E's my foodie, and her palate is refined. She eats mushrooms and quinoa and things flavored with rosemary. She eats broccoli and cauliflower. She eats tahini and hummus. She eats chicken and salmon and steak. She eats kik wot and injera at the Ethopian place up the street. She eats beans by the gallon. I've got no cause for complaint in regards to her eating habits, so I usually just leave her alone at mealtimes, because her whole approach to food is adventurous--why would I mess with a good thing?
She's never liked berries. And I usually just leave her alone about it. Some people don't like certain foods. She eats pretty much everything else, so she doesn't have to eat berries if she doesn't want to.
Well, the other day at my mom's house, she apparently ate some chocolate-covered blueberries, which she loved and now talks about all the time and calls "chocolate-covered blue babies." (Her big sister AM's favorite doll is named Blue Baby). I think it's the cutest thing ever.
So tonight, there were blueberries on the table. E started talking about the chocolate-covered blue babies, and Fun Sink had to swoop in and get all judgy. First of all, she was totally trying to correct the "blue baby" thing by annunciating the word "blueberries." Screw that, Fun Sink--I am calling them blue babies from now on and E can do the same for as long as she wants to! But then Fun Sink had to go on and on about how healthy they are and how good for you the plain ones are and blah blah blah. E doesn't like them, and she doesn't have to eat them. Leave her the hell alone!
The dinner was supposed to be at our house but Fun Sink doesn't want me to have too much power, so it was moved to Grandma-in-law's. And it's a little annoying in principle, but it was also a lot less work, and my girls and I would rather hang out poolside, so I didn't put up too much (any) protest. I was also asked to bring a salad. Contributing to a meal! Unprecedented!
I went to my favorite vegan Web site and chose the Speedy Summer Hemp Power Salad (I was attracted by the word "speedy" and--I'm not going to lie--part of me was hoping for hallucinogenic effects that would take me, tripping, far from the weekly dinner). It also seemed like a rare dish that FIL could eat. I didn't make it to Whole Foods so I had to get regular corn--I got the kind with extra GMOs. The man is at his middle school weight. What he really needs in his hemp power salad are some artificial bovine growth hormones.
I was halfway through stripping the fresh corn off the cob when I remembered he probably doesn't even eat corn. Not enough nutrients--it's pure sugar! Sure enough, he didn't eat the salad that I made specifically for him. Actually, he didn't eat any of the dinner of salmon, rice, and unseasoned vegetables. He brought his own damn salad from home, brother-in-law-style.
But my kid is weird for liking chocolate-covered blue babies and pretty much everything else--healthy or not-so-healthy--that she comes across. (Except berries). Leave her alone and keep your food issues to yourself! And you can stick your salad that you brought from home where the sun doesn't shine!
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