Pepsi Doesn't Make Me a Good Mom

Pepsi-Cola and I have had a long-standing relationship.  We've had our ups and downs, to be sure.  I think I mentioned Pepsi and York peppermint patties as my favorite "snack" in my high school yearbook. (yikes!)  I have had my phases of trying to "quit" Pepsi.  Probably the longest we have ever been separated was about three months after I promised my dentist I would kick the soda habit to the curb.  Yet, every time I have found myself returning to my feel-good drink of choice.

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that there is no place for Pepsi on the Feingold diet.  With ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, phosphoric acid, and "natural flavors", it doesn't belong on any diet.  Still, I will be the first to admit that the Nerd and I have not fully committed ourselves to the Feingold program.  While I keep all the kids to a strict adherence of the diet, we have sometimes indulged in things not allowed on the Feingold program. (usually on date night or other times we are away from the kids).  I also have not fully "gone Feingold" in the beauty department.  The kids use fragrance-free and dye-free shampoo, conditioner, and soap;  I have switched to dye-free but haven't been able to convince myself to ditch the fragrances.

So, yes, I would still enjoy a Pepsi here and there - not under any delusions that it was good for my health, of course.  But after having a small slice of red velvet cake at a conference and immediately getting a migraine afterwards, I began to wonder what effects these artificial colors and flavors could have on myself.  I decided to keep a food and mood journal.  I had been doing this already for our TC (target child in Feingold speak), and it had proven very helpful in identifying what foods were triggering his moods, bizarre behavior, meltdowns, insomnia, etc.  After a week of journaling what I ate and drank and recording my moods and general health afterwards, I was shocked to discover something.

Pepsi did not make me a good mom.

  It seemed that I would reach for a Pepsi mid-to-late afternoon, the time of day that most stay-at-home moms know is a little more stressful.  After downing a can of Pepsi, my journal showed that I was angry, irritable, moody, and stressed out.  To put it bluntly, I was a bad mom.  I would snap at my kids and feel impatient when they didn't obey quickly enough.  I was amazed at how quickly and how fiercely my temper came out.  I was drinking the Pepsi to help calm myself during a more stressful time of day, and it was having exactly the opposite effect.

Once I realized this, it was no problem breaking up with Pepsi.  Strange that the negative effects on my teeth or my weight never seemed to impact me this way.

I don't know what it is in Pepsi that affects me that way.  I don't know if other sodas would have the same effect, but this girl's not in line to find out, if you know what I mean.

Bye, Pepsi.  This time it's final.

Blue Ombre Baby Shower Cake - The Natural Way

If you've been around for a while, you know that I like to decorate cakes and do so rather frequently.  A few weeks ago, I was asked to make a baby shower cake, a request that I gladly accepted.

A few hours later, I was perusing the internet (and my Pinterest boards) to be inspired for a perfect baby shower cake design. I found this pretty design here.  I am loving the ombre look that seems to be so popular these days and thought it would make a perfect modern shower cake.  I gathered the supplies to make my "sugar cookie cake" (so named because it tastes like a giant sugar cookie), and then it hit me.

Oh yeah.  We don't do that artificial food color thing any more.  How was I going to do many shades of blue naturally?  Apparently, boiled cabbage can sometimes produce a grayish-blue color.  Still, I had never done it before, and I definitely did not want to show up to the shower with frosting that tasted like cooked cabbage.  My friends on the Feingold member boards told me about a set of all-natural icing colors that are made by India Tree.  I dumped the kids off at Grandma's and went to Whole Foods.  After I recovered from sticker shock ($18 for three little bottles of red, blue, and yellow!), I ponied up the cash, figuring I could use them for future birthday cakes and other celebrations.

And as you can see from the photo, the color turned out exactly as I had envisioned it.  The gals at the shower loved it, and my inner-happy-cake-decorator-self was thrilled that I still had options when it came to making pretty cakes.  (I totally want to try this ombre petal method with all shades of chocolate frosting!)

Want my sugar cookie cake recipe?  Here it is - it's a little more work than the average cake but completely worth it, I promise.  It tastes fantastic and holds up well for tall or structured cakes.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 TBS baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

3 cups sugar

6 eggs (separated)

1 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Make it:  

1.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition.
3.  With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4.  In another bowl, with a clean beater, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir about 1/2 cup of whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest of the egg whites.
5.  Divide the batter evenly between three 8" (or 9") round cake pans. Smooth the batter to make it level.
6.  Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Be sure to check at the 25 minute mark as you definitely do not want these to overbake.  Tops of the cakes should be springy.
7.  Cool the cakes in their pans on a rack for 10 minutes.Invert the cakes onto racks.  When completely cool, divide each cake into two layers.
8.  Make your favorite frosting (buttercream is so yummy with this!) and stack the six layers, spreading frosting between and crumb-coating the entire cake.
9.  Let the crumb-coat set up in the fridge for a half-hour or so.

Then go to Prudent Baby and follow the easy tutorial to make the Ombre Petal design on your cake.  To make your petals neater than mine, don't use Ziploc bags with the corners cut off.  Just sayin'.