How I handle cravings, Peanut Butter Brownies (recipe)

Even after almost a year on the SCD, I still get cravings for non-SCD food--Beer and Bread mostly. In other posts, I've alluded to the fact that I handle these cravings with gluttonous indulgement. I indulge in SCD-friendly desert. I eat as much of it as I want. Of course I exercise a lot, so weight has never been a concern for me. Also, the SCD is leaner and healthier than most any diet you've probably ever been on, so if you're doing the SCD healthily, then you should naturally lose some weight.

If weight is a concern for you however, then I still suggest you indulge in something SCD friendly that fills the craving. Here's why: Crohn's and Colitis will decrease your quality of life much more than an 10 extra pounds. These conditions will kill you faster than those extra pounds. If you deprive yourself of food satisfaction on the SCD, then you will fall off the wagon, fast. Elaine is clear that the diet won't work unless you follow it strictly. Thus, the consequences of falling off the SCD wagon will likely be much more dire than gaining weight. So, if you want to lose weight, or are worried about gaining, exercise. There's no way around it. Research, history, and intuition all say, exercise. It does your body good.

Here's my staple snack/desert/breakfast treat (you get the picture). They're fast and easy. I almost always have a pan of these Peanut Butter Brownies sitting around, and I eat them by the row, not by the square. Be careful though, excessive gluttony, even on the SCD, can throw your system into a flare.

This recipe is a modification of the one in Breaking the Vicious Cycle.

Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients:
- 1 jar natural, unsweetened, SCD friendly Peanut Butter (Smuckers all natural is my favorite)
- 1 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt (optional)
- 1 very ripe bananna, mashed (also optional, but awesome in the brownies)

Instructions:
Combine ingredients in a bowl. Mix thuroughly. Bake in large glass baking dish at 350 for 18-25 min. CAREFUL! if you burn these, they're just aweful. Better to leave them gooey than too brown.

Time Commitment:
Mix ingredients: 5 min
Bake: 18-25 min