Two More Treats

Uh-oh.

The month of October has only just started and already I am writing blog after blog with the word TREAT in the title. And this is right after I swore to you that I was going to stick to my whole foods regimen. That I was not going to dive right off the deep end. That I would not open all the bottles of wine in my home in the same evening. Alone.

Then we went grocery shopping.

As you know, for the past month my huge (read: miniscule) TREAT each week has been my TINY bag of kale chips from Trader Joe's. I guess technically speaking these are a processed food. But the processing is so dang gentle, I just don't believe it counts. I mean, the kale chips are DEHYDRATED. They are not even roasted. Not even heated! Anyway, they taste fabulous when you are not allowed to eat any grains, sugars, sweeteners, etc. So I've been enjoying them.

But now that October is here (oh, glorious month!) I can eat (of course in very small portions on rare occasions) things that are not quite as close to perfect. So I did purchase a couple of SLIGHTLY naughtier items this week. I thought you might be interested in hearing about them?

First, at Trader Joe's I found a small bag of plantain chips. I have eaten these in the past. But the ones I found are roasted, not deep-fried. They do contain some sunflower oil, but this is the only added ingredient, except for salt. They were a bargain compared to the kale chips ($3.99) at $1.69.

And then at Costco, I literally ran all over the store hunting down my most favorite chips of all time. BE WARNED! These things are disastrously addictive. They are rice chips made by Rice Works. The ones I bought contain both brown rice and wild rice, plus black sesame seeds. They are SO crunchy, salty, thick, and substantial. I am going to attempt to eat only a few per sitting. You must wish me luck with this because such a feat has never before been accomplished by man nor woman. I pray that Costco discontinues carrying this brand again, as it did last year, so I will no longer need to run into them and be sorely tempted each week. At least they are gluten-free.

Luckily Costco is not currently carrying my favorite gluten-free chocolate zucchini muffins. These things are low calorie (120 each) moist and delicious. Yes, there is nothing wrong with them. They are even individually wrapped and frozen, both attributes which deter overindulgence. But I really don't need to fill my home with an abundance of treats that I have difficulty resisting. For now, that bag of rice chips will be enough for me to contend with.

And after contending with them, one-on-one, last night, I got on the scale this morning. I knew it was not going to be good news. Because going from no grains to even a tiny amount of grains was sure to mean added water weight. And yes, I have already put back a pound and a half of my month-long weight loss. I told you those chips were dangerous. I'm going to foist them on my daughter who can afford to gain a few pounds.

Unfortunately, I think I need to avoid all grains and sugar all the time. I can't add back rice and oats and daily treats unless I want to see daily weight gain. The Whole 30 worked for me. I don't want to throw away everything I have accomplished for a bag if chips. No matter how crunchy they are.