Day 1- Garlic Pancakes

After spending the last two weeks seriously over indulging in all the sugar and treats the holiday season brought among us… I decided that I am going to try and do 2025 sugar-free! How's that for a new year's resolution?!?!

But before I get in to the details of that decision, let’s talk about this morning. 

I woke up with a fire lit under my butt. The start of a new year is always so exciting to me as it brings new beginnings, new hope, new healthy habits and just the start of something fresh! 

I decided to start the first day of this awesome new year with banana pancakes for my family.  The recipe for these pancakes is in my cookbook, Something Simple, and has been a hit not only among my family, but among the many families who have tried them!

I have made these pancakes so many times that I could pretty much do it standing on my head with my eyes closed! So, needless to say, I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing. After having all of the ingredients in the blender I grabbed, what I thought was the cinnamon, to add to the blender. But after a couple decent shakes, and a smell that was clearly NOT cinnamon, I looked over to realize I had just dumped a whole bunch of garlic into the entire patch of pancakes! 

I stared at it for a little bit trying to figure out a way to salvage it, but decided it was not salvageable and I would have to start over.

I tried to shake that one off and chalk it up to me being tired as staying up until 10:30 on New Year’s Eve is not easy and can leave one feeling exhausted the next day, lol! 

At the same time, I was also infusing my tallow with vanilla and our kitchen was smelling heavenly! So I mixed up a second batch of pancakes, determined not to let this little oops predict my day or my new year, and kept on keeping on!

A short while later we are sitting at the table enjoying our pancakes with blueberry sauce when I glance over and happen to notice the kitchen looks a little smoky. Confused as to what could be causing the haze I then realized that the vanilla smelled a little hot and I remembered that I had turned the heat up a bit on my tallow and forgot to turn it down, I was burning it! 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

This year was not starting out how I expected or wanted!  My husband, trying to give me an optimistic outlook, told me it was going to be a year of resilience and overcoming… I hope he’s right because I’m about to embark on a journey I am not sure I am ready for.

I know that going a year sugar-free doesn’t sound like much, but for me, I know it will not be easy. Sugar and sweets are my absolute weakness! So much so that when Jesse was opening the dishwasher tab so he could start the dishwasher, I heard the package crinkling and my mind instantly thought it was a treat! I went from excited to disappointed to feeling ridiculous due to how much I realized I was already craving sugar. Like I said, for me... this IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY!

So let me now explain the rules I have laid out for myself this year because rules are crucial to success.

Rule #1- NO SUGAR! Now let me explain this because NO SUGAR doesn't mean NO SUGAR OF ANY SORT AT ALL EVER! It means no processed forms of sugar... fruit, honey and maple syrup ONLY.

So yes you're right, perhaps I can't actually say I am doing a year sugar-free, but when you think about it my first rule won't be easy to accomplish as it is and the natural sugars I am allowing myself have many health benefits so, in moderation, will be okay.

Rule #2- DO NOT, under any circumstances, stray from Rule #1... unless it's the birthday of someone in my immediate family (but even then I am going to try and stick to the healthier alternatives in my cookbook) or the birthday of Jesus, A.K.A. Christmas day.

At this current point in the day, January 1st of 2025 will be soon coming to an end and I feel I can safely say it was .... interesting.

Things don't always go how we plan, in fact, they often go in a direction far from the one we anticipated, but I strongly believe this is not by mistake.

God knows my heart. He knows what my personal intentions and goals are and he also knows, more than I do, what I need to accomplish those goals. With that said, I feel this morning was not a result of me staying up an hour and a half past my bedtime and overindulging in holidays goodies, but God helping me. My husband was right, I have big plans for myself this year, more than just avoiding sugar, and God knows that in order to accomplish these goals I might have some growing to do. The challenges laid in front of me are not to discourage me, but to help me see things from a different perspective and allow me to journey through this year becoming a better version of myself as long as my heart and mind are open to it.

The garlic pancakes weren't meant for us to eat, they weren't meant to ruin my day, they were meant to help me overcome, redirect and keep on keepin' on.

With all of that said... bring on Day 2!