We are in the middle of a sugar-break in my home. I invited you to join me and a few of you did (yay sugar-free buddies!), but considering not ALL of you decided to go on the sugar break with me, I am guessing you are still eating the sweet stuff. Am I right?

Of course, Valentine’s Day is looming and I thought- darn it, I must share a heart-filled treat with you and I absolutely cannot wait until this sugar cleanse is complete (which is thankfully before V-day!) Especially, because you may need to go grocery shopping sometime soon.

Whenever I write recipes or meal plans I have this hard rule: No writing while hungry. Writing about food while hungry is surprisingly much worse than shopping on an empty stomach. We have all done it and it isn’t pretty. For me, it is as if I have entered a shopping time warp and all the food is glowing a bit too brightly and my hands are grabbing and pulling things off the shelves that I don’t even like to eat. If I am smart I will grab a sandwich or snack-y item and then aimlessly nibble while wandering through the store keeping my eyes averted from the bright food products. It is rarely my finest hour. Don’t do it. Friends don’t let friends shop on an empty stomach.

Nonetheless, when I thought, I must write to my buddies about this perfect little Valentine cookie that one can eat joyfully for breakfast, snack or dessert, suddenly that obnoxious little voice said: How the hell do you plan to write about cookies when you cannot under any circumstance currently consider eating it?
You will not survive this sugar-break.
You will be eating cookies before you are able to edit the post.
You are doomed to fail this sugar-break.

Trying to stay calm, I told that little voice, I am not missing chocolate nearly as much as I am missing brie cheese slathered across my homemade sourdough with a glass of red wine. So, there! You mean little voice. Yes, did I mention there is no dairy, caffeine, alcohol or grains on this sugar break. But, who am I kidding, it is late, the kids are in bed and these Chocolate Beet Cookies would really, really hit the spot.

We shall see who is correct. Clearly I must hurry and wrap up this post before that little meanie wins this one.

Here are the facts, this recipe is flexible and I have made these cookies up & down the sweet scale. I personally prefer them less-sweet and skip the brown sugar. That way I can better justify them at snack time or even breakfast. But, if you add the brown sugar, maybe coconut sugar or your favorite sweetener, the flavor will become more intense & dessert like. Basically, if you have a sweet tooth– add your favorite sweetener. If you have been on a sugar-break, you won’t need it because quite frankly that is the bonus of not eating sugar: everything tastes crazy sweet after.

And why the beets, you ask?

During the World War II rations, Red Velvet Cake contained beets to give the pink hue, rather than the red food dye. When I heard that I started adding beets and chocolate to my Smoothies and even this Red Velvet Granola. I love the blushing hue, the hint of nutrients and maybe I get a bit excited about the slight shock factor for non-beet lovers: it ain’t food dye folks, it’s beets!

Just a couple more fun facts and then you can have the recipe: If you use vegan cocoa & chocolate these can be entirely vegan delights. If you are making them gluten-free be sure to purchase oats that specify they are actually gluten-free.

Indulge! Actually, make these for a friend who is coming off a sugar-break and needs a Valentines Day treat, but also needs to ease back in slowly. Make the low-sugar version and your friend will think they are fully loaded.

Chocolate Beet Cookies

¾ lb beet, enough to make 1 cup puree
¾ cup date, if not soft, soak in hot water
2 cups rolled oats
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½ cup cocoa, vegan if necessary
½ cup coconut, shredded, unsweetened
½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar, optional, omit for a less sweet cookie
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup coconut oil, warmed to a liquid or olive oil
½ cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet, or minced vegan chocolate bar

Place the unpeeled beets in a saucepan covered with water. Cut any large beets in half or quarters. Simmer until the beets can be easily stabbed with a fork. Run under cold water until they are cool enough to handle and then peel away the skins. Meanwhile, soak the dates in hot water if they are not already soft.

While the beets are cooking, in a separate bowl, toss together the rolled oats, almond meal, cocoa, coconut flakes, brown sugar (if using), baking powder and salt.

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the beets in a food processor or blender with the dates, vanilla and coconut oil. Blend until it is a thick magenta puree. Fold the beet puree with the dry ingredients and chocolate chips/chunks until well combined. Dollop onto a baking sheet in 2 tablespoon mounds. Press down for a flatter cookie or leave round for a soft-centered delight.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the tops are dry and bottoms appear dry and have a slight color.

To add this recipe to your weekly meal plan or to have on-going access to the two recipes listed above, simply subscribe to Lilly’s Table and receive a new seasonal meal plan every Thursday.

Happy Valentine’s Day Cutie-Pies!

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,

Chef Lilly

PS- I WON! No, cookies were consumed during the writing and editing of this blog post. 😉

About two years ago, I was facing a whole lot of craziness that included moving, chasing a toddler, pregnancy with my second child, buying our first home, finishing up with Tucson Food Day, running Lilly’s Table and dealing with some totally frustrating health ailments. There was not a lot I felt I could do to really get myself out of the drama that was then my life. I was just in survival mode.

After the birth of my little guy, I started to come out from that dizzying cloud and realized there were certainly some strategies that would help me dust off the madness. I am a wee bit obsessed with food, so I started to notice some things happening in my diet that made me less than excited. Since I was breastfeeding, I was eating a ton (for those unaware, you need more calories when breastfeeding than while pregnant) and had little interest in any type of severe cleanse or diet, but as I considered the ‘treats’ that were so common in my house I found myself wanting to let go of the golden sweet caramelized handcuffs sugar seemed to have on me and my loved ones.

I have never really been drawn to traditional ‘diets’, but if I find myself feeling a bit too reliant on anything that isn’t packed with nutrients (such as coffee, alcohol, meat, dairy, and more) I often take an extended break. I recently read the most lovely book Gratitude Works! and at one point he talks about how many religions include fasting in their rituals and how eliminating something for a period of time gives you more opportunity to reflect and feel gratitude towards it. If you LOVE sugar, taking a break is a great way to make desserts, treats and any sweetness that much more enjoyable.

I could certainly tell you all of the terrible things about sugar, but let’s just agree, it is not that great for you. Kind of terrible, in fact. But, really, with all of the research out there comparing it to other white addictive substances and how it is in just about every processed food, the best way to really dive in, to truly understand your own personal story about the sweet stuff and investigate it for yourself, is to simply: TAKE A SUGAR BREAK!

This is what happened to my family and I. When we stopped the sugar madness, we started to notice how much was present in every other thing we consumed. We were aware of how the evenings, the midday slump and even the rush out the door seemed much easier with sugar. But without our sweet buddy running through our bodies, we started to notice that we did not crash and burn as quickly. Also, my husband and I became annoyingly aware of how often we were bribing our child into the behavior we desired with promises of sugar. We weren’t daily offenders, but it happened more often than we wanted to be bribing at all, must less with sugar. And our eyes were widened to how often other people gifted sugar to our child– usually people we barely knew. It is so deeply engrained in our culture.

All in all, giving up sugar raised our awareness and we realized how much we were relying on it, rather than enjoying it as a treat. After the first initial days we were figuring out other ways to enjoy food. And all sorts of goodness happened:

Food tasted better!
We could even taste the natural sweetness of veggies.
We ate more at home.
We saved money (we sort of had an out of control ice cream shop habit at the time!)
We figured out different ways to end our evenings without dessert or wine.
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We re-strategized the sugar bribes for our kiddos.
Stress was less. It still existed, but it was less overwhelming.

I wrote this post in the midst of that past cleanse, if you are curious about how we were feeling at the time.

Sugar, as it so often does, found its way back into our lives. What can I say, the sweet stuff brings smiles & joy that we manage to justify despite all of the good stuff in the list above that happens when it isn’t part of our daily diet.

I am always happiest when the treats of sugar are simply that… a rare, precious occasional treat. If you were covered head to toe in diamonds would you really appreciate another? In order to get to that state again, my family knows we have to take another sugar vacation. When it is ever present in your diet, you are more likely to NEED it- (yup, just like a drug) rather than ENJOY and treasure it- like the treat it actually is. We are looking forward to taking another break. This time we are joining a greater group effort and signing up for the Winter Community Dump that will include community support and knowledge from nutritionist Sara Bradford of Nourish Real Food and much more.

I recently wrote a list of Top Five reasons to go sugar-free, another Top Five reasons to sign up for Sara’s 10-day Winter Community Dump and another Top Five reasons to do her 8-week Winter Community Dump. If you are on my mailing list, you already saw it. If you are not, sign up for my mailing list! In the meantime, here is a peak at that email for you!

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously sugar-free. Live well,

Chef Lilly