It's not what you think...

Would you believe the ice cream cone cupcake this handsome boy is holding is made with whole-wheat flour and organic turbinado sugar? Well don't! For those of you that don't see us on a day-to-day basis, you might think we have attained some amazing level of eating excellence. Unfortunately that is not the case. These cupcakes were made from a recipe found in a book called The Cupcake Doctor. All the recipes in this cookbook involve doctored cake mixes. It is not that I cannot bake a cake from scratch but rather that cakes from scratch do not always have consistent results. It was my son's birthday and I wanted to make sure the cupcakes weren't yucky and I knew a cake mix would produce the correct texture and moistness level. I did scan the ingredients on my Duncan Hines box and discovered many unpronounceable chemical compounds. Quickly I averted my eyes and pretended I didn't see them. I did make a homemade buttercream frosting at least. Instead of cupcake liners, they bake in ice cream cones made with hydrogenated soybean oil...put it all together and you have one yummy cupcake! We finished the birthday with a dinner to the restaurant of his choice--Del Taco. We enjoyed chili cheese fries with beef and cheese of unknown origin and fried in who knows what. It was not a banner day in our healthy eating journey. My stomach did not feel good the next day at all. In the last week I have also purchased Texas Toast (loaded was high-fructose corn syrup and bleached flour) to make French toast because whole-wheat French toast does not taste as good. At least we topped it with 100% maple syrup instead of the Sam's Club jug of Aunt Jemima.

I have started reading a couple of really interesting books this week, The Maker's Diet and Real Food. The first book is a eating plan based on Biblical eating principles and explains scientifically why God created these dietary laws. The author was suffering from Crohn's disease as well many other digestive and immune system ailments which were reversed after he started following this eating plan. The second book was written by a journalist who grew up in a farm in Virginia eating "real food" and explains what "real food" is and why it is better for us. I am loving both books but not loving The Maker's Diet's explanation on why we shouldn't eat pork and shellfish. It makes sense but those are foods I am not ready to give up. We will have to see how strong my convictions become.

Remember that several small choices in what you eat each day can have a major impact on your overall health. We still hit an occasional fast food restaurant and I did sprinkle Oreos on my frozen yogurt last night but I am not going to let that discourage my overall resolve to eat better. Some days are harder than others and it seems the best policy is to not even bring the forbidden foods home. If your kitchen is full of "real food," you will have no choice but to eat it when you are hungry. As we head back to school and a new sports season starts, it will be interesting to see how we pull this off. We are about to become a very busy family again...stay tuned!