Day 5 - I used to bake...A LOT

I was the go to girl for baking - always. Since I was a teenager baking chocolate chip cookies for my family to put in out lunches. And yes, smuggling a few extras for myself in the meantime. I mean, I really love to bake. Banana bread, cupcakes, chocolately brownies...mmmm...sometimes all in the span of a week. A birthday coming up - I'll bake your cake! Going to friends for dinner? Guess what I volunteer to bring - you got it - dessert.
You know how some things from your childhood stick with you, long after they should? The kind of off side comments someone makes, little jokes that are meant to be funny but are really hurtful. I remember once making chocolate chip cookies for lunches when I was about 13 years old & stashing 4 or 5 in the fridge for school the next day. When I got to school & opened my lunch there was a little note in my bag. How nice I thought, this has never happened before. As I opened it feeling special & loved I read the words: A MOMENT ON THE LIPS, A LIFETIME ON THE HIPS. That was it. These are the things that crush us. These are the words that I never forget. These are the words I think of when eating treats. These are the words I will never, ever, say to my daughters as they go through their formative years. I hope I can lead by example of good eating habits & if they pick up on it here & there - hooray! I have to say I am missing baking, the smell, the taste, the warmth of it & the homey feeling it evokes...but for now I need to make some changes & learn to enjoy other delicious treats. The ones that come without the internal guilt.
Check out these awesome (guilt free) dessert bars I got to eat from www.healthyfunkyfoods.com - Coconut hemp bars, they're dense & sweet & coconuty & chewy & just a little on the greasy side - but not in a bad way - in a coconuty way. So super yummy & you can only eat one at a time. MMMMmmm. Probably my favourite thing there to date. Go try some - you won't regret it.