Friday, January 1st, 2010...7:00 am
Grocery Store Exploration: Disappointing Ingredients
This afternoon my daughter and I were disappointed to learn that we would have to wait nearly an hour to pick up a prescription. The pharmacy was inside one of our local chain grocery stores – so we decided to explore a little while we were waiting. My daughter thought it would be fun to look at some of the foods that looked good on the outside, but might be fairly unhealthy on the inside. With the help of the camera on my iPhone, we did some sleuthing and took a few photos. I thought you might want to hear some of my 9 year old daughter’s thoughts…
9 year old daughter: I like Ritz Crackers, but I know they aren’t good for me because they have all kinds of chemicals in them. I thought it was funny that these were covered with chocolate. I think it would be better to eat chocolate covered graham crackers instead. Or to spread Nutella on almost anything.
Me: These have a bonus (insert sarcasm here) – there are two kinds of partially hydrogenated oils in this product, not just one!
9 year old daughter: Dad is always telling me how lucky I am that Mom makes me and my brother a healthy lunch every day. He said that she could buy us Lunchables instead. But look at how long the list of ingredients is. I can’t even say most of them. Even though mom thinks it’s a pain to make my lunch, I bet it will make me feel healthier than eating this.
Me: What is a “cheese product” anyway?
9 year old daughter: It is hard to see the cartoon characters on the packages of these frozen kids meals. Mom liked that these were high up on the top shelf in the freezer so they were harder for kids to see.
Me: These sure do look fun. They even have the Smart Choices checkmark on their packaging, so they must be good.
p.s. the Smart Choices label is now defunct…go figure.
Another p.s.: Writing this post makes me nervous. I am just expressing my opinion and sharing the thoughts of my 9 year old daughter. I am not trying to slander anyone, I am merely trying to point out that people should think about what they are eating…and that they should let their children in on some of the decision making.
What do YOU think about posts like this? Are they too risky? I wonder if I’ll chicken out and delete it later…
8 Comments
January 1st, 2010 at 8:28 am
I think this was brilliant. It is hard for some to see, but true none the less.
Good job!
January 1st, 2010 at 8:38 am
Great job! Anyone under the impression that Lunchables are not a combination of chemicals needs to be woken up
January 1st, 2010 at 9:59 am
Thanks Annie and Beth – I was a little nervous. I know it is all true, but I can get a little intimidated by the “big guys.”
January 1st, 2010 at 10:30 am
i applaud you for this blog. people have a right to know what’s being put in their food…and what it can do to them. hopefully, with your help, our country’s citizens will continue to make healthier choices…and lunchables will soon be a product of the past!
January 1st, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Keep it up!!!
I just landed here googling ‘kid’s cooking blog’ looking for ideas for New Food January with my four year olds.
I want to get them completely involved in where their food comes from so hopefully someday they can be as aware as your daughter!!!
I look forward to looking at your other posts.
January 1st, 2010 at 8:01 pm
I always wonder what to post and what not to post. But it’s people like you that make me stop and think before I buy something, and keep me motivated to put the extra work in to feed my kids healthy foods.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
I think that it’s really important to make people aware of what they are really eating vs. what clever agro-business marketers manage to make they think they are eating. I think it’s also our responsibility (as parents) to educate our children about food (it looks like your 9-year-old is really on track!). Like anything else, cooking from scratch is always the best/healthier option… That said, eating a lunchables once is not going to make a child’s diet go out of control.
January 11th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Good for you, you call ‘em like you see ‘em. They have a lot of money and power behind their brands, and need to be challenged. It’s great that you’re actively teaching your daughter to make good food choices.
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