Baking, weight loss, and Spring!

I know I have said before how much I absolutely love to bake! I love getting to put on an apron and use my Kitchenaid mixer to create something absolutely delicious. I love trying new recipes and trying some difficult techniques to make the desserts look good. I definitely have several kitchen mishaps and make an absolute mess when I bake, but for me that's part of the fun... then I clean up and my kitchen is cleaner than when I started and I have something to eat!

I haven't done much baking lately because when I bake then I have all of these yummy high sugar high fat creations. And I have been trying very hard (some weeks it seems without success) to be healthier this year. I know that this has been paying off because I definitely feel better. I am making healthier choices about what I eat, not eating out as much, and working out basically every day. And as of this morning I have lost 20 pounds since before Christmas. I almost cried when I got on the scale this morning and saw that... I've been weighing myself every Saturday since January 1 and the last few weeks even though I was eating well and exercising, the number just wasn't showing it. But I knew I felt better and my clothes were fitting looser and I even had 2 co-workers tell me this week that they could tell I lost weight. So I decided not to worry about what the number said, but that number today sure felt good. Not to brag or get caught up about weight... it's just something I've struggled with for a long time and worked hard for this year and I still have a ways to go before I'm at my goal, but I feel good about how consistent I have been.

ANYWAY... so as I said, baking and weight loss don't really go hand in hand. But with Easter coming tomorrow, my mom is having a lunch at her house for our family and several of her good friends and she needed an extra dessert. So I of course jumped at the opportunity to break out the Kitchenaid again!

I am in the process of baking some time-intense Carrot Cake Cheesecake Little Fellas from my Juniors Cheesecake cookbook. Basically you make little cheesecake cupcakes. You bake about 1/3 a cupcake full of carrot cake (from scratch) for the "crust." Then you make cheesecake from scratch and fill the rest and bake those. Then after 2 hours of wire rack cooling and an hour in the freezer, you put cream cheese butter cream frosting on top. Definitely NOT diet friendly ;) but a fun dessert for a Spring Celebration!!

And speaking of Spring... oh Heavens am I loving this weather!! Praise God for the beautiful days we've had and the long walks Allie and I have been enjoying! The rest of this afternoon is being spent with our windows all open, finishing baking and doing some cleaning!