Rinsewind

I loathe fruitcake. Actually, I just don't like dried fruit, which is not doubt the problem. However, my husband loves fruitcake and his mom (who is nearly 80) stopped making it a few years ago. He's been pulling a hound dog face at me for the last few Christmas seasons to get me to make one. I completed my first fruitcake last week from a newish version of The The Joy of Cooking. It didn't call for soaking the fruit first, and it uses brandy in the batter rather than bourban, rum, or cognac as previous posters have mentioned. Have I just made a complete hash of my first fruitcake by following that recipe? -Rinsewind

I also understand the allergy issue-- and would be more amenable to that as an reason for store-bought. As I mentioned earlier, the school has a no peanut or peanut products rule for all classes, even when there are not peanut allergies in the class. Most of the food the students eat is prepared in an on-site kitchen (it's a private preschool and tuition includes meals). Also, all student allergies are required to be listed prominantly in each class-- in case there's a substitute, and to avoid confusion. The rule is not made by the state (although neither of my kids is old enough yet for public school-- I'll find out when they get there), but rather by the corporation that owns the preschool. I spoke yesterday with my older child's (almost 5 years old) lead teacher. She says that she has always made judgements about when *not* to distribute a homemade item based on her familiarity with the student, his or her parent(s), and what the item itself looks and smells like. She is, however, and experienced teacher (50 years old) that has a good relationship with the parents and kids. She told me that she's willing to let me distribute homemade items because she's confident that they are sanitary and she knows I always check the board for allergies. But, again, she's an older teacher and is willing to ignore corporate rules she deems unneccesary in certain situations. The teachers in my daughter's room (toddlers) are younger and unwilling to bend the rules for fear of losing their jobs (I didn't ask them to, by the way, just spoke to them about the policy in general). They expressed confidence in the cooking of most parents (as I mentioned earlier, emphasizing that they would happily consume homemade baked goods themselves if I brought them in for the teachers), but needed to comply with the rule. Fair enough. I also spoke with the director yesterday. I just mentioned that while I understood the rule, I thought it was unfortunate. She agreed, said she also didn't like it and hasn't had any trouble at our school, but she understood the caution of the corporate office. So, the basic story from the school is that they also don't care for the rule, but need to follow corporate policy just in case there is a problem. I think the director knows about my son's teacher's willingness to ignore the rule, but employs a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. As for the store-bought goodies bake sale, well, what can I say. The parents buy little baggies of Chips Ahoy and Oreos as just a token way of contributing money for playground equipment and so forth. It is a farce, I agree. But I also feel the teachers are excellent, work hard, and are already underpaid and I'd rather the corporate budget go to their salaries. I don't mind contributing for extra equipment and so on. Given my personal thoughts, I would still rather have my child take a chance on eating someone else's home prepared food (and since this daycare is affiliated with a university, there are many foreign students who could shared their home cuisines) than have something gummy from Wal-Mart any day of the week. But I'm not making the rules.

I should have been more clear. Children may bring in homemade food for their own consumption. They may not share it with others. I mentioned baked goods specifically because I was thinking about birthday celebrations with cakes, cupcakes, or cookies.

Thanks to all of you for your input. The school does still have bake sales, but the items need to be store bought. Mostly they raise extra money through book fairs, which is fine. As I mentioned in the first post, I suppose I do *understand* the rule. But food has meaning beyond potential ground for litigation. Making a birthday cake or cupcakes for my children for them to share with their friends at school lets them know I understand a birthday is a special thing to them-- my son is old enough to help me in the kitchen when I bake and he's proud of what he helps make to serve his friends. He could help me pick out stickers or oranges and it wouldn't ruin the occasion of course, but something would be missing. Because I work full time, it really means something that I spend time baking with him and take time off of work to celebrate his birthday with his class. For Valentine's Day, we compromised-- we made paper valentines for his classmates, and baked special cookies for his teachers (who have all pointed out several times that the ban on bake goods is only for the kids-- they are happy to eat them ). It seems a reasonable compromise to make for all other holidays, but birthdays just seem different. Oh well. And I always did check for allergies in the class-- in our preschool they are listed on a board in each classroom so that no student is accidentally given food he or she is allergic to. There's a general no peanuts or peanut products rule in general in place as well. Again, I do appreciate the input, especially from those of you who support the rule. I won't whine to the director now...

While I grudgingly comply for myself with this, I do bring in drinks and snacks for my young kids. My five year old is old enough for a small soda from time to time, and maybe some gummi bears, but when he was younger I would bring in small water bottles or juice boxes and crackers-- stuff you can't buy there but which was appropriate for a young child. I have an 18 month old as well and I'll probably take her soon to her first movie, and I pland to do the same. Please note, I bring my kids to children's movies-- I don't inflict them on audiences for anything not rated G. *** edited because I can't spell...

My childrens' preschool recently banned parents from bringing in homemade baked goods to share with other kids-- only store-bought goodies allowed. The reason, I was told, was that the school doesn't know if homemade food is prepared under sanitary conditions. Am I unreasonable in my negative reaction to this rule? I know my kitchen is clean and I would far rather bring in something that I know was made with love and good basic ingredients rather than some gummy store-bought cake with a million preservatives from the local grocery store (I'm not a natural foods only for kids person, I just think homemade tastes far superior, and I have better control over ingredients). I suppose I could go to a bakery, but I don't really want to spend $35 on a cake for a bunch of four year olds. I suppose I understand the intent, but the whole idea seems to have shaded over into the excessive. *sigh* Any opinions?

This is the kind of thing it is interesting to know. I would have thought a lot of younger children would choose what they've just eaten....except then we have the three-year old who wants pizza for breakfast and dinner. I also like the fact that he's fond of something prepared by someone who cared for him, but isn't a part of the family. Are older children more likely to assert personal favorites that set themselves apart from their siblings and parents? ← I asked my 4 1/2 year old last night, and I think he took the question as what would he *make*. He said "bananas, oranges, salad, green beans, carrots, and banana bread." Now in recent days, he's had bananas, salad, and green beans, and seen me eat oranges and his sister eat carrots. He often helps me bake breads and cakes and prepare vegetables, so these may be the things he thought he could prepare. However, the bananas have a secondary meaning-- my husband was sitting with us when I asked him, and he loathes bananas. Judging by the grin on my son's face, I think he was trying to get his dad's goat with the bananas and banana bread. I am surprised he didn't include any of his particular favorites (well, besides salad). I expected something like spaghetti, garlic bread and salad, but kids have their own way of thinking, I guess! Great thread Pontormo!

I was an overweight kid (and am an overweight adult), and am now trying to navigate these waters with my kids to minimize the chance of them having the problems I did. Here's some things I have tried, and some suggestions I have gotten (some duplicate the suggestions above). 1. I have my oldest child help me cook as often as possible (and will with my daughter when she gets older). He's a picky eater, but he seems much more willing to try things if he's helped make them. 2. I make healthy meals most of the time and minimize the pre-packaged stuff available in the house as much as possible. My kids have to try some of everything on their plates. If they don't like it, they may substitute with another reasonably healthy food that they can grab themselves-- my oldest child likes yogurt and salad, for example. 3. I allow sweets on a limited basis-- I don't want them to think they can never have them, but I also want them to know they are a once-in-a-while food. 4. I have my kids help me pick out fruits and veggies at the store, put them in bags, and so forth. 5. I try to go against my own nature and make sure the kids get out and get some exercise every day-- and I go with them. Sometimes that's just a walk, but at least they're not too sedentary. 6. TV time is not eating time. I try to dissociate eating from television watching-- I know quite a number of my pounds came from mindlessly eating while watching TV as a kid. I try to limit the TV, and keep eating at the table. 7. Fast food is a very occasional thing. Maybe once every couple of months. Finally, I have been told that exercise is really key. If there is some sport your son is interested it, get him involved in that. It doesn't have to be a team sport if he's not terribly athletic-- could be dance, fencing, bike riding, swimming, etc. My eldest is five and he's not terribly interested in t-ball and soccer, but does like dancing and swimming. His natural inclination, like mine, is to read or do projects. My kids are still quite young, so I have no idea yet whether or not this will be successful. I try not to do anything drastic, but am trying to instill better eating habits than I had. I know if my parents had just flat-out put me on a diet, I would have seriously rebelled. I also know I have to practice what I preach. My son reminds me when I don't eat enough of a vegetable I don't care for is that the rule is you have to try everything being served. Darn, I hate it when they listen to you! Also, I work full time and it's a real adjustment having to get a meal on the table every night rather than just getting fast food or takeout. I have tried to find some quick but generally healthy things my kids will eat that I can make in a pinch-- or if I have to do take-out, I get something like chicken kabobs with vegetables and rice rather than something greasy. Now if I could just make myself behave so well when I'm at work! Good luck with your son! **edited because, until I can get that spell-check brain implant, I still manage to write words like "exersize"

Ok, hashed to death it is. Sorry! I do greatly appreciate your balanced approach and am glad you are sticking to your original statement of purpose.

Not sure if this violates the request not to bring up the matters in the original posting by Ruhlman-- this is not the specific incident, but rather a more general question which is present in his original posting. Do the owners/moderators wish this site to be known and respected as a place for professional discussion? If so, is it then necessary to require real names for posting (or create a "professionals" board) so that eGullet maintains a high status in the professional community? Being much more familiar with the academic world than the food world, I know that any professional level discussion always includes disclosure of real names and affiliations. I am not necessarily advocating this. I quite enjoy being an interested amateur able to read and participate in discussions with all kinds of people interested in food, but I do certainly appreciate that professionals bring an important voice to the board. It seems to me that if eGullet wishes to become a professionals-only site (by that, I mean chefs, critics, food writers, industry members, etc.), then the request for real names needs to be taken seriously-- but that also would seem to indicate that access to the boards needs to be restricted. If eGullet wishes to remain as it is, then anonymity should certainly be repected, for all of the reasons already posted. I for one like the current format which seems, as it is, to have a remarkably civilized level of discourse compared to so many fora out there (not only civilized, but largely written in generally correct and comprehensible English). However, I do understand Ruhlman's point about accountability if eGullet wishes to become a top site for professionals. I know he didn't say it in that way exactly, but I think that's one of the things implied in the original post. So, whither eGullet? Or has this already been hashed to death? Rinsewind, aka Theresa Vaughan

As an academic (Folklorist/Anthropologist) and a professor, the answer to this is complicated. As far as my students are concerned, I allow only internet sources that are from academic websites (generally under .edu, at least if the source is based in the U.S.). On rare occasions, I will allow other internet sources if they are directly applicable to some form of analysis. The current generation of undergraduates relies upon the internet to get initial information. While that is fine, I do not trust their judgement in discerning what is credible academic writing available on the internet (i.e. not Wikipedia, not Mrs. Smiths fifth grade class project on the Egyptians). As more and more credible academic sources appear online, I have had to change my position from no internet sources to credible higher-ed sources. Even that can be problematic, though. Thankfully, more and more refereed journal articles are becoming available online, through JSTOR, for example. As far as publishing academic papers, most academic journals in my field are still extremely wary of internet sources because they are very rarely subject to the same peer-review process that one finds in academic journals. There are exceptions, however, and they are increasing (for example, the NEWFOLK online folklore journal or the UCLA Archives of Folk Medicine). It takes a while for these sources to received credibility, but when they do, you occasionally see them cited in academic articles. Still, as most of us academics, when taking the time to submit an article for peer review, prefer a journal with an established reputation, we tend to publish in print journals. That may change over time, but it will be slow. Hope that answers the question, at least in my fields! Rinsewind (aka Theresa Vaughan, Associate Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma)

At our wedding, children were also specifically invited and welcome (I have a huge extended family). We even had cake and dancing at a children's science museum at which I had volunteered for years. We had a one and a half hour Catholic service in terrible heat (the church wasn't air conditioned-- you don't expect 99 degree June weather in Michigan), and cranky kids were taken outside when necessary. Everyone had a great time. Having said that, however, I do believe that a couple certainly has every right to request no children at a wedding. That's perfectly fine. As a parent, I can decide whether I am able to make arrangements for childcare and go, or choose not to go because of my parental duties. As for restaurants, I only bring my children to places where children will not be out of place. It's not fair to other patrons who are spending their hard-earned money (Lord knows on those rare occasions when my husband and I go somewhere nice, I'd rather not have screaming kids running around). In addition, I also believe that it's not fair to the kids-- we stress politeness with them, we all sit down to a family dinner every night and they are learning table manners-- but it's still not fair to the best behaved of small children to expect them to sit still and be quiet for up to two hours at a nice restaurant. You end up with miserable kids, miserable customers, and at least as far as I'm concerned, miserable parents. My oldest child is nearly five. He is generally well behaved, and as he gets older, I take him to diners and family restaurants now without any real problem. Perhaps when he's older and I am confident in his table manners and ability behave appropriately, I'll bring him to places slightly more upscale. My one year old, while generally calm and easy going, goes out with me much less frequently because she is so young. If she cries and makes a fuss, my husband or I take her outside, even in a family place. If she can't settle down, we leave. To avoid this, we don't take her out much. We will as she gets older. I generally do not find American culture of the lower Midwest (currently I live in Oklahoma) to be hostile to children. As long as I behave appropriately with my children, adults are friendly and tolerant here-- and little old ladies go gaga over my curly-haired children :-) Even on those rare occasions at work (I'm a professor) when I have to haul a kid in, students and other professors are understanding and helpful. One final word-- as for coffee houses, I would not go simply because I can picture the one year old tipping over someone's hot coffee. Yikes! No fun for her or the person in question.

Hot water, lemon juice, honey and (here's the salient point) rum. It clears me up long enough when I'm miserable that I can then actually taste some food. Make sure to breathe the steam from the cup as much as possible while drinking it. After that, I usually just eat whatever is available, but hot and sour soup is awfully nice.

I tried it, about two years ago. I weeded out a bunch (maybe 40?) and hauled them down to the local used bookstore. About six months ago I went to same said bookstore to use up some store credit. I bought some cookbooks (about 10). After perusing them more closely at home, I remembered why they looked familiar-- they were the cookbooks I had sold the store previously. Only 39 and already exhibiting signs of senility. Having children will do that to you.

I have no scientific discoveries to back this one up, but here goes. I am a college professor. I spend a lot of time dealing with young adults. When I compare the basic life skills I had as an 18 year old compared with this group, I am often surprised. I left home with basic cooking skills-- and my mom hated to cook. I also knew how to do laundry, vacuum, dust, balance a checkbook, take out garbage, change a tire, mow the lawn, and so forth. I'm not saying I was perfect at any of these, but I had some basics, as did most of my friends, both male and female. Many of my students don't have these skills. Why not? I can think of a number of reasons which may be a factor. First, children now spend WAY more scheduled time outside of school-- sports, playdates, all kinds of things. They often have relatively few responsibilities doing "chores"--which is how we learn many of those basic life skills. Second, you've heard of parents who seem to run all aspects of their kids lives, that's not everyone, but Lord knows I have plenty of students whose PARENTS call me when their kids get bad marks. In COLLEGE. Most of the parents I know with teenagers do nearly everything for them so they will "succeed"-- which ultimately handicaps them. Third, fewer people do much home cooking, so there's fewer opportunities for both young men and young women to see it in the first place. I don't know if there's a difference between young men and young women in this-- but I have been told by male students that learning to cook really impresses the women, so they learn to do it. For young women, why should they learn a skill which they feel ties them to the traditional life in the home, when they are in school to learn a career? Finally, as someone mentioned above, I think there IS something to the fact that men, who are not thought of as home cooks, get accolades when they do cook (or take care of kids, clean the house, or take on other domestic responsibilities), when women seldom receive accolades for the same work. They are only noted when they don't do domestic work. There's something to be said for perception instead of actual facts. BTW, as a (female) college professor who mostly socializes with other two career professional couples, pretty much no one cooks, even if they are able. There's a lot of take-out going on. I love to cook, but will confess that once or twice a week, when the kids need to be fed and both my husband and I do not get home until close to dinner time after picking up the kids, we get take-out or make something that involves a prepackaged item. Not proud of it, but that's just the way it goes.

For whatever criticism you can make of her cooking (and certianly there are things to critique), can we at least all agree that she's basically making fresh food that requires some basic cooking skills? All right, she does use a few shortcuts, but in comparison to, say, Sandra Lee, her food is basically edible and a step away from take-out or Hamburger Helper type meals. Seems fine especially for younger people acquiring a few basic skills-- as bleudauvergne mentions above. Another newer show that seems to aim at the same demographic is Good Deal with Dave Lieberman. While I personally would prefer to watch Mario Batalli, Rick Bayless, Jaques Pepin, David Rosengarten, or other higher-end chefs, and did prefer the Food Network of earlier days, I can at least see the value of basic cooking shows. How about we lobby to leave Food Network to its more generalized audience, and lobby for a new cable networkd: FoodieTV to go with FoodTV?

I knew when I brought this up that I was risking another Rachael Ray discussion-- I think there's a thread about her not too far below this one. The article seemed fairly straightforward to me, basically descriptive with some attempt to contact people, such as publishers, who have not worked well with Ms. Ray. As a folklorist/anthropologist, I guess I'm not so concerned about whether or not she's an energetic young woman guiding people who wouldn't otherwise cook into cooking, and therefore fine, or some huge blight on the food world. I guess I'm more interested in *why* she is so popular, and also why she is so bashed. As for amassing a fortune, Lord knows I will never amass one as a professor, so I say mazel tov to her while wishing I were good at something more lucrative than teaching 18 year olds and writing academic articles (both of which I enjoy greatly, but it would be nice to make some money for a change...).

D'oh! Yep, there it is. Thanks for the help!

Ok, so I'm currently at a conference (American Folklore Society), and several people are mentioning some article either by or about Rachel Ray, supposedly in the NY Times in the last day or two. Her "office" apparently contacted one of my colleagues about it before it appeared. Curious about what the Times might possibly have to say about Rachel Ray (or what she might have to say that would get published in the Times) I searched for it on their website, and haven't turned up anything. Anyone know about this? Since my paper mentions Food Network, I am making an effort not to appear unduly ignorant to my colleagues. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give... -Rinsewind

A metal canister of cloves. I grabbed it when I moved out of my parent's house to go to college. In 1984. It was already old by that point, as my mother stopped cooking sometime around 1978. Now I can't bring myself to throw it out! **edited because I seem to be incapable of proofreading unless something has actually posted. *sigh*

You could ask your pediatrician, but some of the latest studies pretty much indicate that your baby can eat whatever you eat (well, a lot of junk food isn't so great), as long as there's nothing to choke on. Most prepared baby food is low sodium, so your baby might reject it for the salty taste, but I don't think there's any harm in trying. If it's something you ate a lot when you were pregnant, your baby might like it. I just read something in the press about this in the last few weeks-- may have been the New York Times, may have been Medline. I can't remember which-- sorry! Any Japanese parents out there want to weigh in?

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? My mom hated to cook. My dad grew up in an immigrant Irish household, his mom died when he was 7. He hated potatoes (still does) but that and boiled meat was pretty much all his dad made. He still tells me about pressing his nose up against his friend's window at dinner time (Italian immigrants) hoping for invitations to a dinner that actually tasted like something. My mom cooked a very small and simple repertoire of typically Midwestern food (meatloaf, pork chops with cream-of-mushroom-soup sauce, hamburger helper, spaghetti with sauce out of a can, etc.). She pretty much went on strike by the time I was 12, and I learned to cook in self-defense. Was meal time important? After my mom stopped cooking, nope. Dinner was whatever we dug out of the kitchen eaten in the living room in front of the TV. We did have holiday meals together. Before my mom stopped cooking, we did the standard sit down at the table thing, and the whole dinner took 15-20 minutes tops. Was cooking important? No. My dad liked to grill (although he likes everything well done). My mom did do some holiday baking (at least until I learned to do it). I wanted to learn to cook, however, and learned from friends, parents of friends, and in one notable case, a kind employer. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? Hmm... not really, although I was aware of the rule. I think we at least learned basic table manners, and I remember people using napkins and behaving appropriately. Who cooked in the family? My mom until I was 12, then me or my dad (when grilling was in order). Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Not too common, but not unheard of. When I got to be a teenager, my dad went to fancier restaurants than I was used to (i.e. not Denny's, but restaurants with an actual chef) and he would sometimes bring me along because my mom didn't want to go. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? Yep-- I have a zillion cousins who I saw frequently, and it was a big deal when we "graduated" to the big kids table. When did you get that first sip of wine? I think I was about 10 when my dad started letting me have a small glass of wine with special (holiday) meals. I didn't like it much until I spend a year in France in college. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Yep, a standard Catholic one. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? No, but we did have take-out pizza every Friday. It started out as the only thing everyone would eat on meatless Fridays in Lent, then kind of expanded to be a year-round thing. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Not too much. My husband comes from a real sit-down-at-the-table-and-have-family-dinner-or-else family. I resisted until we had kids, but now I cook dinner nearly every night and we all sit at the table together-- even the one year old. He also comes from the hunk of meat, hunk of starch, hunk of vegetables background, whereas I actually learned to cook from Chinese, Korean and French friends. Our meals are a mix-- sometimes cooked his way, sometimes something more exotic. I did pick up the habit of big holiday meals-- we live a long way from home though, so I usually invite a bunch of friends. When at home for Christmas (we go back every year), I do all the cooking. My parents love it. It's the only time they get regular home cooking! My mother is still mystified that I actually learned to cook. I also love to have guests over-- when I'm not too busy at work, I have people over two nights a week or more. That comes from my family in a way, we always had a bunch of friends over for Friday pizza or for a barbeque. My husband's family is much more private and rarely had folks for dinner.

I was looking forward to the take-out I allow myself everyone once in a while when I actually have time to go get something (about once every three weeks). Everyone has been raving about a new upscale Asian take-out place-- basically Chinese, but with some Thai, Korean, and Japanese inspired dishes. I love Korean and can rarely get it here in Oklahoma, so I ordered their version of spicy Korean. It sounded more or less like Bi Bim Bap, without the egg, so I tried it. There were pieces of pork so gristly they were unedible, swimming in tons of thick tomatoey spicy sauce (sort of a cross between putanesca and barbeque sauce). Bleh. The rice was some kind of Uncle Ben's type arrangement so the rice was firm with no stickiness. Fine for some kinds of food, but not Asian. Very disappointing. My usual boring leftovers are much better. Time to make the 30 minute drive to an actual Korean restaurant-- as far as I can tell, the only one in the Oklahoma City area. *sigh* There was a pretty sizeable Korean population where I grew up (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and I really miss the Korean food. I must say, however, that OKC has some quite good Vietnamese restaurants. Should have gone to one of them...

Canned black beans-- don't usually have the foresight to tell what I'm making for dinner until I get home from work. Annie's Naturals Low-Fat Gingerly Vinagrette-- I LOVE those gingery salad dressings that you get in some Japanese restaurants, and this comes the closest. I'm happy to make my other salad dressings, but can't manage this one (don't care about the low fat, btw, that's just the way it comes). Salsa-- make my own sometimes, but sometimes you just want to flop on the couch with a bag of chips and start eating. Fortunately, there's a pretty wide choice in Oklahoma. Dried Garlic with Parsley-- yes, yes, I KNOW fresh garlic is infinitely better, but this stuff I can sneak past my kids. Konriko Cajun Spice Blend-- husband loves it on white rice. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese-- God help me. Cherry Pop Tarts-- see above. Hellman's-- I'm not making my own for a damn tuna fish sandwich... Maybe an aioli for some fresh fish, but not a tuna fish sandwich... Barilla or Bertoli Tomato Sauce-- spaghetti is usually the meal of last resort (not that I don't love nice fresh pasta with homemade sauce) when I look in the fridge and it's a vast wasteland. I always keep some sauce and dried spaghetti on hand, which the kids love. Pesto-- upscale version of above. Easy enough to make, but I can't seem to manage to get my act together to grow my own basil. *sigh* Should I admit to the occasional use of Hamburger Helper because it takes no effort and the kids like it? Maybe not...

Kid #1: Could not abide the smell of coffee or tuna fish out of a can-- both favorites of hubby. Shrimp, one of my all time favorites, tasted like sand to me. Wound up with gestational diabetes, and therefore craved all the stuff I couldn't have (simple carbs). When my son was born, my husband surprised me with a chocolate cake-- in the delivery room! The docs and nurses all thought it was a great idea, especially since they could have some. Kid #2: Lots of evening sickness, so I ate nothing or cereal for dinner for several months. Couldn't stand the smell of coffee again, but strangely I craved tuna fish. I wound up craving the stuff you're not supposed to eat (shushi, margaritas, and tuna fish to name a few), but was also slightly more lenient with myself on this (well, no sushi or alcohol, but I did have the occasional tuna fish sandwhich). I stayed away from sweets for the most part, even though I didn't get gestational diabetes this time. I got another chocolate cake in the delivery room, which was definitely yummy! We put a "0" candle on the cake and sang happy birthday to my daughter.