This morning started off with something that I haven’t had in way too long.

A bunch of spinach, a frozen banana, a handful of strawberries, and some almond milk blended into perfection.

A green smoothie made the perfect “Part One” for breakfast this morning. I had to fix something quick that I could chug down while packing up a few special treats that would become breakfast “Part Two” not too long afterwards.

Makenzie’s preschool class had a fall party today and I offered to bring the snacks for this little event. I decided to make two of Makenzie’s favorites – one healthier and one just plain ole cute and sugary.

For starter’s, I did a muffin version of Teri’s Pumpkin Gingerbread.

Full-sized for the adults and some minis for the kiddos.

Then, for the purely kid-fun treat, I made Oreo truffles dipped in white chocolate and turned into either ghosts or pumpkins with the help of edible markers. Aren’t they cute?

I think I have finally figured out the perfect dipping technique!

• stick lollipop sticks into truffles
• freeze truffles so stick sets and so they dip easier when cold
• use a teaspoon of oil to make the chocolate smoother for dipping
• have styrofoam ready to stick the pops into to dry upright

It’s likely old news to many of you, but I had to share my dipping success since it took me a bazillion years to figure it out.

Breakfast “Part Two” most certainly consisted of a muffin and a truffle for me. Mmmmm! And I have quite a few muffins left over for snacks. Although not too many Oreo pops. I shouldn’t be surprised. What would you have picked as a kid?  

Well, unless you’re this kid.

She was way more into the muffins than the Oreos.

Don’t be too impressed. I’m sure she will be begging for her Oreo pop come afternoon snack time. She’s her momma’s kid after all. She loves her sweets, but also enjoys healthier options too. Which is exactly why I went the route I did when choosing snacks for the kids at today’s party.

I don’t want to be the mom that forces food on my own kids, so I certainly won’t take that approach with other children! I think kids can eat healthily without making them – but that’s a whole other topic. I like balance for my kids, so I figured why not approach providing a snack for others the same way? Have a healthier (but still yummy) option and a more standard kid-fare option. Perhaps on some level it’s just going with the status quo, but oh well.

It gives me joy to bring smiles to these faces.

And other kids’ faces…but we’ll let their parents slather their faces all over the internet at their will, not mine. Or I just think my kids are the only ones worthy of space in my post. Shhhh. Hehehe.

Well, it’s time for me to head off for an afternoon six miler! Ciao, bellas!

• What do you think about kids and treats?

Morning, friends! You may recall my not super balanced “lunch” of candy corn that I mentioned over the weekend.

Well, when I posted about Peter & I completely owning that bag of candy corn over the course of the weekend, I made light of it. Hey hey! I devoured a boatload of sugar. Whoopee! No biggie. Love me some candy corn goodness. Hip hip hooray!

You get the picture.

Well, when I wrote the post I truly did feel like it was “no biggie” in the grand scheme of things. I would be lying if I said it didn’t get under my skin at first.

The dreaded food guilt.

I know some of my triggers that will lead to the dreaded guilty feeling:

• eating past a comfortable level of full
• eating mindlessly
• eating emotionally

Then, when reading a post last week by Lee on food guilt, something struck me for the first time – food guilt (and exercise guilt too for that matter) hits me hardest when I make unplanned less than healthy decisions.

So, a surprise baggy of candy corn gone in a matter of days equaled a twinge of food guilt. And Chelsey – don’t you dare go feeling friend guilt for my silly food guilt. Do you hear me?! I still love you mad…and the candy corn.

It’s an interesting concept and crazy how I never fully realized that before. At least I can usually recognize food guilt, pinpoint the cause, learn from it, and move on relatively quickly these days. However, I still have things to learn and ways to grow.

I have no qualms eating less than healthy food at times. In fact, I believe it’s a necessary part of my eating habits so I can keep the road of balance and not revert back to how I felt during my first binge and the years that followed.

But perhaps, as Lee posed in her thoughts, food guilt can do good on some level. Perhaps it can positively motivate our eating habits. Or at the very least make us take a closer look. Just don’t take too close a look and bring it from self-aware to self-deprecating. Mmmkay? You (and I) deserve more than that.

• What things set off food guilt for you?
• Do you think some food guilt can be a good thing?