Introduction

Hi, my name is Tammy and I'm a sugar addict.  Or I was, all my life, until I started falling into a coma-like sleep after meals about two years ago.  I did a lot of research on the web and found there were other people suffering the same symptoms, but couldn't discover a name or treatment for this mysterious disorder.

What I did find were some references to the glycemic index, and a possible diabetes link.  I learned that insulin release could be the culprit; the abuse I inflicted on my pancreas by consuming high doses of sugar certainly made it worth looking into!  That sweet tooth I've always had, and the way I could eschew exercise, eat anything and still not gain weight, may be symptoms of LADA, a type of diabetes that is present from childhood, like Type 1, but doesn't become insulin-dependent until middle age.

So it seems to be true that there is no free lunch.  I had my skinny, eat-anything years, and now I have to pay for them.  Both my father and my grandmother (his mother) died from pancreatic cancer, and it's time for me to steer a different course and set my children a better example, so they can avoid the consequences of combining bad DNA with poor eating habits.

The good news is that there is a way to eat well and still be healthy.  I am the canary in the mine, so to speak, and have assembled a list of healthy foods using my simple sleep test...if I don't fall asleep, it goes on the list.  My first concern was CHOCOLATE.  Every form of available chocolate has some sugar in it, even the darkest bittersweet, leaving only unsweetened baking chocolate as a possibility.

I'll write more in future posts about the benefits of combining fiber, fat, and protein to sneak a carb or two past your sleeping pancreas (shhh, don't wake the baby!), but for now, I'll share my first recipe, my go-to comfort food:  chocolate peanut butter coconut fudge.  This is a critical part of my food life.  When God surveyed His work and called it good, He was certainly talking about chocolate!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Fudge

1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3 cup unsweetened crunchy peanut butter
3 tbsp. agave nectar
1/4 tsp. salt (I use RealSalt)
1/3 cup dry milk powder
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Melt baking chocolate.  Stir in peanut butter.  Add agave nectar and salt, then dry milk.  Mixture should pull away from sides of bowl.  Add more dry milk if necessary.  Stir in shredded coconut.  Press mixture between a folded sheet of parchment paper and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Cut into squares and store in cool place.

You can also enjoy this straight out of the bowl with a spoon.  I usually do!