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Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 22 oz. fresh blackberries
• 2/3 cup granular Splenda or equivalent
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 packets unflavored gelatin
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Wash the blackberries, then put half in a sauce pan on medium heat with water, sweetener, and salt. Let simmer for 5 or so minutes, until berries start to turn red and juice darkens.

Add gelatin while stirring mixture and continue stirring until powder is completely dissolved. Add remaining berries, stir to coat with juice, then pour into pie crust.

Tip: To avoid clumps, add gelatin a small amount at a time, stirring in each addition in fully before proceeding.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until berries set and pie is cool throughout.

Makes 8 servings. 256 calories and 6 net carbs per serving.

More pictures and original recipe.

Every dieter has had some failures. And most likely, he or she blames lack of willpower for it.

But what if willpower doesn’t exist? After years of dieting, I’m beginning to think that it doesn’t. Here’s why:

Since learning to cope with a slow metabolism earlier this year, I’ve been losing weight fairly easily, at about 1.5 pounds a week. But I rarely spend time battling my thoughts over whether or not to cheat. I’m losing at a great pace—without willpower.

In my experience, there may be another recipe for success, besides the will to lose weight. Here are the six things—a combination of strong motivators and lots of planning—I attribute to my success:

• Seeing results. The success I’ve had so far motivates me to keep going.
• Dealing with less-than-stellar consequences. Seriously nasty diseases loom in my future if I don’t lose weight.
• Having a treat budget. I allot some calories for a bit of dark chocolate every day, so I’m not totally deprived. (And I won’t dive into a bag of Dove bars, either.)
• Starting big. Eating a big breakfast satisfies me most of the day, so I don’t even think about food.
• Sticking to the plan. On weekends, I plan my meals for the week ahead, and I email my plan to someone for accountability. What’s for dinner? It’s a no-brainer. I’ve already got the plan, the recipes, and the ingredients ready to go. If I know I’m going out, I even plan what I’m going to order the weekend before.
• Keeping up with workouts. I also plan my workouts on weekends for the coming week. No. Brainer!

But I’ve still wondered: Did I start doing all these things because I had the will to lose weight, and now that the plan is in place, the willpower is taking a backseat? Or is willpower the magic ingredient that constantly makes all this work, kinda like The Force?

Green Onion Cornbread




Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1-2 green onions, chopped
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix together wet ingredients and green onions, then add dry ingredients and mix again.

Pour into greased baking dish (I use an 8″ square pan), then bake for 20 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Tip: If you’re short on time or patience, you can bake this in a microwave in 5-6 minutes.

Serve warm.