The Text That Proves I Am A Failure at Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits

I headed to Wegman's this evening on my way home from a wake. I called our 15 year old as I drove there to see if there was anything he wanted me to pick up. He said he wants to try his hand at making chili and he started reading me the list of ingredients. "I am not going to remember all this," I told him. "I'll text you," Gabriel told me.

Buying food from the grocery shopping list he texted me resulted in a cart filled with white sugar, white flour and red meat.

I am really thrilled both our sons like to cook. They take after both their dad and me. I think the more we prepare our own foods, the more we eat healthfully. When our oldest was four, we sent him to Rutgers' Nutritional Science Preschool in part to reinforce our home's healthy eating habits. I buy whole wheat bread, soy milk and unsugared cereal. I regularly substitue turkey for red meat and turkey bacon for regular bacon. When I bake bread, I use whole wheat flour and I bake cookies and breads with locally produced honey, not sugar. I avoid buying dairy products because I am allergic and Lucas, 12, is  seriously lactose intolerant. (When he was a toddler, an ingestion of milk gave him so much pain I had to take him to the emergency room.)

Here is the text I received this evening. I am thinking that as our son texted, after he typed in all the ingredients for the chili, he started talking to his brother about what else they wanted me to buy. Failed nutritionist that I am, I bought them everything on their list. (I find it amusing/outrageous that Kellogg's Corn Pops has FIBER in great big letters on its box when  a cup has only 2.9 grams of fiber)

Here is the text our son sent me.


Large can tomato
sauce
norml can tomato
sauce
can diced tomatos
green bell pepper
hot peppers
garlic
white onion
1.5 lbs 80/20
ground beef
good bacon
2 cans light red
kidney beans
frozen corn
brown sugar
white flour
sugar
garlic powder
onion powder
ground cumin 
basil
black pepper
shredded
sharpbcheddar
2 loaves white
bread 
tasty cereal
diet. mtn dew
(flavour
variations 
especially)
diet mug root beer
real milk
and lucas wants
ice cream


Welcome to Bigger Picture Moments! Taking time to revel in the simple moments that make up the bigger picture of our life!