Eureka!
I have always been a big fan of condiments.
I was one of those kids whose mom always asked 'honey, are you sure you don't want some fries with your ketchup?' The kid who used half a bottle of chocolate sauce on one scoop of ice cream. Who ate her pancakes swimming in syrup.
I truly adored all this stuff. And for me, there was only ever one true King of Condiments. The Tsar of Toppings. The Sultan of Sauces, if you will.
Ahem. Anywaaay...as you might expect from my blog title, in my life, mayo reigned supreme.
I ate huge amounts of it. With everything.
I still remember getting in a foul mood with my mother one day. Now that is not how most kids would react at the sight of a beautifully decorated dinner table, groaning with goodies. But I was angry...because really, how could she have forgotten the mayonnaise?
At Christmas.
So off I toddled into the kitchen, came back bearing the huge jar (we needed it) in both hands, and set it down in pride of place next to the turkey.
There, that was better. Couldn't be doing with any of that gravy stuff.
Because don't get me wrong, it wasn't all condiments I had a thing for. In fact I was a pretty fussy eater. The sauces I enjoyed were always bland, fatty or sugary - and preferably all three at once.
I guess most kids grow out of these sort of habits by the age of...ooh...about ten. Not me. Even at 25, I was still asking for six or seven boxes of ketchup at McDonalds. I didn't see any point in ice cream unless it was floating in a sticky chocolatey lagoon of sauce. I scooped so much dip onto my chips that, if you were quiet, you could hear them groaning under the strain, muttering 'this wasn't in the job description'.
Some of you may be thinking - is it any wonder this girl gained weight? And I am thinking - ooh, yes, that's true. In fact, my love of condiments grew in direct proportion to my thighs.
So wouldn't it have been a great idea if my parents had introduced some idea of control here? Yes! Yet another thing I can blame on my upbringing!
But seriously, I have to face the facts as they are today. Whatever the reason, the problem here is that my eating habits didn't mature as I did. I continued to allow the childish part of me to call the shots. The part that wants the simple sweet or salt or fat tastes. The part that wants instant gratification. The part that is irrational and lacks self-control.
And it is time for me to grow up. So (very) slowly, I am learning mayo and ketchup and ice cream sauce are...well...side items. And that's OK.
Until this morning. This morning I had an amazing revelation. Fireworks and resounding music and all that.
This morning, I made pancakes for breakfast. And I discovered the wondrousness that is Cary's Sugar Free Syrup.
It had been hiding in the back of the cupboard, untouched, for months. Oh terrible waste!
I know, I know, sweeteners are terrible for you.And surely you cannot expect something to taste great when its top two ingredients are sorbitol and cellulose gum.
But, oh, it is so good. Beautiful thick, golden brown syrup. The taste takes me right back to childhood holidays in America. And the true genius is...a 1/4 cup has only 30 calories. Compared to 250 in many full-sugar syrups.
So I can have as much as I want. Heck, I can drown the pancakes in it.
It may not help me learn self-control. And my husband may have just asked me 'honey, are you sure you don't want some pancakes with your syrup?' But right now, as I use one finger to collect up the last bit of rich, sticky yumminess from the plate, I just don't care.
It's not my fault...it's my inner child. Rach xxx 
Love it on french fries, baked potatoes, chicken, fish, and too many more things that shall not be named. (mainly because they are all FRIED) Love BBQ sauce! I, too, usually get asked if I would like some food with my BBQ sauce. 
