Looking back on my life thus far, raising my son is the accomplishment I feel most proud of. I certainly can’t take all the credit for what a wonderful young man he has become, of course, but I am really proud of him. That alone makes Mother’s Day special to me. Getting flowers from him is a nice bonus, of course!

I had a late brunch with my own mother today. We tried out a restaurant that was new to us.

I had my eye on at item that I had seen on the Mother’s Day menu on the website, which was Stuffed French Toast with cinnamon cream cheese, strawberries, almond, and maple syrup.

Unfortunately, they decided not to stuff the French toast, so that was a bit of a disappointment. We made up for it by ordering peach crisp to share for dessert!

A Gift for Mom (and Me)

A few days ago, my sister suggested that perhaps I could bake a cake for my mother. Given her living situation (assisted living, with almost zero food storage space), I decided that I would buy a pound cake, slice it, and put each slice in its own Ziploc bag.

I’m not talking about the dry loaf type of pound cake, but the ultra moist type, with a glaze, made in a tube pan or bundt pan. I bought the cake on Friday, left it in the car overnight, then brought it into my house in the middle of the day on Saturday.

Once it was in my house, it was hard for me to ignore it. I don’t know what it is about pound cake that makes it so irresistible to me. It has to be the pleasure sensations I get from eating it.

One piece just makes me want another. Anyway, I had a couple of slices on Saturday, then more when I was slicing it up for my mother, then more when I came home after spending time with my mother today (Sunday).

Finally, I followed my plan of slicing the remainder, bagging it, and freezing it. So far, I have not removed any from the freezer.

Sweet Reward?

I’ve had a “sweet tooth” for as long as I can remember. My parents both had one, too, although I think my father was maybe less prone to snacking than my mother is.

My mother baked a good bit when I was young, and I learned to bake before I learned any other type of food preparation, I think.

Although I enjoy a good meal, vegetables and all, I tend to get even more excited about dessert. I wish I was not that way, but I don’t know if it can be changed.

Meanwhile, I just try to avoid having pound cake (or any cake) around the house, because I feel that it tempts me to throw off the balance of my food intake, and to eat just for the enjoyment, not because of hunger.

Yet, I want to allow myself to enjoy all foods, and not place arbitrary limits on quantity.

Really tuning into one’s body without imposing cognitive restraints can be quite a challenge, I think!

My interest in nutrition developed from the weight issues I had in my youth. My sister and I always tended to be heavier than other kids, and we were teased about it, so naturally I wanted to "fix" myself by dieting. That worked pretty well in my teenage years, but adulthood was much more challenging. I started out as a dietitian who advocated dieting, but due to my own experience with my weight and dieting, as well as my extensive study of the subject of weight management, I have become an advocate of Health at Every Size. The first fellow professional who influenced my "conversion" was Ellyn Satter, who is also a dietitian. I got my Bachelor's Degree in Dietetics in 1975, (LSU) followed by a Master's in 1981(Univ of TN), and a PhD in 1997 (Univ of TN). I have worked in longterm care, public health, and one hospital. For the last 8 years, I have been teaching at the college level. I am the proud mother of a 24 year old son, and have been single since my divorce in 1993. That is when I moved to Atlanta from Cookeville, Tennessee. I moved around a lot in my childhood due to my father's job, but my parents grew up in Texas, and that is where my roots are. I lived in Brazil for 3 years as a teenager, and one of my sisters still lives there.