Birthday Green Beans?

My brother thought it was funny that I said I would give Zara some 1st birthday green beans. I guess it does sound funny, but I was serious. It's not like green beans would be the only thing she'd get. I'd also arrange a nice array of blueberries, strawberries, peaches and mango on a platter, but no cake.

Cake is a wonderful thing and I'm sure Zara will get her fair share, but not at age one. When she starts eating food, I want to introduce her to the types of healthy foods I'd like her to eat for the rest of her life. I'm not going to wait until she's 4 (and used to a steady diet of chicken nuggets, french fries and fish sticks) to give her veggies. By then, its practically a lost cause.

That reminds me of a Spaghettios commerical (I think it's Spaghettios) where the dad is trying to read aloud the nutrional information on the label, but can't because the mother keeps cutting him off. She doesnt' want the kids to hear that they're eating something healthy. I guess it's supposed to be a good way to sneak healthy food to your children. I guess its supposed to be funny and cute, but every time I see that commercial, all I can think is "That's crazy that you have to trick your children into eating healthy. And since when did processed pasta become healthy, anyway?" I also heard that Seinfeld's wife has a cookbook for moms that want to hide healthy ingredients in "kid friendly" foods.

I'm not down with all the trickery. If you start them on healthy food early enough and don't corrupt their palette with junk, you won't have to be "creative" and "artful" in your presentation.  The earlier the better. We start them early with sports and ballet. We start them early with school and peewee softball, but why not veggies? So, let this serve as fair warning. Should your children find themselves around Zara on her first birthday, I sure hope they like green beans.



Zara's Mommy,
Nadirah