I was telling my friend the other day that I felt safe with Cheerios. Whether or not they are actually healthy, I feel like they are. I trust them. I love them. I used to eat plain cheerios as a kid with a 1/2 inch thick layer of sugar on the top...careful to get an even ratio of sugar to cereal in each bite. I know as well as you do that they write all sorts of special words and phrases all over the box to give us that warm fuzzy feeling, and it works. I told her that it saves me the headache of reading all other labels if I just buy the equivalent to the "good stuff" in Cheerio language. Fruit loops=Fruity Cheerios. Apple Jacks=Apple Cinnamon Cheerios...you catching my drift here? So I thought it was especially funny when she walked up to me at the church the other night and gifted me with this.
I mean, they're still Cheerios, right? Sweet. Score. A healthy well balanced breakfast treat, I mean meal. Come on people, they used real cocoa, real cocoa! Hot dog! My main question would be, if you are appealing to a person that buys chocolate breakfast anything, do you really think they care if it is made with real cocoa or not? I read recently that Cheerios was forced to remove the label on their boxes that claimed it lowered cholesterol. I found that completely unfair, seeing as how 90% of the products out there put anything on the front of their box to beguile the everyday consumer to believe that it is somehow healthier than before....No Trans Fat, Low Sodium, 0% this or that, etc. It's with the same naivety that we buy anything that says organic on it....I mean, unless I was there to actually witness it's organic "coming to be" it's all a big crapshoot anyway. If I am not mistaken, Walmart was prosecuted a few years ago for an entire line of products boasting organic that were indeed, not organic. gasp.
My Mom did a good job of feeding us and teaching us healthy habits without warning us of the evils of sugar or beating us over the head with a bag of apples. From what I remember, we ate fairly healthy and well rounded...with the exception of the foil wrapped ding dongs in the pantry...but let's face it, ding dongs were probably so much purer way back in the 80's. High Fructose Corn Syrup (aka the Devil apparently) was probably not even invented. Yep, let's just go with that theory.
The reality of it is this. I want my family to eat as naturally as possible. I say, as possible meaning as much as I am able to provide this for them without having to make my own cloth and live in a commune with people that also don't believe in deodorant....or even worse, people that make their own deodorant.
I have been receiving a health magazine for the last several months. One that I look forward to reading though I dread at the same time because I know I will finish it with a resolve to give up something...usually something I don't really want to give up. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that McDonald's is completely out of the picture...because sometimes the convenience of McDonald's is exactly what this little mother needs. It just means that all I will be thinking about while consuming it is how gross it really is, therefore totally ruining the experience and convenience factor.
We do well. My kids actually really like fruits and vegetables. They eat good stuff. But I also don't think I need to hit them over the head day after day with that proverbial bag of apples I mentioned. I simply need to teach them that our bodies are special. They can be fragile but they are strong. We need to be smart because we only get one.
Speaking of healthy foods and wanting to eat healthy...I bought Nutella for the first time ever last week. After just a few days it it, they are officially grounded from it. Pace ourselves I say. It's delicious creaminess has left many a chocolate mustaches and dirty fingerprints in its wake. And I don't have to tell you how disconcerting it is to find brown smudges anywhere on anything when you have a child in diapers in the house. All I'm saying is, you just never know for sure.
In short, our bodies are resilient and strong. I want to feed my family whole, healthy foods but everything in moderation. And while I probably will never convert my lawn into an enormous garden, make my own fertilizer or raise my own fryers, we will eat a well balanced diet. I will teach them healthy habits and ideals about what we put into our bodies. I will not force my kids to eat collard greens, whatever those are. I will offer them good things to eat that will help their little bodies and brains to grow grow grow and drink lots and lots of water. That is my pledge, K?
So go, be healthy but please don't be crazy...Look, I don't want to tell you what to do but also, please don't make your own deodorant...we all gotta die sometime, even if it is at age 97 from the zinc in antiperspirant.
Please pass the asparagus.
11 comments:
Lovely post. But let it be known that we read this while the author was on skype eating a Kit-Kat... I wanted a kit-kat and she wouldn't share. How about sharing, Em???
I tricked myself into thinking Nutella is good for me a few weeks ago and bought the 2-pack at Costco. Half way through the first jar I made the mistake of looking at the nutritional information. There is a reason it tastes so good.
P.S. It is especially good on top of graham crackers.
Doesn't zinc fight colds? Go deodorant! I was just thinking about this the other night when Michael asked me if we eat junk food. Well, yes but not too much. I am with you 100%. I like Pop-Tarts but now I buy the Fiber One version and call myself wise :)
As I read, I am hiding from the kids, eating a cupcake for breakfast...with organic milk, of course:) Aren't we a fun little paradox? I love singing vegetables, so thank you for that picture! I also love deodorant that works, even if there is aluminum in it. This sweaty pregnant [fat] lady needs all the help she can get!
p.s. I have a theory that our kids won't be any worse off than we are bc have you seen the old cook books from when we were kids? Not a fresh ingredient to be found, and way too much cheeze whiz! So their McD's here and there will balance out, right?
Nutella on pretzels, Nutella on apples, Nutella makes pretty much everything tasty!
We recently introduced cookies for breakfast. They are cereal cookies (same as little pieces of cereal but in one big round), but also have a bit of chocolate in them. This would be a normal breakfast for spanish kids. Cereal cookies dipped in a big bowl of milk. More fiber, and healthier than most US sugar cereals, but still it's a cookie-and chocolate. We NEVER refer to them as cookies lest they think they are getting cookies for breakfast. They are Yayitas. All nutrition info is in Spanish so I have to go by taste alone. They taste like they could be healthy -actually a little too healthy for my liking. I prefer gobbling a real cookie for breakfast while pretending to get something from the panty. They also have a whole section of digestive "cookies", and some taste quite spectacular. They aren't with the regular cookies, they're a whole isle away, so I assume they're in a different playing field. The only word on it I understand is digestive. So I'm pretty sure if you eat them, you'll digest your food better. That's what I'm going with anyway.
I say eat those cheerios blindly, they may work like a placebo.
Sorry for the long comment.
I'm hoping they come out with a chocolate and peanut butter Cheerios because I have a habit of eating Reese's Peanut Butter Puff cereal and would like a healthier alternative (at least one that seems like it might be healthier). Despite my best attempts at healthy eating, my kids still order vegetables at restaurants and get excited about a new bag of apples. How many M&M's do I have to give them before they are brainwashed into my way of thinking (chocolate & sugar = healthy)?
I reward my packing efforts with chocolate these days. Nice to know there are chocolate cheerios now. I may just break down. Moving is hard you know
Mmmmmmm, Nutella I love you......
Hmmm, I wonder if they have Nutella in Sweden. They might even have Chocolate Cheerios, who knows these days! I think we have the same attitude towards nutrition--it involves a good balance between good healthy nutrition and joy in the journey. Ya gotta have both! Glad I didn't ruin you too badly.
I need to comment verbally. Remind me.
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