So, my daughter's birthday was this past weekend, and we wanted to make it special - so we gave her the choice to create the day her way. I placed a myriad of options in front of her, and then my ever-so-wise friend (refererence my Ice Cream and French Fries! hub), suggested ice cream for breakfast to start - which, of course, my daughter zealously jumped on!

Sure, it sounds like a good idea. I mean, it's ice cream! Any day with ice cream in it is generally a good day. Same goes with cookies. And cake. And snickers bars and M&Ms. And dirty vodka martinis.

But I digress.

Remember all those years when your parents said "eat a good breakfast"? And as a kid, you thought this was nonsense, as you ate your balanced meal with resentment. Well, we went to Cold Stone and ordered one of those sugary concoctions they make with ice cream, chocolate chips, frosting, marshmallows, gumdrops and spoonfuls of sugar (or something like that), which only one of us finished (guess who?), and then headed into the movie theater. There, we snacked on a huge bucket of popcorn, drizzled in butter, and drowned down by a swimming pool-sized Coke. Staggering out of the theater afterward, we drove home to meet the family, open gifts and eat birthday cake!

After everyone left, the four of us stared at each other with sallow eyes and cartoonish bulging bellies and groaned.

Now, I'd never done this before - I suppose somewhere in the dark recesses of my memory, something told me bowlfuls of sugar high wouldn't be a good thing to kick start my day. So when I decided to tell the story about this subject, I did a little checking and discovered that this is quite the phenomenon.

Just this week, Newsweek pelted out a story about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi eating Häagen-Dazs for breakfast. Now, I'm not a political guy, and don't want to make any hasty judgments, but considering how I felt after starting my day the sugary way ... what kind of decision-making prowess does this create? Entertainment mags report Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt let their kids eat ice cream for breakfast and indulge their junk food cravings - because kids are good decision-makers when it comes to food choices, right?

There are books on the subject as well as albums ... in fact, years ago, I saw an amazing guitarist named Dave Nachmanoff (who opened for Al Stewart), perform and speak about a project he did with this title as part of a project with/for the elderly - it's called "Holy Smokes! Ice Cream for Breakfast."  As I recall, it was created on the notion that when you're in a nursing home and you've lived a long, full life, the last thing you need is someone dictating everything you can eat, drink, etc. It's time to make your own choices, right? 

Missy Chase Lapine, who wrote the Sneaky Chef - a book designed to help parents sneak good stuff into kids' food - even developed a breakfast ice cream recipe.

But I'm not moved.

Just the same, I get it.

I get it because it doesn't really matter whether it's good for you or bad for you, it's not about fat content, or poor physical hygiene. It's not about being a good parent or a bad one.

IC4B is - truthfully - a metaphor for freedom of choice, for doing something outside the typical boundaries of etiquette, expectation and proper behavior. It represents throwing caution to the wind and indulging in something that brings pleasure and, in the moment when you bring the spoon up to your lips, is sweet, and fun and flavorful, and makes you happy to be alive. And I think that's what Dave's album was about.

The next few days after my daughter's birthday, I went back to fruits, vegetables, vitamins, lots of water and nutrient-rich foods and fluids. I ran and worked out, walked my dog and stimulated my mind.

Then this morning, after waking up, sipping my coffee, and looking into the freezer, what do you suppose I saw?