Dear Mom remember when hot dogs were good for you?

Dear Mom remember when hot dogs were good for you?

I was eating lunch with Claire the other day and reflected on some of the things that counted as a balanced lunch.

Giant Pretzel with nacho cheese, optional vegetable and fruit.
Nachos with nacho cheese, optional fruit, no vegetable unless you count tater tots as a vegetable.

Oh, how much I would have loved school lunch if I could have had nachos and tater tots. Not to mention she gets chocolate milk everyday, and a Capri sun with it on most days.

I remember looking forward to chicken fried steak day, and pizza day. They came with carrots or green beans. I am guessing in the big picture most kids probably don’t eat much better at home.

I have tried to teach her to eat a vegetable with every meal. She seems to try to follow this when I eat with her. “Look Daddy I have a vegetable!” she points to her tater tots. Looking over the selection I encourage her to add some orange slices since there are no more vegetables.

She will sometimes use the argument when she gets home from school and I ask her what vegetable she wants with diner. “I had a vegetable for lunch Dad, so we don’t have to have one now.” She reassures me and throws in a couple of eyelash flashes for good measure. I am not swayed.

“Well, it is your lucky day, you get to have another vegetable for dinner. So pick one out, or would you like me to pick one out?”

This usually gets a vegetable on the counter in short order.

Who knows what she will eat in another ten years or if my vegetable regimen will still be followed. When I was a kid hotdogs were healthy food. No one bothered to worry what would happen if you had Coke with every meal. And it was guaranteed that if something was good for you it tasted bad.

I just want her to eat a vegetable every meal. Is that too much to ask?

Love Mike