"What's Elizabeth eating right now?"
"Oh! Well, we eat lots of lentils, fish, steamed veggies, eggs and the occasional sweet," I laugh. In reality, the answer would be Cheerios, with the occasional lentils, fish, steamed veggies and eggs.
"And Joseph?"
"Well, he's a picky eater," I hedge. "We, of course, always offer him a variety of veggies," as long as they're pureed and in a sauce, "cheese," if you consider grated Parmesan a serving of dairy, "and a protein, of course." Thank God peanut butter is a protein. Although I don't think Dr. N would approve of a cup of it a day.
It's not that I don't try. I buy loads of fresh fruit and veggies. I cook, I chop, I puree, I steam, I bake, I grill. But when I'm not home? Cheerios and Saltines. My husband eats like a bachelor and his children are following in his footsteps.
Every now and then, like a hoarder attempting Spring Cleaning, I clean out the fridge and pantry, throwing out unhealthy foods. I write a list of appropriate meals for the children. I talk to Chad about my goal of a healthier life style and, when his eyes start to glaze over at my produce pontification, I promise myself that I'll make it easier on them all; that I'll pre-cut, pre-wash, pre-proportion all meals and snacks.
And, like that hoarder trying to clean out the hall closet, I start to get overwhelmed. I get lazy. I stop the prep work. The food list gets covered by doctor's notices and coupons. I look the other way as the family has a snacking frenzy of crackers and jam.
And I pray that General Mills truly provides the children with all their daily vitamins.
And I hope that eating a whole box of cereal bars counts as a serving of fruit.
And I worry that too many Fig Newtons negatively effects little digestive tracts.
And I start to think that perhaps, perhaps now is the time to start the kids on a pediatrician approved diet.
And the cycle continues.
On the plus side, I just discovered a local produce store that has $12/20lb. Wednesday. Yep. For $12 I'm able to fill a box of all sorts of yumminess. And what does 20 pounds of produce look like?
Maybe this time we'll stick with the program...
4 comments:
Only 2 bananas? :)
They were pretty ripe. I was worried we wouldn't eat them fast enough.
ohhh - this is so like my experience... I think I fed them pretty well. But when I think about our menus (yes, I used to post them on the fridge) they were mac n' cheese w/fish sticks & steamed broccoli (that was the healthy part)...
I always prided myself on not offering the girls candy - but they both LOVE bread (zucchini, lemon, apple-raisin) + biscuits + hot cereal (cream of wheat, oatmeal, even grape nuts)... all those carbs! I wonder if they hate me??
oh well - I figure - you just do the best you can.
Oh - about those menus - I did that so their dad would start fixing one of the dishes (salad, vegie) while I was picking up the girls from dance or swim... most of the time - but most of the time, he forgot to look... and would have eaten a PBJ... (but, then, he was raised on TV dinners - mom was a widow that worked at the post office - odd sleeping hours)
Chris - I can't even hold my head up at ALL when I think of all the carbs!
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