There is lots of talk about all the processed food we eat and how it may affect our systems, possibly working against our immune systems and certainly being less nutritious than the more natural foods of the past. I was on a Girl Guide trip last weekend and I was struck by what the kids ate (and didn’t eat!) and it made me think… do kids eat worse food than kids of yesteryear did?

My Mom used to tell us that Gramma fed her parsnips every time she made Mom’s favourite dessert, lemon pudding cake. It would take almost a quart of milk she said, to get through those parsnips, but the deal was she had to clean her plate before she could have dessert. My Mom has never touched another parsnip since moving out. As a result of memories like that, the rule when I was growing up was that you just had to try those foods you didn’t like each time they came around (the theory was eventually you would like them). It is possible I was just too much of a hungry growing kid to care too much what I ate but I did come through my childhood liking almost every food I tasted. The kids I saw last weekend were much more likely to not like a lot of things that were presented to them… at least in the savoury department. The sweets on the other hand, were pretty much universally loved!

My theory on this topic is that with so many more choices today, it is easier for kids to be picky. I never hear of anyone being made to stay at the table to clean their plate. In addition to that, kids are more used to processed foods that tend to taste a bit sweeter so of course less sweet things are harder to like. But it is not a case of kids not liking flavour – for example, one of the most popular foods we served on the Girl Guide trip was Caesar salad! I don’t know that they would have chosen garlic-flavoured lollipops over the Gobstoppers they bought and sucked on for the whole weekend, but I do know that Martin’s practice of taking a flavour kids like and using it in other dishes seems to be successful most of the time. (Next time I will make sure I prepare a pot of the pasta with the leftover garlic bread-butter for those girls that don’t like tomato sauce.)

Since we are in salad season I thought perhaps we could use this time as an opportunity to help our kids learn to love some new foods. Another flavour I know many kids enjoy is balsamic vinegar. You don’t have to serve them a store-bought dressing, just a bit of balsamic drizzled over the veggies with your favourite oil will do nicely. You can even do this with strawberries as a fun twist on dessert!

I know the packaged foods offer the grown-ups a chance to provide something interesting for the kids without having to spend so much time preparing it. But perhaps we can mix up the prepared ingredients and the ones that come “as they are”? I know the Guides did a great job of packing their own lunches from a table full of ingredients and they also managed to get themselves a pretty healthy meal, too. We could even take it a step further… I wonder what would happen if we packed their lunch and they packed ours?

The thing that struck me about my Mom’s horrible parsnip memory was that food (like life) should be fun. When you are a part of the process, things are almost always more fun. If the only thing you have to do is unwrap a package, then where’s the fun in that? It’s almost as boring as parsnips.

Kristin

P.S. If you think BBQ is fun, head downtown this weekend. Chef Martin and his Commis Squealers will be competing in the “Smoke on the Water” competition, slow cooking beef brisket and ribs and chicken. I hear they are even offering samples this year! This is the perfect food trip for most Dads, so it’s a great place to visit on Father’s Day!