Eating Habits

This thought has crossed my mind many times while struggling to navigate the peculiar world of pre-school eating habits: Why do I care so much about what she eats? I pondered this question as I was vacuuming left-over shredded cheese from lunch that was now crusted on the kitchen floor. I mean, my oldest survived for years almost wholly on a diet of bagel bites and tv dinners. By all indications, she seems to be perfectly healthy.

Then again, does it really make sense to say to a three year old “eat all of your grilled cheese and then you can have a couple of French fries” ...Yes, please, eat your bleached flour, trans-fat laden bread filled with processed cheese product that melts well. Then you can eat your simple starch soaked in grease. Oh, it hurts my head.

Why does it have to be so difficult? Before my youngest was born, I was mildly concerned with what ingredients went into the foods that my family ate. After she was born, I became obsessed...probably a little too obsessed. I meticulously check food labels at the grocery store. I cringe at the thought of my sweet little angel drinking an icee...high fructose corn syrup AND food dyes...why, it’s virtually liquid poison! (hence, the little too obsessed comment from earlier) and I am still trying to figure out how to use whole wheat flour in baking without my goodies tasting like sand.

Every week there is new information about foods that are good for you and foods that will kill you...sometimes the same foods in conflicting accounts. That, along with constant comments about our healthy food tasting like cardboard, is almost enough to make me throw up my hands and yell “Forget it! Eat whatever you want!”... almost. I am fully aware that all of this helpful, healthful knowledge has taken some of the fun out of eating and definitely made my trips to the grocery store less exciting but, what do I do? Does this diminish my fixation on feeding my family healthy food? No...but, we might live on the edge and get an icee every once in a while.