Life without dessert was no life at all.
Maybe someone famous said that, who knows. But it's probably pretty close to how I felt when I was 10 and on my first diet.
A wearer of Husky jeans and eschewer of exercise, I was quite roly-poly in grade school. But when family members very gently pointed out my propensity for compulsive eating (and based on how often kids called me fat), I thought it wise to cut back on second-helpings and after-school snacks.
But you darn well better believe I wasn't giving up dessert, which would've made as much sense to me in fifth grade as handing over one of my lungs, which didn't seem remotely as necessary.
Thankfully, mom introduced me to the joys of frozen fruits. As my grandparents had blueberry bushes, we'd pick and freeze blueberries. Yes, I actually picked from time to time, at least until an insect landed on me, and I'd have to run off screaming to the safety of their air-conditioned house.
Anyway, so I dumped a cup or two in a bowl, and poured skim milk over it. Occasionally, I'd sprinkle a little Equal on top, but I came to love it without added sweetener. The berries were so cold, they'd turn the milk into slush, so it was like eating blueberry ice milk. Remember ice milk?
All these years later, I still love buying frozen fruit from the freezer section at the grocery store -- peaches, strawberries, assorted berries -- and adding fat-free milk to it. And, if you're following Weight Watchers, it's ZERO points for the fruit and just three points for 1 cup of fat-free milk (or 2 percent, I believe).
I don't wear Husky jeans anymore (thank God for linen drawstring pants!), but this is still one of my favorite snacks. Do you have a health-conscious dessert to share? Do tell ...
Peace, love and ice milk ... XOXO
