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Monday, April 18, 2011

Top Ramen





So a few weeks ago I was helping my son’s Cub Scout pack get ready for the upcoming camp-out.

The comment that one parent said to me I really didn’t believe at first. I’ll have to admit that I gave him a deer in headlights look for at least 10 seconds.

This is what he said to me: “My son only eats Ramen Noodles”.

No kidding.

So let’s fast forward a few weeks and it was time for the camp-out. Sure enough when everybody else was eating this little boy was running around playing. After the meals his father fed him his Ramen Noodles. Yeah, I’m not joking.

This little boy is about 6 years old and looks to weight about 35 lbs. He makes most kids look like Hulk Hogan. Man his guns were like 2 inches around. He was a tiny, tiny kid. Well, if you only eat Ramen noodles I can see how THAT would happen.

Before I go on let me remind you all of something. We eat why? Why do we chew and swallow? Really. It’s a serious question. Do we do it because we enjoy eating and we like what we eat? For most people that is the answer. For kids it’s almost ALWAYS the answer.

That is not, however, why we eat. We eat to nourish. We eat to survive. We eat to grow and develop. We eat to live. Eating for the pure pleasure of it is selfish. Kids do it because they don’t know any better. Parents feed them this way because sometimes they don’t know any better either.

OK, let’s see exactly what this little be is being fed three meals per day.


NOODLE

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following: Canola Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Palm Oil)
Salt
Sodium Tripolyphosphate
Potassium Carbonate
Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Alginate
Chili
Paprika
Tocopherols
T-BHQ

SOUP BASE (Picante Beef)

Salt
Hydrolyzed Soy
Corn & Wheat Protein
Monosodium Glutamate
Soy Sauce Powder (Wheat, Soybean, Maltodextrin, Salt)
Chili & Other Spices
Caramel Color
Autolyzed Yeast Extract
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Dehydrated Cliantro
Beef Powder
Beef Fat
Disodium Guanylate
Disodium Inosinate
Dehydrated Leek
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
Sugar.

Uhhhhhh…. I don’t even know where to begin on this list of chemicals. It’s ridiculous. Dehydrated Leek?? Really?? WTF is that?

Beef power and beef fat? Why not just use, I don’t know, BEEF!!?? I don’t know either.

Other spices?? Why not name them?

This article isn’t about the ingredient list of Ramen Noodles. That would be fun and all. I’m sure you’d never let your kid eat them again when you found out the effects of MSG on a little boys brain.

My subject matter today is more along the lines of the choices we make for our children.

Why would you allow your child to eat one thing and one thing only? Never mind the fact that one thing is VERY unhealthy and will totally damage this young boys body. Why would you do that to your kid?

I had a dentist friend years ago that used to yell at parents that brought kids in with nasty teeth. He said it was child abuse not to brush your kid’s teeth a couple of times per day. I think this is the same thing. Kids don’t want to brush their teeth and they don’t like certain foods. It’s because they don’t know better. Kids actually think that they eat because it’s fun and it is for enjoyment. It is OUR JOB to teach them that this is not the case.

It drives me crazy.

Should we make our kids eat brussel sprouts every meal? Not a chance. Should we make them suffer with foods they hate? No again. But should we allow our kids to go through life simple eating one food because they REALLY like it. What if we allowed our kids to run around naked because they didn’t like cloths? What if we let a 6 year old drink beer or do crack? Same thing here; same EXACT thing.

So I say this to all of you. Be a parent. Show your kids what is right from wrong. Don’t let them hit and don’t let them walk around naked. Teach them that drugs are bad and that smoking is stupid. For the love of God PLEASE teach them they what they eat is the most important of all these things. If they only like Ramen Noodles then let them have Ramen Noodles after 3 bites of broccoli. Next time make it 4 then 5 and so on….

Do they like chocolate cake? Tuesday nights let them have chocolate cake. Start weaning them off the crap and start making them eat good things. Going without dinner or lunch a couple of times will help them to learn.

By the way, I do believe that it is a mistake to reward a kid with sweets. BUT sometimes when they are addicted and so used to them it is the only way to wean. EVENTUALLY they forget. It’s alright to have Ramen Noodles every so often.

I went to college…I ate my share of Ramen.

PLEASE understand the point of this article.

The point is this: It is your responsibility to educate your child about eating right. If you don’t do it then guess what…someone else will. Who is that?

Sit down with them and watch their TV shows for an hour. Watch the commercials. Do you see broccoli advertised?? No, you do not….

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