Festive Treats

Despite my (admittedly inconsistent) efforts to control junk food, my 6 year old daughter's dentist just informed us that she has 8 (yes, EIGHT) cavities. The shame!
Oh well, I can take most of the blame, but man, they eat a lot of sugar at school! Birthdays are complete with cupcakes (that's 20 days with cupcakes), the warm weather has involved at least 5 occasions that involved freezies, and I believe the ice cream truck handed out free ice cream on the last day of school.
So, when my daughter asked if I would send something in for an early celebration of her summertime birthday, I wondered what would be appropriately "healthy" yet not be thrown in the garbage. We decided on fruit kebabs, and somehow in a moment of weakness I allowed a fruit candy to top each one. This, admittedly, is a pretty poor plan from a cavity point of view, but hey, at least it involved fruit.
Next year no candy, they are pretty enough all on their own!

Highjacked Organics

Batter Blaster is an aerosol can of pancake/waffle batter. Seriously, it exists and it's organic. I thought it was a joke, but apparently it's not. It's been profiled on Regis and Kelly and is apparently carried by Loblaws, Sobey's and Metro (though I've never actually seen it in real life). My husband forwarded me the website (www.batterblaster.com) when he stumbled across a magazine ad and thought it was just too funny to pass up. Unfortunately, alot of people must not get the joke. Over 3 million cans were sold in 2008. It's marketed to "make breakfast a blast", and as a healthy, mess-free breakfast. While the ingredients are organic, there is nothing natural about a food you spray from a can.

This is where things break down a bit in the whole organics industry. I've been weighing the arguments for and against corporate organics (lower cost, more marketing power, greater efficiency VS. circumventing the "spirit" of organic agriculture, redefining the rules of what is considered organic, and continuing to promote processed foods). Batter Blaster makes me wonder what organic food will look like in 5 years. And it makes me wonder why we ever bothered with organic waffles.

Our family has recently switched to making our own organic pancakes (without aerosols) and then freezing them to be heated up for quick breakfasts later in the week. It works and doesn't take much time. In fact, I'm quite sure it's less than if we sprayed them into the pan.

March Break Pit Stops

Simplicity at it's finest. Buckets, rocks, sand, water. I had to post this because it's March and this is Canada and we were at the beach. Without coats. Last year we were still shoveling. Ahhh, an early spring - the balm for whatever ails our Northern souls.

Anyway, the kids and I are making the 428 km (I checked) trip to Ottawa tomorrow. Usually this trip involves multiple stops at road stops along the way. Snacks, bathroom breaks, leg stretching. Trouble is, every rest stop has a McDonald's, Wendy's, or Tim Horton's. So, how does one pee (and seriously, what kid can go more than 100km without a pee?) without buying fries, donuts, or ice cream? My goal for tomorrow is to find out.

I have armed myself with a big snack bag with little individual bags of organic home air popped popcorn, 2 pounds of apples, water bottles, and a few granola bars when the call of packaged food gets too strong. Wish me luck, I'll need it.

Oranger than Orange

I like lots of orange foods. Peppers, carrots, oranges, squash…cheezies. I have a true love/hate relationship with the humble cheezie. I can't resist, I'm a moth to the bright orange flame.

My husband did the shopping this weekend. He came home with a bag. I never buy them because I know I am weak. I made him promise to keep them out of my sight and to not, under any circumstances, let me eat them. I lasted 36 hours. Then I found them, and I did more than just take their picture. Now I feel guilty and kind of radioactive. Guilty that I just ate something brighter than a fluorescent lightbulb and that is not exactly food. Also that I have no willpower to avoid such flagrantly processed foods.

My New Years resolution in 2005 was to not eat any fluorescent foods or any potato chips. Granted I was pregnant at the time and wasn't really able to eat much regardless. My resolution lasted until I gave birth and then I was so hungry from nursing I would tuck into just about anything. Having fallen quite squarely off the wagon for a long time, I think it might be time to consider taking up this resolution again. The chip part too. (Inner voice: “Oh gawd...what am I getting myself into?”) Okay, I’ve put it out there in cyberspace, so I guess I’ll have to stick with it. My husband is going to get a good deal of mileage out of torturing me with this one I reckon.

And just in case you were wondering, no, I’m not pregnant.