We’ve also enjoyed sending out the packets and samples of Swerve to help y’all along your way so we’ve decided that we can do more. Not only will we continue naming a Sweet-stakes winner every week for the rest of December, we will also be giving one lucky winner a years supply of Swerve along with some other goodies!

Is there a catch? Sort of….. in order to keep the Swerve coming throughout the year, you’ll have to keep us up updated on your progress so whether that’s a few pounds lost or another phrase in Spanish, we need to know that you’re keeping up the momentum.

How to enter? Simple! Simply post your resolution on our Facebook wall (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Swerve-Sweetener/182197565191252) then let us know about it in the comments section below. The grand prizewinner will be selected randomly, so keep up the motivation and great resolutions – from the everyday to the ‘resolutionary’.

Good luck Sweeties!

Now that the turkey leftovers are finished, roll on December. I doubt I’m alone in loving the spirit of the holidays: decorations, carols (in moderation) and, dare I say it, even a general sense of goodwill towards all. That said, the gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to get shorter every year.

This year, I was cursing myself for not having holiday cards picked out before Thanksgiving, I decided not to bother putting the extra large roasting pan back in its usual space at the top of the tallest cabinet, and I know that I’ll be rushing to get the ‘good’ table linens back from the dry cleaner in time for the next round of guests.

When you factor in various holiday parties and the inevitable kids events, I’ve realized that my mind is in holiday mode from early November until at least the second week of January, and frankly, I’ve come to realize that it’s too much for me.

I’m sure you’re all waiting with bated breath to hear my solution to all of this, but sadly, I don’t have one. My mind is too busy trying to figure out the last possible day I can mail gifts to friends overseas. That’s the best part of having a blog sometimes, it’s a great way to get something off your chest!

Happy Holidays Sweeties!

While the grown-up and childless seem to celebrate Christmas with a sense of nostalgia, Halloween seems to be more about regressing than reminiscing.

So, what to make of all this? Nothing really. All things evolve in their own way. Me personally, I had nowhere to go so the traffic jams didn’t bother me. I have a well-insulated house so the 24-hour parties in the neighborhood didn’t keep me awake and no one smashed my car windows in (as happened to a friend of mine). My only complaint is that I’ve learned there’s no point in spending hours intricately carving a pumpkin to put on display as it will inevitably be stolen or turned into pumpkin mush on the street by passing revelers.

In the Swerve household, we’re saving our festivities for tonight. A few kid’s events with family and friends followed by a sampling of the sugar free Halloween treats cooked up in the test kitchen by our wonderful beta bakers. That for me means a very happy and safe Halloween and I wish the same to you.

I’m not anti-Monday in the traditional sense – sure, it’s not my favorite day of the week but I can drag myself out of bed with minimal effort most days. What I don’t like about Mondays is the sense of deadlines come and gone. Almost every task I assign to myself, I say I’ll get done by the end of the week then all of a sudden it’s 10pm on Sunday night and the ironing isn’t done, the knife that fell down behind the stove is still there and I’m congratulating myself solely for getting the household fed and (mostly) groomed.

I can’t be alone in this, can I? It seems that everyone I meet is a domestic doyen, with a weekly list of culinary credits to shame my own and a home ready for a disinfectant commercial, then again, these same braggers always seem to have a sense of neurosis around them as if a speck of dust or a rogue pet hair will send them over the edge.

If I’m honest, I like that my house feels like a home and if the price to pay for that is maybe never seeing the knife behind the stove ever again, I’m ok with that. I know I’d rather come home to the smell of fresh baked cookies than the smell of bleach.

The great thing about the new Swerve is that all the technical science-y stuff that works (like the product itself) is unchanged – it’s still the same, all-natural, tastes like sugar, bakes like sugar, zero glycemic, safe for diabetics sweetener that you know, trust and love. However we now have a new look, a lot of new recipes and uses and a cute little hummingbird named Sweetie. Best of all, Sweetie will be popping up in stores across the country as well as online and even in a few places you might not expect – shh, that’s a secret for now!

With the help of a few special guest bloggers, we’ll be updating the Swerve blog regularly with recipes, baking tips, product news, shout-outs, giveaways and just a sprinkling of science. If you crave up-to-the-minute Sweetness, you can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SwerveSweetener or follow @swervesweetie on Twitter.

We want to hear from you too! Please feel free to send any Swerve inquiries, recipe requests, kitchen challenges or even just a ‘Hiya’ shout out for Sweetie to hello@swervesweetener and we’ll get back to you straight away.