I promised a rant. Can you bear with me a minute?
Our country is sick. And most of it is preventable. You know what I’m talking about; the obesity, diabetes and heart disease for starters?
What is up with us? Is it our entitlement attitude about so many other things that oozes into our unhealthy habits too?
A friend was telling me of an experience she had while visiting in Europe years ago. It’s a story I’ve heard several times from several people actually. The common theme is, seeing a food that looks really good, like a dessert they’ve had before, only to find when they take a bite that it isn’t sweet! The shock! To taste a luscious looking cheesecake, only to find that it tastes more like cream cheese than sugar. Or the pastry-looking things displayed in a store in Japan that don’t taste anything like the sweet-treats we have here.
No, our country is so sugar-soda-high fructose-white flour-caffeine-aspartame-jelly filled-sugar coated-rancid-refined-artificial flavor-artificial color-stimulant- pill fixing crazy that we think the rest of the world is missing out!
In other places, they don’t market junk food to kids. It’s not allowed because parents are in charge of what children eat, not children.
In other places, the basic every day foods that are consumed are staple foods, high in protein and basic nutrients, not whatever one can throw together in ten minutes because cooking isn’t worth our time and energy.
Of necessity, families eat a simple meal together in many poverty-stricken areas of the world, but we can’t find time to eat together because we are too busy earning just a little more, often so that out children can be involved in one more activity. And this problem of giving up family meal time for other pursuits has extreme negative ramifications on the well-being, the bondedness, the belonging that our children need most! In my opinion, (and statistics bear this out), family meal time is the great anti-drug. In fact, it’s the anti-gang, anti-drinking, anti-antisocial campaign most parents would value if they knew it was as close as their dinner table. (And for all those social and emotional benefits, serve frozen burritos if that’s what you can do, but serve them with love and with a positive dinner conversation!)
At some point, we’re going to have to accept responsibility for the preventable problems that are not just killing us, but that are keeping us miserable for years before we die! And that just might mean getting used to eating things we’re not used to eating, and skipping the sugary, refined, artificial so-called foods, so that “normal” food can taste good again!
I’m most likely preaching to the choir. But this part I will say to you. Next time someone wants to make you feel like the strange one for caring what your children eat, for 
making planning, cooking and eating meals together a priority, for saying no to more activities and “opportunities,” and for that matter, saying no to your children when they want to adopt unhealthy habits or stretch themselves too thin…just know, it’s not you that’s being extreme!
We’ve got some teaching to do, and it won’t get done if we feel shamed or intimidated by a well-meaning, but often misled mainstream, of standard American diet pushers, and priority permissiveness. Life is challenging enough without knowingly upping the ante.
Hope your kids enjoy their kale chips after school!
Love ya, and thanks for listening!
Jacque
Yup so true! – this is not the time to go with the flow because eating normal in our country means eating a pretty unhealthy diet! I sometimes wonder how it would be to have an overall food environment that made eating healthy easier. sigh…
On the plus side, it is amazing how quickly real, wholesome, lovingly prepared food can raise overall energy, making it easier to deal with whatever challenges of the day. It’s good to be reminded that while it’s not easy, it’s really important.
Very good point Layna! Every little bit helps! Thank you!
Well said.
Keep Ranting!
The license to rant! What fun, thank you Margaret!
WOW! That WAS a rant but oh so true!. Bless you for saying what needs to be said and walking the talk.
I am trying, but my rant stung me too! ; ). Always room for improvement isn’t there?! Thanks!