Favorite cookies...

I know I blather on all the time about how bad sugar is, but let's face it, we all need some sometimes.

For the first few weeks of my diet I banned sugar altogether, as part of a cleansing away bad habits/retraining my brain project, but now I have sweets in moderation. I have developed a habit of eating 2-3 small cookies after dinner. This serves two purposes:

1. I have a small dinner, and it is easy for me to keep eating, especially as I'm in the kitchen cleaning up, making lunches, putting leftovers away. It's so easy to pick and have a second dinner. So it is my Pavlovian cue that eating is over. It usually works, but not always. I used to force myself to wait until I was done cleaning the kitchen - kind of a reward, but I've given up on that!
2. I want something sweet after dinner. Don't we all?

Here are my two favorites, both from Trader Joe's...I try to have only 60 calories worth. They're uber-sweet so it's not

that hard. I definitely stay under 100.

The Righteous Rounds (26 cal each) are a little bigger, have a weird taste, due to having vegetables in them, and are super, lip-puckeringly sweet. For some reason I'm addicted to them, despite their odd taste, as is Alex. I try to eat only 2-3. I eat enough vegetables that I don't need to hide them in cookies, but I like these anyway.

The whole gain chocolate chip cookies (16 cal each) are new from TJs, normal-tasting cookies, lots of normal pantry ingredients (brown sugar, whole wheat, butter, chips, walnut meal) also a ton of sugar and extra fiber (chicory root). I just like them. I do not eat cookies to get my fiber intake, but I do like that they are made as healthy as possible while still being tasty. I mean, why not make cookies with whole grain flour? I eat 3 of these. Natasha prefers this kind.

I also sometimes have 5 or so of the kids' gummy bear vitamins instead.

I have gotten pretty good at controlling myself, but it is easy to go overboard. I don't usually eat say 10 cookies, but I may have some cookies, a few handfuls of sweetened cereal, and then a few gummy bears. Still, not like a hot fudge sundae, but it is amazing how quickly a "good" habit can turn into a bad one.