The Real Food Delimna

Food is a big deal to me. It always has been. I plan trips around where I want to eat. I'm constantly thinking about what my next meal, and probably the one after that too, will be. So when I found out I was expecting ... okay, I'll be honest, even before I knew I was expecting... I've thought about food and my children. What foods I would serve them and what I would not.

Naturally I only want the best for them. No hydrogenated or food color products for our Badd Babies. I've read books on "real food" for babies and had countless discussions with Bryan and close food conscious friends. But then someone leaves me a zip lock baggie of slice and bake cookies and I start questioning everything.

Can I raise a child who does not know the glorious delight of a slice and bake? Is it fair to him?

A recent post I read from one of my food heros, Mark Bittman, on kids and eating has stuck with me. He says,

I think it was easy for Karen and me to see that the key to getting our daughters to eat well was to offer a broad variety of foods, let them discover what they liked, put few restrictions on when and where they ate (although there was no eating while watching TV) and keep junk food out of the house.

His logical approach to feeding his kids - real food, no junk - aligns most with what I hope I can provide for our kids. His daughters would ask for "vacation cereal" at times. I laughed when I read that because the only time we were allowed sugary cereals growing up was when we went to the beach each year.

So maybe Charlie will know the glories of slice and bake cookies and Kraft macaroni and cheese, but only occasionally.

How do you feed your kids?