Get Thee Behind Me, Mushroom Pizza!

Writing on deadline will break you of bad habits faster than a mean nun with a ruler.

I still love sugar and chocolate and, especially, crusty bread. But every single one of these things makes me crash like a dosed-up heroin addict, and so I had to give them up in order to get my work done.

Now that the dust has settled, I'm having trouble going back to my old ways. I remember the crushing energy drop, the hours of lethargy, waiting for my blood sugar to normalize, and I just can't do it. For this reason, as much as any other, I have given up Peppermint Bark. Yes, you heard me. Me and the PBark, we're quitsville. Look, it's still minty delicious, and I still enjoy a small piece when I walk past a Williams-Sonoma. But that's it.

In a similar vein, I've shattered yet another barrier to the wheat-free life: Mac and cheese. In my version (stolen from here, and apparently, she stole it from Nigella), I roast a butternut squash then toss it with blue cheese and toasted pecans. I think it might be proof of God's existence.