A Really Smart Cookie
It started with a chocolate cookie with candy cane sprinkles.
Then a slice of your friend's “special” cake, a small truffle, and a piece of manju.
Finally you topped it all off with a handful of Chex mix. Well, technically it was two, but since you skipped the peanuts it was really only the equivalent of one. And that last handful you grabbed on the way out of the office? Too small to count.
Now that you’ve resolved to make up for all your holiday eating sins, it’s looking like a tasteless 2011.
A chef with 23 years of experience catering to celebrities in New York, and who’s worked in some of Hawaii’s favorite restaurants, is ringing in the New Year with a new downtown spot, just opened last week, for coffee and not-so-sinful treats.
Kate Wagner calls it Not Just Desserts. The French-trained chef of Starpoint Café, Sept. 11 survivor, and Oahu farmers market regular offers decadent baked goods with a few things you’ll never notice are missing: sugar, preservatives, and trans-fats. 
Well, not necessarily.
To go with it all, she also serves coffee and chocolate from her native Big Island. And if you're one of those who must eat dinner before dessert, Wagner offers a menu of healthy take-out items such as risottos, lasagnas and more.
So you won’t have to dessert your resolutions after only a week.
Not Just Desserts is located at 110 Marin Lane (makai of King Street in Chinatown, between Nuuanu and Smith streets) in the Hawaii National Bank Building. It's open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Check the daily menus posted on Wagner's Facebook page. Call 808.489.3749 or e-mail NotJustDessertsHI@gmail.com. 
Inspired by friends and family members battling diabetes, and her own passion for healthy, wholesome food, Wagner concocts everything from bread pudding to scones, cheesecake, and much more using agave syrup, honey, or fruit juice instead of sugar. She also offers up vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free snacks. And, for times when you do want to splurge, there are traditionally baked treats too, with real sugar and natural ingredients.
