We are currently on day 6 of the 10-day Real Food Pledge from 100 Days of Real Food. The point of the pledge is to understand what you are eating, how much of it  is processed, and how you can make simple changes to lead a more healthy lifestyle. Some of you have already been following along on Facebook as we post updates and we ask that you keep following along! Here are the rules of the pledge directly copied from her site:

What we CAN eat:

1. Whole foods that are more a product of nature than a product of industry
2. Lots of fruits and vegetables(we recommend that you shop for these at your local farmers’ market)
3. Dairy products like milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs, and cheese
4. 100% whole-wheat and whole-grains (find a local bakery for approved sandwich bread and check the Understanding Grains post for more info)
5. Seafood (wild caught is the optimal choice over farm-raised)
6. Only locally raised meats such as pork, beef, and chicken (preferably in moderation)
7. Beverages limited to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and beer!
8. Snacks like dried fruit, seeds, nuts and popcorn
9. All natural sweeteners including honey, 100% maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrates are acceptable in moderation

What we CAN’T eat:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

Happy Mother’s Day! We are far away from both of our mothers this year, and we so wish we could share these cupcakes with those wonderful, amazing, and beautiful women! These sweet treats are simple to make and look fabulous at a Mother’s Day brunch or tea. This recipe is on many blogs, so I’m not sure who deserves the original credit. The decorating process does take a while, so plan ahead and consider it a teachable moment about patience. Enjoy! And hurray for moms!

First, prepare a cake mix according to the cupcake instructions. I tend to overfill cupcake liners, so the strawberry mix I used made 20 cupcakes.

While the cupcakes are cooling, cut lots of mini marshmallows diagonally. You’ll need about 12-15 marshmallows per cupcake.

While the mallows are still sticky, dunk them in colored sugar.

Place them in a bowl.

Begin the decorating process. Spread a thin layer of frosting on one cupcake.

Then take the marshmallows and place them around the edge of the cupcake.

Add another layer close to the first circle, then one more layer close to the second. Again, you’ll need about 30 marshmallow halves per cupcake.

Repeat this whole process with the remaining cupcakes. It’s best to set up an assembly line for the whole process. Here is my assembly line in action!

Beautiful!