Why the huge big ridiculous deal about Tebow's Super Bowl ad? Come on. Really? Is this Jr. High?
Everybody who had a cow about it must be feeling pretty dumb right now. They barely even said anything. What was there to be a freaked out about? It is pretty funny to me to think about Planned Parenthood's strategy on this one. Without knowing what Focus on the Family was going to do, they made such a big stink about it that they effectively made sure everyone in America was watching it. They even went so far as trying to get it off the air - like the "freedom of speech" thing only applies to people who agree with them. (Just like their idea that choice is only good if you choose to agree with their choice.) If they had just shut up about it and ignored it, half of the world would have missed it - talking about the game and eating chips. What was it? 30 seconds? It's amazing how many spoofs are already hitting you tube in a lame attempt at a comeback for a "slam" that never really occurred. People need to find something better to do with their time.

Errr... well, I have mostly given up dairy. (Apparently it is hidden in quite a lot of things including carmel food color) I did some research this past year on Chronic Fatigue (something I was diagnosed with as a teenager) and almost every source I went to said to give it up. Crazy huh? I guess it actually takes more energy to process dairy than you actually get back from eating it. I also have very low blood sugar and guess what I was doing to help with that? Yep, I was drinking milk or chocolate milk or milk with carnation instant breakfast, or eating cheese or yogurt. It didn't help and I couldn't figure out why. Eventually I started experiencing mono-like symptoms again - this is not good when you have 3 preschoolers at home. Anyway, I did my research and cut out most dairy products and voila... I have energy again. And, I have had significantly less struggles keeping my blood sugar up too.

Here's the other thing. It has given me a new attitude about food in general. I have a few passions in life. I love God, my family, writing, art and food. But, it is so easy to let everything else in life go away when I am focused on one of my passions.  I have known many many people who have struggled for years with weight issues or diet issues (I have obviously had my own issue too - that you know about if you have read my last blog). The problem is that we let passion for food become obsession and we can't get past it. We very excitedly jump on the food trends bandwagon. We count calories, drastically cut down on things we actually need (like carbs - that was a dumb one), we go "light" or fat free, or try to control portions, etc. I'm not saying that any of these is bad. Its just that all these things continue to keep our focus on our obsession and making it healthier or more organic or whatever. We can still love food but with more "control". When I gave up dairy it sucked. Honestly, I hated that I had to eat burritos without cheese and sour cream. I crave glasses of milk and bowls of ice cream all the time. But I feel healthier every day and I get over my cravings, drink a glass of water, eat something else I maybe don't love so much and move on to other things. Food is now mostly just something I do to make sure I stay healthy and have energy. It hit me the other day that the obsession is gone. Gone! Just like that. I still love to bake and cook but I just think different about it now.

So here's my theory: maybe what we need is not another "diet" or trend but something that moves food from the problem / obsession category to some other place. Try it. If you have a food obsession issue, try cutting out something that will drastically change your diet without being nutritionally unsound, something that might, heaven forbid, take a bit of the "joy" out of food. Aren't there better things to focus on anyway? Maybe we just shouldn't love food so much. I have plenty of other things in life that are so much more fulfilling. Why do I need to spend so much passion on that one? Believe it or not, the list of things we can survive without is long. A person can give up dairy or gluten or refined sugar (I try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup too) or MSG if you are a chip lover. . .

Am I being ridiculous?? Thoughts??

Okay, first of all I would like to say that I successfully cooked 2 turkeys this holiday season. I was in charge of the Turkey on Thanksgiving as well as Christmas. It is not as hard as I thought it would be. I feel a sense of accomplishment now. Yay me!
I'll check that off my list of "out of my comfort zone" food experiments for the year.

And now for the recipe you have all been waiting for...
Pam's Potato Pancakes

Start with basic pancake batter as follows (or you could use a pancake mix)

1 c. flour + more if too runny
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbs oil
Mix the dry ingredients and the wet separately then mix together

Then...
Use a cheese grater to grate two medium sized potatoes and about a cup of cheese (we like sharp cheddar)
dice about 1/2 c ham (you can use lunchmeat if you want - we used leftover Christmas ham and it was soooo good.)
diced onion and garlic and whatever else you want as much as you want (chives...)

Mix these into the pancake batter, add some season salt and fry them up!

*Be sure to cook them over MEDIUM LOW heat. They are super thick and hearty and if your heat is up too high the outside will cook and the inside will be runny. They take a bit longer than a normal pancake but they are worth it.*

Enjoy! Sounds weird but they are amazing with sour cream on top. These are not your normal pancakes they they will fill you up quick. My husband loves them.

*going to have to fix this recipe now that I am not doing dairy... hmmm*