Monday, May 19, 2008

"Healthy Treats?"

As a savta (granny,) I don't think it's a good idea to be as strict about food as I was with my own kids. I was "notorious" or "admirable," depending on your opinion of things. When my kids requested "mastik," chewing gum, I replied:
"So you want to chew, take this," and I gave them green peppers, which we called "green mastik."

I made up a hot drink with carob powder and called it hot chocolate. My kids couldn't figure out why their chocolate didn't taste like anyone else's.

But as a grandmother, I'm not the boss. My grandkids get all sorts of real nosherei from the other grandmother and their father. They wouldn't fall for the green pepper scam.

They're used to being taken to the local grocery, a small supermarket, everyday after pre-school. Yesterday when I took them, I got them to choose a banana yogurt drink. I can't stand those things, but it was the perfect treat. It has some nutrients and it's not all that tasty, so they didn't finish drinking it.

Sometimes I've managed to buy them dried fruit, also a better snack.

5 comments:

Leora said...

I enjoyed this. Yeah, it's not the same with grandkids, you can't enforce your ways.

When my nieces and nephew were little, and I did not have kids yet(maybe one baby), I once bought a ripe melon for a yom tov at my in-laws. My nieces and nephew were used to eating candy and cake as treats. They loved the melon! And it's a pleasure, now that they are in their twenties, they actually love salads and fruits. And are more health-conscious than their parents! (maybe some of it was Aunt Leora's influence?)

Batya said...

Thanks
A good sweet melon is a treat! Just this Shabbat afternoon, my friend and I polished off an entire melon with our herbal teas. We didn't need the cake and cookies.

Anonymous said...

Great ideas.

Thanks for participating in this week's very special Memorial Day Edition of the Carnival of Family Life at Colloquium! Stop by and check out some of the other wonderful articles included in this edition!

Anonymous said...

great post!

Batya said...

jhs, jennie, thanks to both of you!