Why, in my day, you could buy meat anywhere! Eggs they had, real butter! Fresh lettuce in the stores! [UPDATED TEN MINUTES LATER VERSION!]

I have had to change my shirt four times today.
Will Terzo EVER stop spitting up?
Wait!
Maybe it’s something he’s eating...
read on…

I found this article on Salon about kids’ food choices so interesting, I thought I’d give you my considered and esteemed opinion on it. Just because I can. Hey, you’re the one still reading...Food is just such a weighted topic. (The letters on this article were vehement, both sides.) And most mothers buy into it wholeheartedly, because we are all trying to be good moms, and *clearly,* good moms don't feed their children things that are bad for them.

This seems to be on everyone’s minds these days; Surfing Free just posted about this yesterday.
And there are medical reasons for more rigorous monitoring: Carolyn of TMI Spot maintains a completely separate blog to track what her glucose- and casein-sensitive son can and can’t eat. (She has links to other moms who are dealing with diet restrictions and toddler nutrition, too, if you’re interested.)

Food for our children is a HOT topic.

Just to be right up front: here is a typical day of eating with my boys, and I admit I am not averse to treats of ice cream, the occasional cookie (preferably homemade – it’s the preservatives and chemicals that scare me more than the sugar), or a lemonade/juice box. Mostly because then, *I* can have a coffee or a chocolate croissant or an ice cream.
And as I noted in a previous post or comment, other than allergens, like nuts and strawberries for the baby, my kids are pretty much allowed anything once in a while, except soda. And that’s for no special reason other than it’s rarely around and they prefer juice anyway.

Breakfast:
2 bowls Honey-Nut Cheerios or corn flakes with whole milk
Half a banana
Cup of apple or orange juice

Lunch:
Dannon fruit yogurt
Strawberries and/or grapes and/or apples
Annie’s whole-wheat bunny crackers
Chocolate whole milk

Snack:
Fig Newtons or graham crackers. They also have some kind of fruit, even if it is just some raisins or dried apricots.

Dinner:
A little of whatever we are having, say:
Baked chicken
Rice
Steamed broccoli
Sliced apples or oranges
Whole white milk or water
Brownberry’s buttermilk or oatnut bread

Once they get up from the table, they are done. They may eat bread and milk if they are still hungry after they have gotten up. But I am not running a restaurant and I don’t generally cook especially for them. That said, if we are having something I KNOW they hate, like tilapia sautéed in lemon-butter sauce with capers (tonight) – I may make them mac-and-cheese (yes, from the box. They HATE homemade.) or chicken or scrambled eggs. If I am feeling benevolent.

• Primo will eat any kind of fruit you put in front of him with the exception of kiwi. He’s tried it twice and hated it. He loves chicken and turkey and salami.
  
  
• Segundo’s favorite meal is Bush’s vegetarian baked beans, corn bread, and milk. He is the carb fiend. No danger of him EVER going Atkins on us.
  
  
• Terzo has had some real food – bagel, waffles, plain macaroni, rice – and the only baby food at which he has turned his nose up so far is the Gerber jarred rice-and-turkey. Which I suppose is a good call on his part, actually. Not sure what I was thinking with that purchase.

I do stress about their food. I stress whether they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need, that they are getting the proper balance of roughage – very important in this time of potty-training, that they are not getting waaaayyy too much sugar. My husband is a fiend about it, but I think that’s because he is not with them as much as I am. So he can be a hard-ass. Also, their whining doesn’t nearly grate on his nerves as much as it grates on mine.

My pediatrician (he’s mine, I tell you! The rest of you drooling moms – hands off! He loves ME!) explained to me that when judging toddler food, it’s really more important – and realistic – to judge their diet over the average of a week’s worth of meals as opposed to one day. He said there are toddlers who can go two days without eating (with NO chocolate stash in the nightstand drawer!) and then eat their body weight or something like that in one meal. Hmmm.

Maybe I was a toddler in a former life.

And maybe the pint of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby I devoured YESTERDAY will be balanced out by all the fruits and veggies I intend to eat TODAY.

[Gah! I just told you what my children eat! So I should tell them that, say, if a woman named Badger pulls up in her minivan and says, "Hey little Segundo, I know you like to eat BAKED BEANS AND CORNBREAD, hop on in!" they should NOT go with her. They should call me and I can go out drinking with her instead.]