A mom has sparked heated debate online with her unique approach to her daughter's birthday "cake."
Dani (@dani_fitmom_), 32, shared a video of her 2-year-old, Olive, blowing out candles set atop a tomahawk steak to celebrate her special day. The clip quickly went viral, amassing over 138,013 likes and more than 3.4 million views.
"I have three kids 3 and under—we have never done a cake ever for anyone's birthday!" Dani told Newsweek.
"It's been a tradition since the very beginning to celebrate with a nutrient-dense meal that my kids enjoy. They've never had cake before, so they don't even know the difference. I've offered them clean-ingredient sweets before and they still prefer steak."
The clip shows little Olive happily blowing out her candles before eagerly digging into the sizable, juicy cut of meat.
The health-conscious family has embraced this tradition, maintaining a nutrition-centered lifestyle even on birthdays.
"Steak has been her favorite food since she started solids," the mom-of-three added. "She LOVED her birthday meal. She was drenching the steak in the homemade bone-broth gravy my husband made."
Dani (@dani_fitmom) also said that a high-quality grass-fed tomahawk steak is less costly than a custom birthday cake, which can be laden with artificial ingredients.
"Why would I pay a hundred dollars for a cake that has Red Dye 40 in it?" she asked.
Red Dye 40, a widely used food coloring in the U.S., is controversial due to links to behavioral issues in children and potential health risks. Research is ongoing, but some parents prefer to avoid it in favor of more natural options.
Opinions in the comments section were split, with some cheering Dani's choice and others expressing skepticism.
"She is eating better than 99% of the U.S.," posted one viewer, while another offered a more cautious perspective: "I think it's fine to have traditions like this. But just don't tell her she isn't allowed to have a cake when she turns 4 or 5 and starts going to birthday parties and sees other kids having cake."
Meanwhile, others defended the mom's choice, with one person noting, "Why are people mad? How do they know this kid wanted a cake? What if she wanted the giant steak, LOL [laugh out loud]."
One commenter even shared a similar tradition: "Love this!! My kids were allergic to crap, so we always did watermelon or a fruit with candles straight from the farm."
Birthday cakes, originating in ancient Greece, were originally made as offerings to the moon goddess Artemis. They were adorned with candles to resemble the moon's glow, a tradition that has evolved into today's widespread custom of lighting candles and making wishes on cakes.
Dani said that she is fascinated by the polarized reactions.
"The social-media reaction has been about 50/50. Half the people praise me, and half the people say I'm a horrible mother," she added.
"The comments are actually super entertaining to read—it's a big divide. I started posting my babies' birthday steaks about two years ago, and since then, I see a lot of other families posting similar videos. So I do think it's inspired a lot of families and started new traditions for many."
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