Heritage Hints From Mama: Frozen Fruit Cups and Guilty Pleasures
It’s Mama again. I thought I’d stop by for a little visit and to encourage you to think about something that’s been on my heart lately.
Do you have a little guilty pleasure that you reward yourself with? Everyone needs something that they do for themselves. People, especially women and moms, do so much for their families and co-workers that sometimes, they forget to do something for the most important person, themselves.
I had a friend who amazed me once with her guilty pleasure. She had a family and worked full time. She told me that about twice a year, she took a vacation day and did not tell her family. She spent the whole day doing whatever she decided to do with no interruptions! I was, at first, horrified! How could she not tell her family? What if they needed her? Then I realized that it was exactly her point. If they knew, they would all have something for her to take care of for them. (Since she was off all day with nothing to do!)
My grandmother worked from sun up until sun down. My mother still remembers her guilty pleasure. She always put on her little pot and had a cup of coffee each morning. I know it had to have a little guilt associated with it since coffee was something she had to purchase. They were on a limited income to say the least. I am glad to know that she did this one little thing for herself. She is an example that we all need to follow. It left a smile on her daughters face 82 years later to remember that she had that cup of coffee each morning.
I am not so bold. I am still working on putting myself first for just a few seconds everyday. I do go to a quilt retreat a couple of times a year for a few days. We socialize with friends we only see during that time. We make quilts and swap patterns and techniques. It is really a fun way to rejuvenate myself even though I am usually working on gifts for others or quilts for grandkids or my kids. The point is I am participating in a hobby and love that we all share. Meals are cooked for us and the towels are replenished. No laundry to think about or homes to clean for a few days.
I also make little frozen fruit cups for myself to enjoy midday when I want a special snack. It took awhile for me to get in the habit of making them. I had to realize that being able to go to the freezer and take out my little comfort food, thawing it in the microwave and sitting down by myself to enjoy a special treat was worth the small effort that it took. It was something that I did for me and I was worth it!
Look around and pay attention to yourself. Decide on some little guilty pleasure that you would enjoy. It doesn’t take much to make you feel special. It doesn’t have to be a whole day off by yourself. Just a cup of guilty pleasure coffee is fine if it starts your day off right and makes you feel special. You need to feel special if you are going to take care of the needs of everyone else in your life.
Take a few minutes and let me know what your guilty pleasure is. If you don’t have one yet, think about what yours would be and then set out to make it happen. After all, we all need to take time for ourselves everyday so that we can better take care of all that is put on our plates.
Do something just for you today, because you’re worth it and remember, Mama loves you and I’ll see you soon!
~Mama
Ingredients
- Fruit salad cups
- 5-6 bananas
- 1/4 cup lemon juice bottled is fine
- 2 large cans 20 0z. pineapple chunks in juice, drained*
- 2 cans 11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained*
- 1 can 15 oz. fruit cocktail, drained*
- 10-12 9 ounce plastic cups sometimes called "On the rocks" cups
Instructions
- Slice Bananas into a bowl. Pour lemon juice over and stir to coat.
- Add all other fruit and stir until well combined.
- Spoon into small plastic cups and cover with plastic wrap. Store in freezer.
- When you are ready to eat one, just place in microwave for 45-50 seconds on high to thaw. I love these.
Hey, Christy’s Mama!
It’s always great to hear from you. We know you must be awfully special because Christy turned out so nice! Your fruit salad sounds really good and I’m glad that you have something that you can enjoy. From what I read, I get the idea that you work really, really hard in service to your family and others. You are truly quite inspiring, as is your entire family.
Popcorn is probably the treat I enjoy most often. Sometimes it’s hot air-popped or microwaved, but it’s always fun to eat, and gives me a nice break in my day. Take care!
Hi Mama!
I want to thank you for the post and the recipe….YUMMM! I read your post and I started to respond to you what my guilty pleasure was and I realized I NEED ONE….LOL 🙂 I was thinking about how I close my office door and do some yoga on my mat or that I go to the bookstore at lunch and sit is some chair in the corner and enjoy 30 minutes of absolute peace. Then it occured that I don’t consider these “guilty” pleasures! So I thank you for your thought provoking post because I am going to plan on some “guilty pleasures” and the first is going to be taking a vacation day and not telling my family and going to the mall to do some LEISURELY Christmas shopping all by myself, and having a decadent candied apple with caramel and M & M’s all over it 🙂 XO
Mama Janice,
We all love the words (and of course recipes!) your daughter Christy sends us, and can never get enough of them–and we love the words you send us too, and can never get enough of them. I hope that you will keep a file of everything that crosses your mind that you can pass along to us, and that you will do so much more often! You have gathered great wisdom over the years. It is wonderful! I lost my own mama a few years ago, so it’s extra nice to “borrow” you.
My guilty pleasure all during the months of the holidays is buying my favorite holiday magazines and enjoying a few moments of reading them and looking at the pictures in them, in bed at night. I love to see the pretty holiday decorations, discover new delicious-looking holiday recipes, read about the holiday traditions of other families and so on. Being from a German background, I am especially delighted by the Christmas magazines, although I love the Thanksgiving ones too. During the rest of the year, too, magazines are my guilty pleasure.
Thank you for the reminder, Mama Janice! I loved hearing about your grandmother’s guilty pleasure.
I love that idea! I will try it soon.
I would also like to suggest that Mama Janice do a quilting blog! I would love to hear some of her stories and see some of her work. I love to quilt but just can’t seem to find the time right now and I miss it terribly.
Redawna
Hear Hear! I vote for that! I see I’m a year late in reading/responding to this post, but still … I’m a quilter and always love to hear what other quilters are up to!
Just yesterday I was thinking… It’s been quite a while since Mama Janice stopped by Southernn Plate with one of her great Heritage Hints, and here you are! You’ve made a good point today, Mama. Us womanfolk DO need to have a secret pleasure! Although mine isn’t very secret to my family. This chocoholic loves to have one piece of Dove or Hershey’s candies each day. The recipe you shared sounds delightful and I enjoy recipes that give my creativity a lot of ‘wiggle room’ so, I KNOW I’ll be making some of these little rewards real soon. Looking forward to more of your hints in the future. Take care!
You are absolutely right about taking a moment to breath. The fruit cups are an excellent idea. They are refreshing, healthy, and easy to grab. This is a nice way for a single person or couple to have something good on hand without waste. Thumbs up! Thank you.