One place I really would love to get lost in is a good supermarket. A good book store would not be a bad idea either. Buying monthly grocery is a family shopping expedition. The kids love to come along and pick up their allowed quota of snacks. While hubby is not totally opposed to the idea of including cookies and the kind in the cart, I can be irritatingly hesitant and stingy here. Of course, I do buy, but a few as lifesavers. I do not like the thought of the kids having easy access to these things or consuming them on a regular basis. By my own admission I am a wicked mom. I really like schools which do not allow junk food to be brought to school except on a certain day of the week. The kids started to eat on their own when they turned two or so. I do not believe in running behind them and feeding them. They need to feed themselves if hungry. If I see a tantrum coming during a meal, I carry on with mine. If they are not 'hungry' as the food on the table isn't appealing enough to them, too bad, they can eat the same thing when they are really hungry later. I do give up and give in sometimes when I don't feel up to it or when me or the kids one of us is unwell. I know, I know, I won't get voted as the Best Fun-to-be-with Mom, but I guess I can live with it.
But then I am human and one with a huge sweet tooth and an insane urge to bake at that. I try to space out my indulgent bakes, a good portion of these (unless its breads) are a good number of times meant to be given away with us consuming a part of it. Along with indulgent baking, am looking out for healthy whole grain bakes too, now more than ever.
I dread surprise guests for two reasons - one is the predictable swept-by-a-tornado look of our place, second - I am extremely poor in stocking up on snacks. I am not proud of this but I am not a very organized person and no snacks on hand sometimes lands me in difficult situations. Specially when I get up late and find no time to dish up something for the snack break at school. Since my kids are sadly not much of fruit eaters, its all the more challenging to provide healthy snacks. And those which can be made ahead and stored are real life savers. I would vote for the home made ones anytime as you would know what has gone into it. And you have the luxury of tweaking it to your taste and preference of sugar and fat too. I was glad I tried the Chocolate Chip Oat Engery Bars from Deeba's gorgeous Passionate About Baking. Great for snacking, healthy too. And offers room for variations. I made them with whole wheat and replaced the egg. The Eggless Chocolate Chip Oat And Whole Wheat Snack Bars are a hit with my kids and am looking forward to make these again.