Thanks for stopping by and loving it! Man I have had to massively adjust my level of expectations since moving to Israel. I thought american schools were over indulgent. Israeli parents are just as bad, if not worse. In addition to the constant parties for birthdays, there are celebrations all the time for Jewish holidays AND teachers still give out candies as rewards! Yikes. The WB has reared her head a few times here in Israel and it;s been bitten off.

My son’s school has adopted a no cupcake policy for birthdays which I believe will be state-wide in New York. While I was a little sad for him at first, having fond memories of the ones I used to proudly bring in in elementary school, I am relieved that he won’t be eating cupcakes 20 times this year in school.

My questions are if anyone knows of a website or any ideas to create a cute treat for my son’s birthday that looks like a cupcake but is actually healthy–i.e. putting something in a cupcake liner but it not being a cupcake/muffin.

Wellness is about inviting self-awareness about these very things….that heightened consciousness of how our actions affect our bodies is one of the most necessary & limiting steps I see with my clients.

With nutrition, I cannot give a client a pill and know that they will feel an immediate change within 20 minutes. But I know that if I they at least try and see how they can feel away from certain foods (wheat, milk, caffeine, etc) then they can at least make the conscious choice as to whether continuing a “wellness” lifestyle is right for them.

You have to know how good you can feel away from these things before recognizing what they do to our bodies, and that process can take 14-30 days.

Afterwards, you can feel great but can have lingering problems (like the “yeasties”) from your body compensating for so long…

Once you recognize the monster, it’s about figuring out what triggers you to keep him around and focusing your lifestyle on those primary aspects (like reducing stress), not necessarily focusing on the “diet” itself.

I’ve decided that my migraines, which are usually prompted by the unfortunate intersection of stress and hormones, are there to SLOW. ME. DOWN. Which they do quite effectively.

Nice lesson in that, though. Be in the moment — pain, pleasure or otherwise. I like that.

I definitely think reaching out to other mamas is important and sharing with them how they can protect the health of their children will be the catalyst for getting them to “go green”. You have to speak to them and show them exactly what they can do for their own health (and of course, the health of the planet).
There is a bit of elitism going on with the hardcore earth-friendly people. I don’t expect my readers to worship the earth or wear patchouli (not at first, anyway ;D), I’m just hoping to show them how they can do things in a better, healthier way and help the planet at the same time.