Today is my birthday. It is the perfect day to talk about what I plan on doing on holidays and birthdays.
The only birthday I get to celebrate with cake or treats is my own.
If I celebrated on every one's' birthdays...then I would be eating cake non-stop.
This would not be healthy!
This is in fact how I have gotten into this 'predicament'.
I love cake. I love to bake cakes. I'm pretty good at making a carrot cake and a red cake and a chocolate sheet cake and a cake with Twinkie frosting.
(No. I will not share those recipes here. Don't even ask.)
The problem occurs when the party is over and half the cake is left in the pan and I am home alone and it calls my name and I eat tiny fork fulls, all day...until the kids come home from school and say, "Where did all the frosting go? You ate all the frosting off the cake!" Oops. Sorry.'
You know there are no calories if you don't put it on a plate and eat it standing up, don't you?
Anyway.
This year I thought about how I would approach by birthday and other holidays and I decided that I would have a piece of cake if I wanted.
Just a few days ago, my sister Cindy sent me a box of my very favorite toffee.
I freaked out a little. I freaked cause I love it and I freaked because I wasn't sure how to handle it.
I decided it was my birthday treat. It is made of all wholesome ingredients so I am happy on that account. But it is too much. So here is what I did, over the last three days I nibbled on that delicious toffee. I ate less than half of the box.
Then yesterday, late afternoon, I put it in the freezer.
I felt very naughty eating it but I savored each buttery, almond filled bit.
But that's it. That was my birthday treat. I will savor the words of love and friendship and fun that come my way today and revel in those!
For Thanksgiving and Christmas I will cook and eat the traditional meals I have made for 30 years. I will shop consciously and buy the most wholesome ingredients I can find. And I will be eating gravy....On Thanksgiving, I will be eating gravy.
And with Christmas dinner there will be bearnaise sauce. This I know.
All the other holidays are not filled with traditional food at our house.
New Years and the Fourth and Easter and Valentines are not days I think about food.
I can easily manage those days.
Halloween on the other hand may prove to be a problem.
