I. Love. Grapefruit. I know it must come as a shock that a sugar-addicted fiend like me actually eats fruit, but my diet is reasonably healthy. And I eat half a grapefruit every day.

In fact, I love grapefruit so much that I’ve specifically avoided going on a medication because it would ban grapefruit from my diet with some awful chemical reaction. I can’t do that. Every day I need my fix, and if I bake it into a tart, well, so much the better. This is a tart for the ages! You’re going to love it.

A few days ago I wrote a post complaining about my body aches and pains, and I’m happy to report that I can once again move my head from side to side. Last week my neck and shoulders went, and I had to go through my day moving like a robot. My students found it hilarious. Well, until I reminded them that if they continued  to mock me, I’d have my revenge when I was all better. That stopped them pretty quick.

The act of staying healthy is a delicate balance, one that most of us struggle with. It’s not just about what you eat, or how much you move. It’s about how you see yourself. And I gotta say, mass media is working against women pretty strongly these days.

Before I had daughters, I would mindlessly read magazines on weekends, enjoying the endless (and repetitive) tips they offered up each month: how to be happy, why eating breakfast is so important, ways to organize my life, and the ever-present cover headline: drop five pounds in two weeks! Or something along those lines.

I never used to think about magazines or their covers much, but now that I have girls, I’m paying attention. I’ve gone through life being far too much of a perfectionist about my own physique, and I don’t want to pass that on to my girls. I’m careful on all sorts of levels on that front, and one way to make positive change is to get the magazines out of the house.

Really. Next time you’re in a grocery store line, read the covers. They’re demeaning. And despite the fact that the magazine industry claims to be embracing more realistic body types, they’re still classifying women in a healthy weight range as plus-sized, and associating that with shame. And their cover models are still unrealistically photoshopped.

I’d like to put this tart on a magazine cover. That’s how splendid it is, and how opposite of anything horrible I find it to be. This is one of those times that I get obsessed by my own dessert. It doesn’t happen all the time, so when it does, you can bet I’ll tell you.

It’s so easy to make, too. The base is my white chocolate graham cracker crust, and the filling is just a mixture of fresh ruby red grapefruit juice, condensed milk, zest, and egg yolks. That’s all, folks.

Trying to raise kids with a healthy self-image is really hard. Trying to be a balanced, healthy eater is also hard. So make it as easy as you can on yourself, and incorporate some of those lovely fruits into dessert. They make for real showstoppers!