ArcaMax

Cinnamon Toast High

I ate breakfast Saturday morning at the Cinnamon Café. It’s a cute place that specializes in Mexican food. They have lots of authentic dishes on the menu so my husband loves the place. I don’t usually like Mexican food for breakfast but I think my husband could eat that kind of breakfast every day of his life.

I ordered a straightforward omelet and bacon. Boring. When the waitress asked me what kind of toast I wanted I paused. I generally don’t eat toast. I just don’t want the carbohydrates. I know now that my liver can’t tell the difference between bread and candy. It’s all the same by the time it gets to that point in my digestion. Since I am working to keep my weight steady and not gain back all I have lost I limit my carbohydrate intake to 20 percent or less of my consumption. I used to eat a LOT of carbs. Pasta. Potatoes. Whole grain bread. I used to think they were good for me. Now I know better.

On this day I decided to order toast. I figured at the Cinnamon Café they’d have cinnamon toast and I was right. I ordered cinnamon raisin toast. I had not had any in years. I remember as a kid that we’d go to the bakery and come home with one of those long tubular loaves of cinnamon raisin bread. It was in a spiral with the cinnamon in the cracks and it was dotted with raisins. I was wondering if I’d get round cinnamon toast or some other shape. Sure enough it arrived at our table and it was the round kind. I was immediately transported back to my childhood. I used to eat three pieces at a time for breakfast. We had what was a new invention then -- the toaster oven. I could fit three pieces in the toaster oven instead of the usual two in the regular toaster. I smiled when she set the plate down.

I didn’t dive into the cinnamon toast. I enjoyed plenty of my omelet and bacon first. I decided to have a bite of the cinnamon toast. When I bit into it I got a first taste of the cinnamon sugar around the rim of the bread. I had forgotten that part. If my mouth could have jumped it would have. That sugary rim just sent a shiver through my mouth and most of the rest of my body. That was what I would call true sugar shock. A cinnamon toast high. I was stunned at how sweet it tasted. I didn’t need much to satisfy me, that’s for sure. Certainly not three pieces. Not even a full single piece and I was done.

Having that experience brought back the memory of a news story that ran last week. The story discussed how sugar should probably be regulated the same way liquor is. And it should be taxed as well as have restrictions on whether children can buy it. The story came from a doctor that I follow and admire. His name is Dr. Robert Lustig. I am including a link to the article here. I hope you have a chance to read it. Dr. Lustig has taught me a ton about how sugar is metabolized in the body. It’s pretty scary stuff and the education is important. Visit this link for more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/02/should-sugar-be-regulated-like-alcohol-and-tobacco/.

I know for a fact that Dr. Lustig only lets his children eat a sugary treat once a week. He takes them out on Sunday and lets them buy something sweetened with sugar. He closely supervises their consumption of sugar. Other than that he seems like a pretty normal dad and his daughters seem healthy, happy and satisfied. I was perfectly satisfied with my bit of cinnamon raisin toast too.

Hot Green Wings

Serves approximately 6

For the wings:
2 pounds of chicken tenders or cut skinless chicken breasts into strips.
Sea Salt and pepper

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