Celebrate the Mother in Your Life – While Keeping Her Well!

Happy Mother’s Day!

This year, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14, 2023.

Mother’s Day is coming! What are you doing for your mom or for the mother of your children? Flowers are customary; indeed, That Nice Boy I Married and I got married the day before Mother’s Day, 1995, and had a heckuva time finding a florist who would work with us; they were going to be too busy. Flowers are indeed lovely.

Oh no, not candy!

But another common gift is candy, and this is where trouble lurks. Full disclosure: As I type this, I have the last of a square of chocolate melting in my mouth. But that’s one square, and furthermore, it is 85% dark chocolate. The package tells me that I just ate 4.5 grams of carbohydrate, 1.5 of them fiber, and just 1.5 grams of sugar. A box of chocolates filled with caramel, nougat, or candied cherries will have far scarier numbers. And will Mom eat them one at a time? Or will they be gone by Tuesday? If you want Mom to be around and healthy for as long as possible, perhaps we should look further. This is especially important if the mom in question has diabetes or another form of metabolic syndrome.

While I have no kids of my own, I certainly know many mothers and had a remarkable mother of my own. Further, you may be the mother in question! If you are the mom in question, you could hint or outright state that you prefer not to get candy for Mother’s Day. Here are some alternative gift ideas sure to please:

If only sweets will do, how about a half-a-dozen chocolate-dipped strawberries? They’re pretty to look at, delicious to eat, and mostly, well, strawberries. Wonderful, scrumptious, low sugar strawberries. Dark chocolate will have less sugar than milk chocolate.

Consider a plant instead of flowers; it will last! If Mom has a yard, you could take her to the nursery to buy some bedding plants or a flowering shrub. If she doesn’t, a potted plant brightens up any space.

Tickets for a show, whatever you think Mom might enjoy. Bonus points for going to the show with her. Or buy tickets for the local children’s theater and let her spend an afternoon with her kids or grandkids.

Is there any sort of experience she’d enjoy, from a special exhibit at the museum to a new addition to the nearest zoo to a local art show? Take her!

Take her to get mani-pedis together or buy her a spa gift card. As a former massage therapist, I feel a massage gift card would be a great gift, but be sure she’s comfortable with the idea.

Is she a reader? My sister and I have been known to gift one another the first book of a series we think the other will enjoy. Would Mom love your favorite mystery author? Romance novelist? Historical writer?

What little luxury does she hesitate to splurge on? A streaming service she’d love? A membership to Audible? (I’ve been a happy Audible customer since before CarbSmart had an affiliate link. I’m all about the audiobooks.) Movie passes? Expensive hair care or lotions? A few luxury groceries such as imported cheese, good steaks, or expensive nuts? Or perhaps the great luxury of professional cleaning service?

Brunch is a nice idea, but like flowers, it is so popular that restaurants will be jammed. Can you cook brunch for Mom? Set a pretty table, with flowers or a plant for her to keep.

Make Mom My Chili Egg Puff Recipe

This recipe is perfect for an occasion! It can be put together ahead of time and popped into the oven just in time for brunch. Easy enough that non-cooks can do it, too, should the not-mother in the house be unaccustomed to the task. Those four servings are generous; depending on appetites it may serve six. Easy to double, too; just bake a little longer until the center is set.

Chili Egg Puff Recipe

More Low Carb Recipes & Articles by Dana Carpender.

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