In my mind, the period following the Christmas season and New Years is one of contemplation and resolutions, and most importantly, reigning in the weight gain resulting from all of the delicious Christmas treats! If you’re like me, the Christmas season goes a little like this: Egg nog? Yes please! Another glass of wine? Oh, why not! Dessert? Sure! And then, when you step on the scale to weigh your luggage before the flight home, you gasp, shake your head, and yell out, “Someone get me another scale; this one is clearly broken!”
This year, like every other year since my metabolism began slowly changing, I returned home full of good intentions. Despite jetlag, I was up and at the morning spinning class the day after our return trip to France and it felt great! When I returned from spinning, however, Nico told me that we had been invited to eat King Cake at his aunt and uncle’s house a few days later. As several other King Cake invitations followed, I had the sinking suspicion that there was more to this King Cake thing than met the eye. Having lived in Louisiana for six years, King Cake is not entirely new to me as every grocery store and bakery rolled out dozens of different flavors of King Cakes in the season leading up to Mardi Gras. Similarly, in France, King Cake invitations start on January 6 and span the entire month of January as we celebrate Epiphany and observe rituals that have been handed down through the generations dating back to the Roman Empire! Who am I to question such age-old traditions? What are my personal fitness goals compared to lore that has survived the Fall of Rome, the Middle Ages, and the French Revolution?!
As I discovered at the first King Cake party of the season, the trouble is that eating the King Cake is not optional and there are multiple King Cakes! I may do by level best to pedal away the calories, but short of being unspeakably rude and refusing to try all of the King Cakes, I suspect that any real progress will have to wait for February… Oh wait! February 2 is Chandeleur: another ancient tradition that nowadays means piles of sweet crêpes. Le sigh. It looks like my good intentions will just have to wait.
To learn more about the King Cake tradition in France and to discover an easy recipe to make your own, check out: http://frenchfoodintheus.org/1059.
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