Dieting Dilemma

My mother-in-law loves to cook, and not just any food, but the richest, lovliest, oh-my-goodness-gracious! kind of foods like smoked salmon and ribs, chicken pot and shepherd's pies, everything always served with amazing side dishes.

But if there's one thing she makes better than all the rest, it's desserts. Always there are luscious desserts floating around the kitchen, such as gourmet banana bread, pies with crusts crisp and flaky, layered cakes, cupcakes, and, my personal favorite, cinnamon rolls, warm and moist with crunchy nuts between the layers of cinnamon and bread, and gooey frosting drizzled enticingly over the top.

My husband and I always think it a special treat when we are invited over to his parents house for birthdays and Sunday meals (mostly beacuse we don't have to try and gag down my cooking with smiles on our faces and loud "mmmm"s on our lips) But all of that changed.

Recently, my in-laws started this 500 calory diet. That's right, and not 500 calories a meal, but 500 for the entire day. My mother-in-law can't stand cooking now, because she knows that she will only get 500 calories of whatever she makes and that's just torturous!

So no more cupcakes with fluffy frosting, or banana bread with huge chocolate chips. Gone are the ribs and smoked salmon, the shepherd's and chicken pot pies. But the most tragic of all, the one thing I shall miss the most, are the fresh-baked cinnamon rolls right from the oven, rich and soft, with layer after alternating sweet layer of cinnamon, bun, cinnamon, bun...my mouth is watering as I write.

I have but one consolation: ScentSationals Fragrance Cinnamon Vanilla. It captures the cinnamon spiciness of the cinnamon layers, while still leaving room for hints of warmth and whispers of vanilla. I 'll just have to melt a cube every day to satisfy this dieting dilemma!