Do you have baking traditions?

Baking was a tradition before I became a pastry chef. My daughter and I always found, and still find, a reason to be in the kitchen together. (Paige practicing her piping skills, 1998)

Recently a fellow blogger posted that someone in her circles claimed how damaging and unhealthy baking with your children is as an activity. Or something to that effect. She didn't go into detail about the post, which infuriated her. But she did say, and I agree, that baking with your children, or anyone you love, is not the gateway to unhealthy habits. People did not become unhealthy because they spent time in the kitchen together, creating and continuing traditions. 

I whole-heartedly agree. How upsetting it is, especially as a pastry chef, to know that this type of rhetoric is out here. Demonizing specific foods, especially those that are traditional recipes, handed down through generations, is not the end goal for those of us who are helping people build their health in a sustainable way. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

For me, and for many of my readers, removing certain problematic food groups from my every day diet works for me. The individual. It's actually called "bio-individuality". When I realized the health benefits, yes, I wanted to shout it from the roof tops. (Didn't I??) Living without certain foods which are problematic - for me - does not mean, nor did I ever mean to infer, that they are problematic for the entire population. Rather, promoting learning about yourself and what works for you, is what I want, and continue, to share. 

Last weekend my daughter and I spent Sunday baking together. We sipped champagne and made traditional sugar cookies. And we made grain and dairy free recipes. We're creating new traditions, but we haven't completely abandoned the old. My kids still think my old sugar and gingerbread cookie recipes are the best they've ever had.

In fact, they're the same recipes I presented to my chef when I was baking professionally, and we used them every holiday in the kitchen. I made thousands of Cleveland Browns helmet sugar cookies, all painstakingly decorated by hand - by me - each football season. But I have re-imagined those recipes now, as well as biscotti, pecan triangles and several others, along with some new recipes. They all include my new arsenal of ingredients. Most people cannot tell the difference. And I can enjoy them. (I hate to be left out!)

The point I'm trying to make here is that traditions, old and new, are the focus. Enjoying a few "off plan" foods because they're family favorites, or generations-old traditions, or just plain delicious, is what's front-and-center. Knowing what's healthy for you, and when something is "worth it" is precisely how you strike the perfect balance. 

I thank each of you for hanging in there with me, and I welcome my new subscribers to my little community. If you haven’t already subscribed, just sign up below for my newsletter, the dish, and download this Paleo Holiday Baking Ebook as my gift. Click the image to download. I'm so thrilled to share it with you. If you try any of the recipes please post your results so I can see them. And if you need advice, I'm only an email away!