So I just got finished with volleyball and I was talking to one of the moms and she expressed her concern about her kids trick or treating and eating too much candy. Not that I have any experience to back up giving advice on parenting but since she asked me for it I told her:
“Let your kid have the best day of their lives, best weekend in fact, and then next week they can be back to restricted candy”
This kind of goes along with my opinion about kids and movies. I wrote about it in my piece Content, Content, Content. Kids are impressionable but sometimes we overdue it, we worry too much. (Again, I know easy for me to say with no kids. I get it!).
All I know is that I went for blocks trick or treating and got a pillowcase full of candy and so did most of my friends. We ate tons of candy for a couple of days and then before too long our stash would be thrown out or given away.
But the memory of kid excess, imagination and fun, lasted. In fact, by forcing the religion of clean eating on our children we can do more damage than a couple days of candy. We make food too big a deal instead of simply a fun, silly part of life. Instead of acknowledging it’s pleasurable qualities we demonize food and make a child feel guilty for something they should not feel guilty about. It’s not good!
“It might be better to assume that, when it comes to candy — and much else — children are people, too. Instead of treating kids as fragile, helpless, stupid creatures who will perish if we don’t swaddle them in layers of social and emotional padding, we could treat them the way adults like to be treated: as intelligent beings with a strong drive for autonomy and respect.
Kids need our wisdom and our knowledge. They need to learn from us what good food looks and tastes like, and how to take care of their bodies. They need to understand media and advertising’s power to persuade and distort. But we should give them the freedom to learn to be themselves.”
I was totally that kid who needed to be respected and allowed to make my own choices whenever possible, so I relate to what she was saying.
Also, did you know the idea that sugar makes kids hyper is a myth? Science News said:
“Sugar doesn’t change kids’ behavior, a double-blind research study found way back in 1994. A sugary diet didn’t affect behavior or cognitive skills, the researchers report. Sugar does change one important thing, though: parents’ expectations. After hearing that their children had just consumed a big sugar fix, parents were more likely to say their child was hyperactive, even when the big sugar fix was a placebo, another study found.
Of course, there are plenty of good reasons not to feed your kids a bunch of sugar, but fear of a little crazed sugar monster isn’t one of them”.
So let your kids be kids. Don’t try to give out dried fruit or something lame like that. They will be ok. Kids aren’t stupid. They need their little moments of abandon and glee just like the rest of us but with a little nudging and encouragement that is a moment to remember not an everyday occurrence.
This weekend I had the great experience of listening to my church’s General Conference where the prophet and other leadership speak words of wisdom and counsel to all of us. The interesting thing about this weekend is there wasn’t one stand out talk.
They all were great and impacted me. It all made me want to be a better person and strengthened my faith. I am so excited to dive into them for the next 6 months and make them part of my life.
In the last 2 years I became more involved in the Church’s twitter movement known as #twitterstake. This isn’t officially part of the church but they have embraced social networking and have established #ldsconf as the General Conference hashtag as well as tags for every speaker.
Older members may be surprised by the embrace of such social media and wonder if it distracts viewers to be on twitter at the same time they are listening to the prophet and apostles? If I had not participated myself I might wonder the same thing.
In fact, it is the reverse. For a multisensory learner like myself being able to interact with a community of worldwide saints while watching General Conference only adds to my understanding and faith.
Not only do other viewers pick up on talk aspects that I don’t, but I am also using reading, writing, listening and viewing to process ideas instead of merely viewing. I can’t understate how much it has helped me to get the most out of General Conference since I started in 2012.
It has also helped me to feel a part of a worldwide movement. To literally bare my testimony to others all around the world. I have made friends that are truly cherished, some that I have met and others that I communicate with frequently.
One of my twitter friends @Stan_Way described it well:
Indeed, who reading my blog or tweet will become a lasting friend? What a great world we live in. Never any other time in the history of the world could a single woman have such a voice. It’s just wonderful.
For some reason this conference everyone was making cinnamon rolls on twitter. After about the 300th tweet I broke down and made my own. I’m not the hugest baker in the world, but I have a recipe for ‘Speedy Rolls’ in my cookbook (see post for more on the cookbook) for many years. For all of you that aren’t bakers it is the easiest recipe. Fail proof!
It can also be used as cinnamon rolls and works great.
Speedy Rolls/Cinnamon Rolls
Place in mixing bowl and let disolve
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp yeast (2 packages)
1/3 cup sugar
Add and beat for 2 minutes
1 tbsp salt
2 cups flour
Add and beat for 1 minute
2 eggs
1/3 cup melted shortening or butter
Gradually add until dough forms
4 1/2 cups flour
Let stand for 20 minutes. Then shape and let rise for another 20 minutes.
Put lots of cooking spray on the pan.
Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes depending on size. Until godlen brown
If making cinnamon rolls using rolling pin to make dough about 1/4 inch thick. Then spread cinnamon, sugar, butter and brown sugar very liberally. Roll up into one large log then cut into 1 inch slices.
Let rise and it took me around 25 minutes to cook because they are so big.
Top with glaze made from butter, powdered sugar and a little milk.
The cinnamon rolls also gave me an excuse to meet my neighbors. Win-win!
Yesterday I had a fun trip down memory lane thanks to the young men and women. The youth in my ward were doing a missionary activity where they went to people’s homes and ate a meal from that person’s mission. They could then ask questions and learn more about what a mission is like. I signed up and luckily my voice lessons were cancelled so it all worked out.
It’s interesting because I have never really tried to make the food from my mission. This is partly because it’s not all that good for you (chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, double starch oh my!) and because I never learned how to do it since I was so busy being a missionary. I haven’t cooked for a large group in a long while and it was exhausting! I cooked for 8 people and realized while I was doing it that it is the size of my family! Gave me a new respect for my Mother!
I’ll just post the photos because I am behind on work and don’t have time to write much. The meal was pork tenderloin sandwiches (an Indiana favorite inspired by Mug N’ Bun in Speedway, Indiana
Here are the youth and the youth leader. It was fun to talk to them about my mission and answer questionsPork tenderloin sandwich an indiana favorite. They are sometimes called a Hoosier SandwichMy inspiration. Mug n Bun pork tenderloin. Mine looks pretty closeHoosier pies or also called sugar cream pies. Kind of like coconut cream pies without the coconut.Hoosier pie with berries on top (not traditional with the berries but the pie is so rich it needed it)The spreaddinner hoosier sandwiches, corn chips, guac, and Cesar salad
It was a lot of work! I was exhausted afterwards but it was a lot of fun too. Sometimes I think doing regular things like cleaning and cooking make more achy than working out.
By the way, this is in no ways a low calorie meal. It’s that midwest stick to your ribs kind of cooking but it sure tasted good! I was proud of the sandwiches because I don’t have a ton of experience deep frying (probably better that way) and they turned out very yummy. My roommate agreed they were a success. The teens loved them!
Here are the 2 recipes I used
Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
( I had the butcher pound out the pork so I skipped the first part of the recipe)
2 pounds center-cut boneless pork loin
2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 sleeves saltines (about 80 crackers)
2 cups instant flour (such as Wondra)
Peanut oil, for frying
4 soft hamburger buns, split
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 half-sour dill pickles, thinly slicedDirectionsCut the pork crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Put each piece flat on a cutting board and slice horizontally almost in half (stop about 1 inch from the other side). Open like a book. Sprinkle each piece with water, place between 2 pieces of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thick with a mallet or heavy skillet.Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, garlic, 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper, and the cayenne in a shallow bowl. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.Pulse the crackers into coarse crumbs in a food processor, then transfer to a shallow dish. Put the flour in another dish. Remove each piece of pork from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Dredge both sides in the flour, dip in the buttermilk marinade again, then coat with the cracker crumbs.
Heat 1/4 to 1/2 inch peanut oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360. Fry the pork in batches until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Spread both halves of each bun with mayonnaise and mustard. Layer the lettuce, tomatoes and onion on the bottom halves. Add a piece of pork and a few pickle slices. Cover with the bun tops.
(I used store bought crust- Marie Calendars is my favorite)
For the Crust:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes; 4 tablespoons chilled, 3 tablespoons frozen for 15 minutes
For the Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dustingDirections
Prepare the crust: Combine the vinegar with 1/2 cup ice water in a small bowl.
Pulse the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the 4 tablespoons chilled butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-sized clumps and the mixture is sandy. Add the 3 tablespoons frozen butter; pulse until the frozen butter is also in pea-sized clumps. Add 5 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture; pulse 2 or 3 more times. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers. If it does not stay together easily, add 1 more tablespoon of the vinegar mixture and pulse 3 or 4 more times. (Do not let the dough come together.) Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and gather into a lumpy ball; flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle, about -inch thick. Fit into an 8-inch pie plate and trim the extra dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Fold the edges under the rim and crimp. Refrigerate the crust until firm, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line the chilled crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake until the edges are golden, 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights; continue baking until the center of the crust is dry and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cover any cracks in the crust with the dough trimmings before filling.
Prepare the filling: Whisk the sugars and the flour in a medium bowl, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar. Combine the heavy cream and vanilla in a separate bowl and slowly whisk into the sugar mixture until smooth. Pour the filling into the prepared crust; bake until the pie begins to set around the edge but is still slightly wobbly in the middle, 40 minutes. (Tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes if the crust gets too dark.) Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then refrigerate until ready to serve. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before slicing.
As all my facebook friends know I’ve found a new obsession. Twin Cakes raw gluten-free snack bites. These delectable ‘cookies’ are low glycemic, low sugar, low carb and despite their small size they pack a ton of flavor. I like them so much that I emailed the owner (one of the twins Lori) and she agreed to give me a bulk rate. I now have 16 bags coming this week- that’s 160 balls in various flavors:
the brownie bites are very rich. Under 100 calories, 6 gr sugar, 9 carbs. For strong chocolate lovers only.mint chocolate coconut bitesspiced hazelnut dough balls
And I ordered the Cinnamon Coconut bites which they do not have a photo for on their site. I will sell bags to anyone who is interested at cost. This is really just a way for me to get healthy goodies at a discount. I’m not making anything. Call me for the prices. They are between 8-10.
If you are lucky enough to live near certain stores that carry their product I am very envious. I can’t say how delicious I think they are. I just love them so much! If someone tried to tell me I couldn’t eat them I think the fangs would come out.
Ingredients for brownie bites (as an example) maple syrup, cocoa powder, coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut flour (all organic).
Ingredients for cinnamon coconut bites- coconut flakes, maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut butter, cinnamon (all organic).
Most ‘healthy sweets’ taste just awful which leaves me craving for the bad stuff. These bites are full of flavor. You really don’t need to eat more than one. Plus they last forever. If refrigerated could have them for many months. They are also vegan for anyone interested in that.
It actually means something to me to be able to eat something sweet and have it not ruin my diet. Something sweet that actually tastes GOOD! It really does add to the quality of my life. The first time I tried one I literally had a few tears. I had just finished the sugar fast and it was like yes! This I can live with. This is delicious! This is the sweet life!
Now, you cant eat bags and bags. They are still a sweet but they are all pretty strong. The temptation to eat more than 1 is usually not there for me.
If you come by my place ask to try one. I want to get as many of my friends hooked as I can so I can make more bulk orders, possibly lowering costs even more or convincing Whole Foods or someplace around here to stock them. They make me very happy.
So, if you are interested in any of the above items at the above prices let me know. Again, I’m not making anything on this. In fact, I will absorb the minor shipping charge. No pressure because any that aren’t sold will be saved for me to gladly eat but if you want let me know.
I applaud people like the twins at Twin Cakes and Elana Amsterdam at Elana’s Pantry because they make good tasting products/recipes despite their dietary restrictions. They aren’t happy with a ‘kinda, sorta, tastes like the real thing’ treat. No, they wanted something genuinely delicious.
I admire that type of thinking. Too often I feel discouraged because something has been removed from my diet. I don’t think ‘how could I make it work and make it still taste delicious’. People like this inspire me to do better and be more adventurous.
I’ve got sweets coming…Life is good! :).
Btw- anyone who comes new to book club will get to try them. This should definitely entice you to come! (It sure would entice me!)
Most of my friends have learned about my current sugar fast. Along with a prohibition against fast food, I have decided to stop eating desserts through the end of the year. I am giving myself one day off a month, which means I will be eating treats on Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So far I’ve only had one day of treats this month and that was after my meet in Logan where I had some ice cream. It has been harder than I thought it would be but we are trying to change my cravings and most importantly my habits. This is particularly important during this time of the year because there are so many sweet temptations that go along with the holidays.
Its amazing how quickly you get into the habit of eating sweets. I noticed this on my mission. I had never been in the routine of a daily dessert but on my mission people would feed us and often have a treat to end the meal. When I got home I was surprised at how much I craved sweets after dinner.
It might sound like a drastic measure to go cold turkey but it is kind of a shock to my system and then hopefully be able to work sweets back into my life. I just like sweets too much. (Although I have been successful in keeping my blood sugar down for many months, so its not like I’m going crazy with the sugar!).
What sweet would you miss the most?
One of my friends wondered if this type of sweet fast would do more harm than good because it makes the denied food seem all the more appealing. What do you think? I would agree if it was a permanent fix but as a catalyst for increased health I think it is a good thing.
This next week is going to be a huge test because I am going on a business trip to California. It will be some intense days of training, which will make exercise and diet very difficult. Wish me luck!
On a side note- I think it is dumb when people put these type of restrictions on kids. I read a blog today from a woman who suggests giving out prunes to trick or treaters. Come on! I’m all for healthy eating but I also think there is nothing wrong with a child being allowed one day of candy and treats. By giving them only prunes and organic lollipops a parent ostracizes children from their peers and makes food more of an issue than it should be.
Rachel's Musings 