About Making New Food Choices

I'm not on a diet.
This is a choice.
I'm not feeling deprived.
There are not foods I "can't have."
I am choosing to eat a certain way.
I am choosing to change my life.
I don't miss cheesy pizza.
I don't miss pecan pie.
I don't miss feeling stuffed and kludgy.
I have more energy.
I have fewer mood swings.
I do feel hungry sometimes and that's ok. It's normal. And I will survive.
I want to have a better life and I'm making choices to make it better.
There's no way to "cheat" because then I would be the cheated-upon.
I don't care what you eat or don't eat.
I just want you to understand that you don't have to feel bad for me, hide what you're eating from me, or express pity for me.
I'm fine. I feel happier about food than I have in a long time. This is a path I want to be on.

PS Down 13 pounds in 5 weeks.

Dump Cake: Food of the Gods

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.
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Oh, yes, the irony of being selected to write a post about dessert just after I joined Weight Watchers. I KNOW.

When it comes to dessert, I'm all about the butter. A good shortbread cookie can make me buckle at the knees. One time Angela from Fluid Pudding brought me a Gooey Butter Cake from St. Louis and I ate most of it with my hands in a San Francisco hotel room.

The other day at work was the first time I felt a twinge of regret at trying to lose weight because someone brought in Dump Cake and the delicious smell permeated the office, all buttery and warm and oh my. I love me some dump cake. You know what it is, right? The simplest thing on earth. Powered by massive quantities of butter.

You put a can of crushed pineapple with juice into the bottom of a 9x13 pan, put a can of Comstock cherry pie filling in, spread a box of (of course) Duncan Hines yellow cake mix on top, put two whole sticks of cut up butter on top, toss some chopped pecans or walnuts on if you must, then bake the weird looking mess for an hour at 350 degrees. Voila. Dump Cake. The top gets all crusty and buttery and the pineapple juice bubbles up throughout and caramelizes and it still looks a little lumpy and misshapen.

Is it good? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm not just putting this recipe here because it involves both a Comstock product and a Duncan Hines product, even though that works out pretty nicely, doesn't it?

No. I am putting this recipe here because if you make it for any holiday party you go to - party at a friend's house, church or work potluck, a little get-together - people will rave. You will be the star of the show.

You invest 10 minutes of work time (if you're slow), a few bucks in ingredients, and people will love you more than if you brought the strawberry shortcake pictured above (which was a little dry, if you ask me).

It's all about the butter.

I'm pencilling in a piece of dump cake for Christmas 2012. Until then, I'll be over there by the vegetable tray, dreaming.

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Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.