Double Peanut Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies, & a Sugar Detox Update

We just had a whirlwind week.  Full of happy, sad, strange, funny, experiences.  My 92-year-old grandfather passed away last week, and we traveled to Chicago where my family lives to take part in the funeral, shiva, and Friday night Shabbat services that he dutifully attended every single week for the past, I don't know, 50 years or so.  Of course everything was sad, I hadn't truly said goodbye, the last time I saw him was in July, but it was also a relief, to know he was at peace and no longer suffering.  We were surrounded by family and loved ones, and were able to grieve in comfortable surroundings.  The trip wasn't all grieving and tears though, we had some fun along the way, and I would like to think we were honoring his memory (and my grandmother's too) by the good times we shared with our family.  We were able to spend lots of quality time with family from California, I was lucky enough to be able to go to a floral appointment for my cousin's upcoming wedding, we tried on flower girl dresses for S and got to visit a few of our favorite haunts.  All in all, an exhausting trip, but worth every minute.

Yikes- being away from home AND at a funeral/shiva is NOT the place for someone doing a detox.  My parents didn't have much time before we arrived to get supplies for my GFG family and once we got there, it was go go go.  I won't lie, being away from home, without all my GFG gear and food items, surrounded by tons and tons of crap food was rough.  So how did I do?  Ok.  I had one major fail- a diet coke friday night.  I was super stressed out, it had been a long tough week, I was struggling. Am I going to cry about it?  No.  It happens.  Given the other slip-ups I could have had, I say, no big deal.  Other than that, the sugar detox is going pretty well.  I really like not fixating on what treats I am going to bake/consume.  The hardest part is actually beverages.  I would pretty often have sweetened beverages (no sugar of course) and that has been a bummer to do without.  But desserts, snacks, and treats are surprisingly easy to give up I am finding.  Especially if there is plenty of yummy protein lying around.  And speaking of yummy protein- we were able to sneak in a quick visit to my FAVORITE deli in the entire world, where a plethora of amazing protein choices abound.  If you are ever in the Skokie area, stop in to Kaufmans, you will not be disappointed!  Duh, bypass the pastries/bagels and head straight to the meat/fish.  Have you ever smoked whitefish?  It is a delicacy beyond description.  I can pound through a half pound of fish in a couple minutes.  And the lox?  It makes the junk we eat here in Kansas downright embarrassing.  Ahhh!!  So good!  And don't get me started on the "new pickles" or "half sours" as they're called.  They are still bright green and have a strong cucumber taste, rather than just vinegar and garlic like regular pickles.

So, we're home now.  What was the first thing I did?  Whip up a batch of cookies for my little angel, who spent most of the week treat-less due to a less than stellar selection of gluten-free goodies.

Double Peanut Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies- Gluten, Grain, Sugar Free
3/4 cup peanut flour
pinch of salt
2 tbsp organic peanut butter (just peanuts!)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp preferred SF liquid sweetener
1/4 cup SF chocolate chips, homemade or otherwise
2 pieces of cooked bacon, chopped

This was a great recipe because I seriously threw everything in a bowl at once and mixed it up, well, except for the chocolate chips and bacon which I added at the end.  I chose this time to omit baking powder, as I knew they wouldn't spread much regardless.  This made 12 good sized cookies, which I baked at 350 until the bottoms were just starting to turn golden.  I wanted them underdone so they'd still have a little under baked taste, but the outside is crispy.  And no, I am not eating one!

It's hard to believe we have one full week ahead and then Thanksgiving week will be upon us!  What recipes will you be making?  Anything new you'll be trying?  I'd love to hear!

XoXoGFG