It's been a hell of a Christmas season. A very, very good one, all things in our "sky is falling" world considered. We cooked, we ate, we visited, we gave and received and we ate. Boy howdy, did we eat.

Even though we ate more than what has become our norm, we didn't shovel it in with reckless abandon as in other years. Even so, we noticed a huge difference in the way we felt. Also, in the way our 3 year-old behaved. I believe "Monsterism" is the correct term... ? Sadly, it was the cookies, the chocolate, the desserts, the egg nog...

Sugar really IS evil. Because we've been so good at watching our intake over the past year, when we let down our sugar guard, our bodies said "WTF?" and punished us severely. Headaches, indigestion, weird sleep patterns, jitters and all round putridness plagued us for a few days. Reminded me of how we felt BEFORE we started wising up about what we put into our bodies.

Thanks to the "ALL FAT IS BAD" movement of modern diet belief, sugar has been able to sneak in the back door and we welcomed it. " Woo-hoo! It's fat free!" we all sang. In the late 90's when classic candy stores were all the rage, I pigged out on jujubes and licorice with the rest of the fat-fearers. Even though I was going to the gym 3 days a week and running 40 kms a week,I wasn't losing weight. Did I blame sugar? Hell, no.

Diabetes is on the rise, as are the weights of North Americans. But We STILL cling to the belief that if it is fat free, we can eat 10 pounds of it. That, my friends, is bullshit. Most low-fat and fat-free food has had sugar or some form of it added to replace the fat. There is sugar in EVERYTHING and when it is in the form of high fructose corn syrup, it's even more frightening. ( http://www.helium.com/items/420475-the-dangers-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup )

Google "the dangers of sugar" if you don't believe me.

Honey ( http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/ ) and maple syrup ( http://www.puremapleproducts.com/health_benefits_maple_syrup.html ) are good alternatives. Make sure they are 100% natural though. Both contain minerals and antioxidants that are actually beneficial to our health. Doesn't mean you can sit down and drink a bottle of maple syrup, as good as that sounds. Moderation, people. Moderation.

It's hard to avoid sugar altogether. Maybe even downright impossible, unless you exist on a diet of straw and water. But we can limit the intake, starting by cutting out the obvious. (pop, candy, processed food, etc.)

To fill the junk food void, we started making our own potato chips. Thankfully, I am deathly afraid of deep frying. (My mother instilled the fear in me as a child when I asked why we couldn't have a deep fryer. She said they could explode and spray oil everywhere, leaving us horribly disfigured and homeless...)

Using a mandolin slicer, we slice local potatoes extra thin. We then toss them in olive oil, sea salt & malt vinegar and set them out on a baking sheet. Bake at 400F for five minutes, turn the sheet, bake another five. If necessary (and you like'em extra crunchy), turn them over and bake another five and five. They are awesome. Time consuming, but just think of all the calories you burn during the process.

Sure, you can save time by jumping in the car and going to the 7/11 to grab a bag of chemically mucked about chips, but where's the sense of pride in that?

Your wallet, the Earth, your heart and your thighs will thank you.

NOTE: if you want to line the baking sheet, use parchment or silpat sheets. These things stick to tinfoil like mad.