The Anti-Pioneer Woman...

I love the Pioneer Woman. She is truly awesome, her blog is awesome, and she makes some really awesome dishes. So when I say I am an anti pioneer women, I don't mean anti THE pioneer woman. I was just thinking the other day that you can find a recipe online to make anything you could dream of. That really makes us amateur cooks look like we have serious skills. When really the pre-blog, pre-pinterest chefs are the real Pioneer Women. Those are the people who had to come up with all the amazing recipes. They have to try and try and fail and try again to get all of the measurements right so that the rest of us can just google "peanut butter icing" and voila we have the perfect recipe for the perfect cupcake. I was making the afore mentioned peanut butter chocolate cupcakes a few weeks ago and it hit me that if I didn't have the internet I would have no idea how to make this icing. If I didn't have an amazing passed down recipe from my grandmother or a recipe given to me by a good friend I would just be out of luck. Hmm. I don't really think I have a point, just realizing the massive effects of the world wide web on every part of my life.

So last time I wrote, I spoke of my plan to change my outlook on food. I have been successful at this somedays and failed miserably on others but it is always in the back of my mind. I want very much to look at food as a means for survival but also look at it as a wonderful gift from God. These millions of recipes that I have access to by just the click of a mouse are examples of how we can take God's gifts and create something beautiful with them. A good friend who commented on my last post had it right when she said that we should "take our time with food because it and the experiences that surround it are a gift from God." That is a very delicious thought!!

And on that note, I would like to show off the beautiful Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes that I made for my niece Elzy's baby dedication. What a great way to thank God for beautiful babies and Christian families. Oh and I am also thankful for eggs, sugar, peanuts, cocoa and of course, butter!

I also made strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing which were even more delicious but I don't even have a picture of them because they were eaten almost immediately!

I should really round out this post with a few of the healthy options that I have recently made thanks to Pinterest. Does any one else have a irrational fear that one day Pinterest will disappear and with it all of the amazing things I have pinned? No? Yeah, me neither.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

I didn't like asparagus growing up. Perhaps because my mom didn't know it could be cooked like this. Poor mom, how did she survive with out Pinterest? To my surprise my kids are HUGE fans of asparagus. Couldn't get enough. Yum!

Oh and here is a nice light pasta salad that I found and love. Perfect for Summer. I am going to call it Pasta Primavera because it is very close to my favorite pasta salad by the same name at Whole Foods. Double yum.

Just between me and me.... and the world wide web

So I am feeling the need to journal about things right now. And since I don't have a physical journal I am just going to use this blog as my outlet. I am thinking no one really reads this anymore anyway since I have been MIA for almost a year. And if you do decide to read it, I apologize in advance....

I had a long discussion with the husband last night Discussion is a relative term here. I did a lot of talking that was directed at him. He kept up with it for a while (bless his heart) but pretty soon I started to see his face go blank and I could tell that I was sounding like the teacher from Charlie Brown to him. That didn't stop me from finishing my conversation. He was a sport for staying in the room and staying awake until I was done. Good man.

Anyway... the discussion was about my obsession with food. I love food. I think about it all the time. I mean that is why I started this blog a couple of years ago to brag about all of the food I was making. The problem with my love for food is that I think I may be letting it become an idol. WHAT?!? Watch out... Im about to go all religious....

So I just started reading a book in my Wednesday night Bible study called No Other Gods by Kelly Minter. I am loving it and it is really hitting me where it hurts. In my stomach. She talks about the problem particularly with Christians worshiping God at the same time as serving all of these other gods. As a Christian I have always felt I had a handle on the God is the one and only God. Thinking of idols as statues from the old testament that are not a part of my reality. I have also done many a study talking about worshiping other idols like money, children, hobbies... instead of God. I dont feel like I have that problem either. But this is the first time I thought about worshiping God while at the same time serving other idols. THIS I have problem with. Where am I going with this? So I started thinking about what I put my trust and time and thoughts in. The answer usually comes back to food. Not directly but kind of....

I struggle, like most women, with body image. I am a yo-yo dieter. I constantly wish I looked a different way and so I am on this rollercoaster of diet, exercise, binge, guilt, repeat. So what can I do about it? When I diet, I obsess about food. What will I eat, what I can't eat, how many calories, how much I have to run to be able to eat "blank" later. It is exhausting. So I stop dieting... And then it really falls apart. I still think about food all of the time. So I eat ALL of the time and then I feel guilty ALL of the time. So then I eat some more. UGH. Just writing it down makes my stomach hurt a little. So I need to figure out a plan.... First step is recognizing that food does not deserve so much of my thoughts and time. That time belongs to God. I need to find a way to rely on God instead of food. And if I have to eat nothing but Manna to survive. So be it... Well that may be a little extreme, but there is something there. God told the Israelites that HE was all they needed. That He would provide food for them so that they would not die in the wilderness. He did not say He would supply cupcakes and pizza for them. He gave them Manna. I imagine manna was like a bran muffin. Not horrible tasting. Extremely good for you. But just not what you want day in and day out. I think God was making a point that food should not be something that we obsess over. Worry about. Food is for health and energy and nutrients. That is how we should look at it. It is not for sitting on the couch late at night eating tons of Thin Mints just because they are delicious. (I have heard of people that do that... But I would never...)

I have done quite a bit of rambling but I am not sure where I want to go with this. I think I am starting a journey to change the way I think of food. I still love to cook and will continue to do so. But I need to first think about my spiritual health, physical health, and the health of my family and THEN plan my meals/diet accordingly. Will this work? We will see....