Ella got a gift certificate for a free meal at Mimi's Cafe so we decided to go. We don't eat out at big chain restaurants much but when we do I am reminded why i don't like them in the first place. First of all why are there always a gizillion people waiting to get in? Like its the best food on earth... (like Cheesecake Factory, I mean granted they do make a good cheesecake, but honestly the food is completely mediocre, boring and predictible and the servings are large enough to feed the jolly green giant!) The thing that gets me the most is the kids meal options. As if your kids don't get enough fried foods from fast food places...oh, don't worry they can still get them in restaurants! The menu varies a bit from place to place, but you can usually count on these four items always being on the menu... chicken fingers w/fries, mac n cheese w/fries, cheese pizza w/fries and cheeseburger w/fries. Don't get me wrong I like all theses naughty cheesy fried foods too but I can't help but wonder...how and why were these foods labeled kids food from the get go? How did it all start?... I mean who was it that thought hmmm, I can't think of another side option ...let's just throw some more fries on the plate, you know they like those! I swear in America by the time you are 18 months old and you haven't had a fry or a chicken nugget there is something wrong with you.
This frustrates me to no end. It is ingrained in children to just expect these foods and at such a young age. They don't want to eat foods with different flavors and textures because they are conditioned to have the same types of food presented at every meal. It really puts us parents at a disadvantage. I admit that many times I assume that my child won't like something before they even try it. Take tomatoes for example, in my head I automatically check that one off of the list as being a food my kids will not like. But I am guilty of not even letting them try it. The more they are exposed to new foods and actually try them the more likely they are to actually enjoy them. Unfortunately, the food market in the US does not allow this to happen easily. The marketing and advertising is just too powerful. I can't help but think if from the very beginning kids didn't have the influence of McDonalds N' friends kids would be more willing to try and love all foods from the rainbow.
Take my Korean neighbors for example. Their two young girls are 12 and 10. They moved to the Us 3 years ago and had never had fries before. I actually took them to In and Out for their first fry experience. They tried them and they liked them but even now when they have them, which is hardly ever, they only eat a small amount and they say it is too greasy. Us American kids can wolf down these types of foods in the blink of an eye. No wonder were all fat! They also told me that at school in Korea the lunch menu consisted of rice, vegetables, fruit and meat on occasion. School lunch in America is awful. I always tell Ella to make sure she gets something healthy. When I ask her at the end of the day what she had for lunch, she usually responds with something like this.... I had salad, chocolate milk, a choclate muffin, and whatever the main course is (which I'm sure is loaded with preservatives and sugar. ) I ask her what was in her salad and she says...lettuce. Hahaha. The healthy options at school are negated by the unhealthy options. You have the choice between milk or chocoalte milk. Of course the kids will choose chocolate. It reminds me of the fast food industries futile attempt a few years back to combat the childhood obesity epidemic. They say here are more healthy options for your kids...apples...(dipped in sugary carmel dip), mandarian oranges (soaked in sugary syrup.) Heaven forbid that our kids don't eat something that has a dose of sugar on top! We've spoiled them so now all their palate can recognize is the sweetness.
I guess this post is just an excuse for me to vent and expel all my frustrations in written form about how much I hate our food habits in America. I feel bad because whenever we go to places like this I just can't let it go. I know that Wade gets frustrated with me because he knows how I feel and we usually agree on the matter, but I can't help talk about it the whole time we are eating. He'll say things like "Kath, we made the decision to come here now just let it go!"
So when it comes down to it, us parents have to be the enforcers of good food. We have to really read labels on our food and not rely on what the FDA says is food or not food. I like to think my kids are better eaters but sometimes I wonder if they really are. We try and expose them to different flavors, textures and food from all cultures. We have the rule that they eat whatever we make for dinner and they can't leave the table without a vegetable in their mouth. We try and eat only organic and locally grown and we have fruits and veggies on hand at all times. We try and avoid the red 40's and the yellow 6's, the large doses of high fructose corn syrup and the msg. But honestly it is scary because it exists in so many of the foods that we eat from fast food, to restaurants to grocery stores. Overall our family has a good balance. I'm not about to deprive them (even though I should) from the occasional trips to 711 for slurpees and McDonalds for a happy meal. To me that is part of being a kid and that is how I grew up (so it must be okay right?!.) Until America changes their way which we can only hope, it will only get better rather than worse. With America's obsession with going "Green" let's hope it will spill over into the food mainstream more. I guess this means we need to go back to the days when food was grown and cooked almost entirely at home and we knew exactly what was in it. Hmmmm. I think the closest we'll get to that is watching reruns of Lassie on TBS. So until then us parents have to lay down the law.
