whole grain bread (1 slice). 40 calories and 8 carbs per slice at lunch. I was just wondering if there was a better choice out there. My choice is worked in to my plan but I'm always looking for ways to cut stuff out.
Thanks for your input!

I usually make my own bread.  If i buy bread I will usually go for an option like you describe or the Helathy Life bread.  I usually like denser breads for my sandwiches though.

Thanks! I actually think the brand I use is Healthy Life :)

What are your thoughts on Ezekial bread? Occassionally (and I am talking once a month here) I will make half a turkey and avacado sandwich with a slice of Ezekial bread.