Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Freedom to eat . . .

We reached the 16 trillion in debt, yesterday, and it keeps rising. Our economy is in major trouble, people continue to be out of work, schools are a mess, rising crime, etc., and what is the pet peeve of the current administration . . .what we eat or purchase in the way of food. I consider this a major invasion into my way of life and my responsibility as a mother and homemaker. The economy is already shaky and the regulations cause even more grief for the marketplace and the restaurants in the country if they do not conform to Mrs. obama's agenda to regulate our food intake. Will this really impact the people who already prefer sugar and salt to fruit and vegetables? I don't think so. Will it possibly raise my costs at the market. Probably.

Growing up, I soon discovered that when I was given responsibility, I soon did what I should in most everything I had to accomplish. Granted, when I was young, single, and working, my eating habits were not the best but a family and children soon had me personally working on ways to better the situation. I didn't need the government to restrict my choices in order to me to do well. And, I resent them even considering this action in a country that was based on freedom of choice. I suppose that once they make a grab for our religious freedoms, can more of our private freedoms be far from the chopping block?

Years ago, I had an acquaintance who desperately wanted to improve her meals for the family and cut back on their dining out and over indulgence. I suggested she just stop buying chips and soda. She didn't feel she could do that. I mentioned that requiring everyone to partake of the vegetable at each meal would be a good start. She said her children didn't like vegetables. I gave her recipes but she just never got around to buying the simple ingredients required. Nothing changed in her family's diet. So, does the president's wife think that she can change such minds just because she says so? Until people want to change, it isn't going to happen.

If anything would work, education would be of more benefit. Nutrition classes in all grades might impact people. You can't make people try new foods if they don't understand them or know how to fix them. When I was in high school, they still offered home ec classes which are made fun of today. Well, we learned basics in cooking and many were inspired to take that knowledge home and try it out on their families.

When I was first married, my husband insisted on a minimum of three items on the dinner plate: protein, starch, and vegetables. When the children came along, the dinner table rule was you would get dessert if you finished your dinner. You could only leave the table if you ate your vegetables. I now have children who like most any vegetable and will snack on fruit.

Yes, I still bake cakes and cookies but I never double the recipe because we all have learned some self control. We eat what we need and then only if we are still a bit hungry, do we treat ourselves to a cookie or piece of cake. Even healthy changes happen in some of my baking  when I add more fruit, use whole wheat flour, or find a substitute for some of the fat. I didn't need anyone in Washington to tell me how to feed my family.

When we treat ourselves to a dinner out, however, we go to enjoy ourselves because why pay a lot of money for tiny portions of unseasoned food because the government says so?

As has been said for years now, it is the economy, stupid! We have bigger issues to contend with rather than having the sticky paws of the politicians making rules about what we eat.

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