Apples and Dates and Nuts, Oh My ...

It's "birthday week" at our house and this year it's a particularly auspicious week because Alyssa is turning 30 tomorrow (March 21).


It was when she was about six months old and seemingly ready to eat "real food" that I was first introduced to a concept that has become one of the guiding principles of my life:


"Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible."


Simple and self-evident, yes? But I've got to say that 29-1/2 years later, it has actually become more difficult to follow that concept. Everything is pre-made, "convenient," and full of even more garbage than it was 30 years ago. What is "real food," anyway?


When we were young hippies, David and I considered ourselves to be rather nutritionally enlightened. At the time, this mostly involved buying things that had a huge "no preservatives" label on the front. There weren't a lot of organic foods on the market at the time, and what was available, was usually beyond our budget anyway. Hearing about the above concept really changed our eating habits dramatically--and suddenly! I came home from the gathering where it was discussed, and started clearing out my cupboards, really reading labels and getting disgusted at the amount of "junk" we had been putting into our mouths--and were considering putting into our precious little baby's mouth.


I tried to join a local food co-op, but they were not accepting new members. So after a year or so, a few friends and I started our own food co-op. I learned a lot about making new foods and how to "translate" some of our favorite recipes into a more healthy version. And my interest in making--and eating--truly good food has increased over the years.


The pendulum has swung back and forth of course, from the militant "Carry Nation" who allowed not a drop of anything unnatural or unhealthy into my home, to a more relaxed household as my kids started school ("Mom! Everyone else thinks macaroni and cheese is supposed to be ORANGE!"). And gradually the snacks and pop and so on crept back into our cupboards and our refrigerator. But still, I felt like we probably ate more healthily than most other folks. 


When David was diagnosed with diabetes 15 years ago, we had a scheduled visit with a dietitian, whose recommendation was this: "Try to eat a wide variety of foods in as close to their natural state as possible." Really. I asked her if she'd ever heard of La Leche League. She hadn't. But there was the same idea I'd heard in 1980 being reiterated to me as if it was "news." 


So, I've re-dedicated myself to the concept, with varying successes. I do make very conscious choices about the foods I buy. I read labels a lot more carefully than I did 30 years ago. And I make a lot of things from scratch, including (most) birthday cakes. 


Alyssa's birthday cake, which I've made for her almost every year since 1981, is based on an old recipe that was in my grandmother's family. Hers had raisins and apples in it and not as many spices. So, the story goes, my dad and my grandfather decided to improve upon it. They switched the raisins to dates, changed the apples to applesauce, and added cloves and nutmeg.


At different times, I've used a mixture of unbleached and whole wheat flour (shh, don't tell the kids), made my own applesauce, and used brown sugar instead of white (which actually makes it a lot more moist and delicious). I do still make a butter cream icing to put on it, just like my mom always did. And it's just about perfect.


Here it is:
1/2 c. butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 c. applesauce
1 c. dates
1/2 ts. salt
2 c. flour
2 ts. baking soda
1 ts. cinnamon
1 ts. cloves
1 ts. nutmeg
1/2 c. nuts


Cream butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy. Sift dry ingredients; add dates and nuts. Stir in alternately with applesauce to the creamed mixture. Mix thoroughly; place in well-greased bundt pan at 325* for one hour, or two layers for about 50 minutes.