It's a funny thing how the sight of something as innocuous as a bakery treat can bring back a flood of memories, feelings, and emotions. This week I am back home. By home I mean the place that I grew up and spent the better part of my life. Of course, just being here is a walk down memory lane. But I was doing quite well dealing with the emotions a hometown can stir up, until I saw this...a pastry that must have a name, but honestly I don't even know what it is. But the sight of it sent me back to the Sunday mornings of my childhood.
My mom would take me to church with her every Sunday morning. My distant memories of this are wearing frilly dresses and my favorite Mary Jane shoes, listening to men speak Latin, kneeling, and smelling incense. But it was the stop on the way home that was the highlight of the morning for me. Walking into Capitol Bakery brought happiness to my young heart. Of course, it probably contributed to my lifelong battle with sugar addiction, however, at the time I was blissfully unaware of that. Why I liked this little confection I can't say, I don't even know exactly what it is. There is yellow cake on the bottom and some type of brown sugar crumble on top finished off with confectioner's sugar. As the health coach that I am today, I should be horrified. There is not one redeeming healthy component to this food item. But I have vivid memories of being that little girl holding my mom's hand, excitedly walking through the bakery door, looking through the glass bin, and getting to pick out what I wanted. I would skip back to the car anticipating the sweet sensation of my little cake alongside a cold glass of milk.
I hadn't seen this pastry in many, many years. I'd never known anyone else who made it. The bakery closed it's doors quite a long time ago and became a wholesale business. That is most likely why I stumbled upon it at the breakfast buffet in my hotel lobby. In a nanosecond I was transported back to Capitol Bakery, holding my mommy's hand, and looking through the glass of a pastry bin. I lost my mom 9 years ago and there are days I miss her so much and then there are days I am so caught up in my present life that I don't think about her at all. But standing there in the lobby of my hotel looking at that covered dish brought back a warm and precious memory of my mother and me and our Sunday morning excursions.
Food, after all, is memories. It is such a huge component of our lives. The sight and smell of it can transport us to times long ago. That is most likely partly why those of us who struggle with emotional eating continually carry on a battle to keep food in it's proper place in our lives. We struggle to maintain a healthy balance of food as fuel for our bodies and food for the fun of it. I have been a health coach for 3 years now, lost 100 lbs by eating healthy and exercising, and firmly believe in clean eating and seasonal detoxing for digestive health. So did I break every one of my self-imposed eating rules and have a pastry? Did I take a brief moment of food for the fun of it? You bet I did! And thought fondly of my mom with every bite.
 |
| COMING SOON! |
 |
| EAT CLEAN AND LOSE WEIGHT |
