Their Fate Rests In Your Hands

Yesterday was my Cheat Day, and I had been craving my favorite Southwestern Chicken Taquitos out of the frozen food aisle. I decided to pick some up for lunch while I was out grocery shopping yesterday morning. I did my whole week worth of shopping and had my cart full of veggies, whole-wheat this, whole-wheat that, lean meats, Kashi cereal, mixed berries for my protein shakes; lots of good foods. So when I hit the frozen foods aisle, first I grabbed a couple of boxes of chopped spinach and then turned towards the frozen meal/snack aisle to grab my cheat food.

I don't pay much attention to that section of the store so I was sort of oblivious to all of the frozen snacks that have popped up over the last few months. Needless to say, I was shocked. But because I am focused on eating right, I wasn't tempted to load up my cart, nor have I ever been. I know the benefits of cooking meals from scratch. I have always fed my family homemade meals, not packaged junk. Even when I wasn't cooking very calorie-conscience meals, I at least knew better than to go the deep-fried/frozen route.

Unfortunately, not everyone does. There was a family shopping in the same aisle, and with the exception of the cookies, blocks of Velveeta, and cans of ravioli, they were filling up their cart with Hungry Man meals, and Pizza Rolls. Their daughter who was very noticeably overweight, and could not have been over 8, was running up and down the aisle looking at every option as though she could not get enough.

"Can we get these 4-cheese Hot Pockets? What about THIS? This looks SO good!", she shouted as she pulled out a arm-load of frozen burritos.

I was appalled and just wanted to shake the mother and father. What was wrong with these people? THIS was what they were going to feed their daughter for the week? This is what they fed her everyday?

Unfortunately, this is not a rare thing in this country. We are so "blessed" with abundance of food choices, many do not know how to make the correct decisions. And if you are a parent, it is YOUR obligation to feed your children food that will fuel their bodies, not kill them. That's right I said it. If you are allowing your children to eat unhealthily every single meal, and not teaching them proper nutrition, you are setting them up for a life of obesity, many health problems, and ultimately death at a younger age. This is a form of child abuse and it makes me so sad to know that it happens more than we could ever imagine.

What are YOUR thoughts on this issue? I'd love to hear about it.

For information on how to fuel your children's bodies, visit the USDA's Food Pyramid website for kids.