Nobody will ever be good enough to date our daughter. Period.
Most parents feel this way about their children at some point, and while it’s light years away for us, I’m having this kind of anxiety about the food she eats. No banana is organic enough, no cracker unprocessed enough! I know I have to get over it. She’s just so perfect and untainted still, sue me for wanting to keep her that way.
I don’t want her eating partially hydrogenated oils or unsaturated fats, no Mcnuggets, or soda. But how will I explain that she can’t have MickeyD’s when I crave their heavily salted fries and addictive sugary ketchup? Or that I can’t seem to kick my nasty mini-Coca Cola addiction? She’ll hate my hypocritical ass!
While her father and I don’t eat as healthily as we could, I still want better for her. I finally understand that as parents, we want only the best for our kids. He says she’ll be fine if she has a little bit of that stuff, but I want to protect her from getting a taste for it in the first place. That’s what’s wrong with us. I was born with a picky palette and it’s still not as refined as it could be. And don’t even get me started on my sweet tooth. It’s a disease for sure!
Now that her doctor said to feed her bites from our own plates, I’m starting to freak out about our eating habits. I’m not going to give my baby pizza or spicy chicken chili. So does this mean we’ll have to start eating bland mush?
Sometimes I wish we lived on a farm far away from the shelves and aisles of packaged, processed foods. We’d have to prepare everything that went into our bodies. But who am I kidding? I’d miss the convenience of opening a box of Cheerios and not having to milk the cow before eating my morning bowl of cereal. Who has the time for that anyway?
One Funny Mummy 
So true, Onefunnymummy!
I too want the same “ideal organic world” for my Grandchildren as well. But what did I do the other day…? Baked brownies with our sweet Rose and let her lick the spoon! Isn’t there raw egg in that mix? In the olden days raw eggs were considered to be healthy, but now, I believe it’s out of favor.
Moral to the story: It’s easier to be the Grandma because you can send them home!
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I know what you mean! Licking the spoon is a must (even with raw egg)! Those are priceless memories as we get older. : ) E’s grandmas are itching to spoil her and give her everything her little heart desires as I’m sure you do with Rose. How can you not?!?
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It’s funny you mentioned Cheerios – I think that is the first food my son ever ate! You’ll get much more relaxed as it goes along. My husband used to tell horrified granola/birkenstock moms that he would take our three kids once a month and feed them something out of the dumpster behind McDonald’s – just to help them build up their immunities….i’m pretty sure he was kidding
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Haha! I bet that ruffled their organic hemp panties! : )
My daughter loves Cheerios — she shovels them in like candy. Thanks for reassuring me I’ll become more relaxed about it. I guess it’s like everything…it all seems so scary at first but once you jump in, it always turns out fine. : )
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Hey sis, don’t knock the chilis, the capsacin in Jalapeños, habaneros and the like actually kill the H pelori bacteria in the stomach… Really healthy stuff. Who knew? 🙂
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Alrighty Uncle Matty — when you’re here in a couple weeks we’ll feed her some real spicy food and you can change all the diapers!! ; )
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i accidentally left my soda on the table within my 1 year old’s reach the other day… i got up to put the dishes in the sink and he grabbed it! faster than i could react he took a huge swig and made the most disgusted face i’ve ever seen. he let it dribble out of his mouth in horror. whew! what a relief! he isn’t hooked!
i hear you on this… can you say indignation at the thought cheerios aren’t organic?!
i recently started liking spicy foods (hmm… maybe my palate is finally refining?), and our little guys eats it right up with us! i figure… if i’ve made it– i know what’s in it, the quality of the food, the kitchen it was prepared in, etc. and a little spice never hurt anyone! give her a taste; you might be surprised! our son LOVES salsa, and it’s just tomatoes, onions, cilantro and garlic! i’d be happy if i could get him to eat his veggies like that everyday!
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How funny! I never thought that a little one might not like the carbonation in soda…that’s a good thing tho huh? : ) Must be an acquired taste like wine or beer.
I’m loosening up a little about what to offer her…she’s tried a handful of “real” foods and seems to like most of them. No salsa yet, but she has had beans. Her face says she doesn’t like it, but then she begs for more. Cracks me up!
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It’s funny you write this post, because i’m all about this stuff right now. With our little guy being 9 months old, we’ve taken a more “baby led weaning” approach and have almost completely ditched purees. I still make them (homemade myself from fresh fruit and veggies), but now i just use them as a side to other things — and i offer my baby WHATEVER we’re eating. Last night i just plopped spaghetti (cut up, of course), meatballs, sauce, on his high chair tray, and let him go to town.
Of course, i watch how i season things now, and try not to use added salt. But other things? Cinnamon, especially, with fruits and stuff, he loves it all! I find myself eating better only because i eat exactly what he eats. He’s having a bagel, cream cheese, and fresh fruit for breakfast? So am i. He’s having wheat toast, cottage cheese, etc. He eats it all. And i eat it with him. But when we order pizza on friday nights? He eats it, too. And he has a VERY expansive taste and will eat ANYTHING. Of course, he doesn’t drink soda (or even juice), or eat cake (although he’s tasted ice cream), and yeah, i give him Teddy Grams.
I could go on and on and on all day about this. But i won’t cram your comments full. 😉 I will, though, leave my email, and feel free to email me anytime. It seems we have a lot in common, with our little ones going through the same things at the same time. 🙂 (email: kimberly.young@live.com).
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Thanks for all your helpful tips! : ) This eating business has been tough for me…I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because she recently got her first 2 teeth and she’s working on a third so I didn’t think she was ready for “real” food, but now that she’s had a taste of some things she can’t get enough. She LOVES everything. : ) Which I guess makes it easy. I just have to get over my intimidation with it. It was so much easier when I was her sole source for food. I started offering the purees as a side like you said (just so that she’d be eating enough) and giving her smalls chunks of fruit or veggies. She’s also getting to the point where she wants to do it herself — so that’s good.
Thanks for your email! : )
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I would like a personal chef with those high standards. As it is, I have let my own standards fall so very, very low.
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: ) I would love a personal chef too…more for me than for her since I’m the one with years and years of bad eating habits.
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