Lick the Bowl

You know how life just seems to get too overwhelming?   You know how you’re supposed to take deep breaths, go for a walk, pamper yourself, or mutter encouraging mantras to get you through the drama?   You know how after you try all of those things, and you’re still feeling affected, you figure that nothing beats an eating bender?   You know how you go on a bender with all the self-loathing that goes along with it, but you know you’re going to come out of it the next day stronger and more determined not to do it again? You know how that never works and the bender lasts   four more days than you expected, followed by a huge cookie baking, tasting and consuming swan song?   Yep, I know, and don’t ask me why.   I plead the fifth. Well, not really. My stomach has concurred that it takes a lot longer to get over benders these days.   In fact, it gurgled in retaliation begging me to stop last weekend. My brain, however, devilishly coaxed me to continue my...

http://toscareno.blogspot.com/2012/02/lifes-unexpected-challenges.html Read my post as guest blogger on Eat Clean Diet!!!!!

http://toscareno.blogspot.com/2012/02/lifes-unexpected-challenges.html

I miss peanut butter. I miss its creaminess and its ability to hit the spot when I didn’t know what to eat. I miss its versatility.   Melt it and throw it on noodles with some sesame seeds and you have Asian noodles. Mix into a vanilla smoothie and you have post-workout heaven.   Throw it on some whole wheat bread, or roll it in a wrap with banana and it’s a well-balanced meal.   Spread it on some celery and it’s a perfect carb/protein combo.   Spread it on a cracker (or even a graham cracker) and it’s a stellar texturized fusion of crunchy-gooey, salty- sweet.   Great for those hormonal moments when your veracious appetite is about to cross over to the dark side, but wait, salvation…ahhh, there’s the beloved peanut butter. I miss peanut butter.    I had to remove it from the house a few years ago when my son was diagnosed with severe nut allergies.   At first, I figured I could still keep it around if I just took the proper precautions. ...

Latkes are definitely a labor of love. A very greasy, oily, labor of love.   A time consuming, set off the smoke detector (twice), back breaking, use up half a bottle of oil, not to mention a 45 minute cleanup, and the entire house smells like a diner, labor of love.   Can you feel all that love for the miracle of the oil?   I have made latkes over the years in different ways according to the tastes of my family.   I prefer the home-style kind where you can actually see the grated potato sticking out in crunchy, jagged edges.   My daughter likes the mealy kind, where everything is ground up in the processor and poured out like pancake batter-she really likes the gigantic frozen kind (UGH).   My husband is just happy that I am making something that can’t really be considered healthy.   Poor thing has had to suffer through broccoli, spaghetti squash, and turkey meatloaf (all which were eaten along with seconds…hmmmm).   But, bona fide carbs a...

Holiday season is a time of joy for most, and stress for others. I admit that I fall in between the two.   Unfortunately, for those kids with food allergies, holiday season can become a landmine if no one is at the helm keeping watch.   I have made my son vigilant about food allergies;he knows not to eat anything at school, in class, in the lunchroom or otherwise.   For every treat he has to turn down, he gets the equivalent at home-safely.   The teachers in the school all comment on how great he is about managing his food allergies, and as a result, they take notice of my six-year old who maturely gives up some of the irresistible goodies in school.   Most of the teachers know who my son is simply because they are so impressed by his fortitude (not to mention that he can be so darn cute). Every school year I introduce myself to the lunch aides, provide a note for the teachers to send home to parents, talk with the nurse, discuss my son’s   allergies ...

I have had a serious hankering for gingerbread, which is ironic because I never used to like it. I find that since I officially hit middle age with the recent celebration of my (fill in the blank) birthday, there are changes within myself that I cannot seem to control. ·      I now have to remove my glasses to read something up close. ·          I need mega doses of drugs to get over a common cold. ·          I can no longer say, what up? ·          I actually prefer a minivan to a sedan. ·            I take medication that I have seen advertised on TV. ·            Low rise jeans…well let’s not go there. ·          It seems that I like gingerbread.   I have always backed away from ginge...