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By
Colleen
Huber
Now that my son is four, he is old enough to have figured out that
he must have a birthday party and invite his friends over. For our
first at-home birthday party, I invited as many of his little friends
and their parents as I could squeeze inside our dining room for
an evening dinner.
The cake in the photo began with a friend's recipe for mousse.
The mousse consisted of boiled sweet potatoes mashed together with
just enough carob powder to darken. Carob powder is the ground dried
carob pod. The carob tree is of Mediterranean origin, but also grows
in the Americas.
6 Simple Steps to a Happy Healthy Birthday
Treat:
-
 3
lbs. fresh or frozen fruit, especially berries or peaches, cut
into chunks. (The photo shows a strawberry-banana combination.)
-
3 Granny Smith or other tart apples, peeled and diced (to provide
pectin for thickening)
-
Simmer all the fruit together over medium heat for about 50
minutes or until boiled down. While the fruit is cooking, stir
often to avoid burning the bottom of the pan and be sure to
mash the fruit chunks. The apple will need extra mashing to
combine thoroughly.
-
Cool thoroughly before using. (Aside from cake filling, I use
this recipe throughout the year to preserve in-season fruit
bought in bulk. The preserves can then be canned or frozen and
they keep nicely.)
-
To layer the cake, take a salad bowl or serving bowl and spread
about a three-fourths-inch thick layer of mousse on the bottom.
Then, layer about a half-inch of the cooled preserves. Then,
top with another layer of mousse. Finally, layer thin banana
slices for the last layer.
-
Next, put a serving plate on top of the bowl and turn the whole
thing over. With a knife, gently ease the mousse cake away from
the sides and bottom of the bowl. Once the bowl is free, use
the knife to smooth any rough edges on the cake caused by the
transfer.
-
You could decorate the top with more banana slices or berries.
The finished product holds candles well.
Summer Substitutes
For a summer-time birthday party for children you could make watermelon-only
popsicles. These are made by stuffing small chunks of watermelon
into popsicle molds and freezing for a couple of hours. Peach and
plum chunks also work well.
A Peaceful Party With Four and Five-Year
Olds
Our birthday party actually began with dinner for the parents and
children consisting of a pot roast with vegetables and a salad.
The next day, the only thing left over was a chunk of the too-massive
pot roast. The cake went over about as well as the pot roast and
salad with a bunch of restless four- and five-year -- olds.
The eaters ate quickly. The small-quantity eaters considered eating.
The fidgeters fidgeted. But, when presents were announced, all food
was quickly forgotten about as the five boys rushed into the living
room.
Most parents have seen once sweet and obedient children turn into
cranky misbehaved rascals after eating sugar, but this party was
quite different. It started at 5 p.m., and ended around 8 p.m.,
with only one incident of tears after too much roughhousing and
one case of sleepiness.
The last hour was actually the most peaceful time, as the children
quietly worked together completing a big floor puzzle.
Parents Could Have Fun Too
The parents actually sat and enjoyed relaxed conversation. Most
of us have been a part of a social event that was brought to a halt
when a kids' behavior became intolerable to the point of having
to remove them from the party. However, the good behavior displayed
by all the children at my son's birthday party was enough to
make one think, "Gee, if kids can act this good without sugar,
then maybe they should never have it at all!"
Those familiar with my previous articles may know that my husband
and I are raising our son with no sugar or sweeteners. I have to
admit all five boys that evening were really angelic and, although
most were accustomed to various desserts and sweets, none of them
complained about the lack of sweets at our house.
This shows me once again that even at the ages of three or five,
you can remove sugar from your child's diet. This, of course,
is accomplished much easier if your entire household takes the no-sweets
plunge together, clearing out every last cookie from the pantry.
See "sweet tooth".
As for the birthday boy ...
As soon as everybody left, he lay down on the floor and said, "Mommy,
I want batteries for my new toy. We have to buy batteries today."
Then he promptly went to sleep, as he so often ends our nighttime
chats.
 Colleen
Huber, 46, is a wife, mother and student at Southwest College
of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Ariz., where she is training
to be a naturopathic physician. Her original research on the mechanism
of migraines has appeared in Lancet and Headache Quarterly, and
was reported in The Washington Post.
Her
double blind placebo controlled research in homeopathy has appeared
in Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, European Journal
of Classical Homeopathy, and Homeopathy Today. Her website Naturopathy
Works introduces naturopathic medicine to the layperson and
provides references to the abundant medical literature demonstrating
that natural medicine does work.
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