This past week I had the opportunity to reminisce with both Beckie and Mandi about their childhood. One of the issues that came up was all the terrible food I fed them while they were growing up. I am fairly certain that we visited McDonald's at least once a week for Chicken McNugget Happy Meals...yikes! In our defense, we didn't realize how unhealthy fast food was - people didn't talk about it back then. At the time I never thought about the nutritional value of a happy meal. I was just relieved that there was something the girls would eat because they were incredibly finicky eaters.
We also talked about how Ron would go out on Sunday morning to get a newspaper and a box of donuts - that was our Sunday morning ritual. When the girls were in school, I stocked the freezer with Hot Pockets (ham and cheese or pepperoni) and Totino's French Bread Pizzas. In the pantry there was an assortment of Chef Boyardee goodies like Beefaroni and Ravioli. Geez...no wonder Mandi is a vegetarian and Beckie is a vegan! I did keep a lot of fresh fruit in the house, but really, what was I thinking?
Fortunately, all three girls survived their childhood and learned how to eat healthy without any help from me. Now they are relentless about trying to get us to eat better. We really are trying. We are doing better with healthier food choices much of the time, but I'd be lying if I said we had sworn off pizza or burgers forever. It's all about moderation, right?
Oh, the shame!
We'll do better - I promise!
