Finding a better cookie.

Cookies are made of butter and love.  ~Norwegian Proverb

The above proverb may be true, but it’s not what started today’s mother-daughter spat. It all started over the on-going battle over my son’s nutrition. More specifically, my mother’s feeling that I am too strict on what my son can and cannot eat.

Let me get a few things out of the way first. I love my mother very much. She and my father have opened their home to us for a year while the Politician is in Spain pursuing his Master’s degree. I adore the relationship she and my father have, and I will be one blessed woman to have a husband who adores me and stands by me as my father has done for my mother. My  mom and I don’t always see eye to eye, but we find our ways to make each other happy.

Today was not one of those days for me, though. In fact, I struggled to find common ground today on a topic that I am finding more and more important each day where my son is concerned. That topic is nutrition. There are certain things that I don’t want my son to eat, consume, or drink, period. Alcohol, for example, would be something that I don’t want him to drink (duh). Thank God that is something that we don’t have do debate about. Some of the other things I am not a huge fan of are as follows:

1. Caffeine products: As far as I know, A has never had a soda product with caffeine in it. I try to limit caffeine free soda consumption to a couple of times a month. I would prefer if he didn’t consume it at all, but I realize that’s probably not going to be an obtainable goal.
2. Artificial Sweeteners: Um, just plain old yuck. I have never wanted A to have them, and now my neurologist has started getting me off of them as part of my migraine trigger ID plan.
3. Red No. 40: Just creeps me out. Sure, there are conflicting studies out there. Just like there are for vaccines. I would generally prefer to color my food with natural coloring rather than something that is artificial, bottom line.
4. Added sugar, in any form: This includes corn syrup, extra sugar, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, etc. This will come up in just a few minutes down below…..

In general, I prefer that my son eats organic items as much as possible, but I also understand that it is generally a bit more expensive to eat organic in Poplarville, Mississippi. That being said, it is worth it to me. This lead to a GREAT BIG SHOWDOWN today in Walmart.

Mom and I decided to do a little pre-birthday party shopping. I realize that I am going to have to serve about 35 people on a limited budget, so I am going to serve something that is kid friendly and not exactly the healthiest: pizza. I also plan to have a couple of veggie and fruit trays. The debate came up from the choice of BEVERAGE. As of late, Mom has kept a stock of Kool-Aid Jammers in the fridge, so she tried to convince me to buy them for the party, which I refuse to do.  I try to keep A out of them at home here in Mississippi.  We don’t have Kool-Aid in the house in Mexico. In fact, A only drinks milk, natural water, or water with fruit essence while in Mexico. He may have juice or Sprite once or twice a month.  If I had to buy a pre-boxed drink, without doing much research, I would have thought of Capri-Sun, based on some previous knowledge of the product. I know that at some point they did have less additives such as dyes and preservatives, but and equitable amount of HFCS. In the end, they probably wouldn’t be my ideal choice. I would prefer to make some sort of orange or lemonade with real sugar (no a lot, mind you), but I will have to investigate this before the party. Frankly I am ticked about my mother’s lack of support in the nutrition department. I feel that she should do a whole lot more to support me where my son’s nutrition is concerned. He is too young to be about to look out for what he puts in his body, so it is my job to do that for him. His body should be seen as a temple.

This brings us to the cookies.

 I could go on about the cookies in a humorous manner, because my father has used them to motivate two children and three grandchildren through numerous life events. I am tired, though, and I was tired in Walmart when my Mom decided to jab me one more time with the nutrition issue and basically call me a hypocrite; I am picky about what I let Alex eat and drink, but I allow my father to give Alex a cookie every day. One cookie, mind you. It is usually something like Chips Ahoy, but after today, I have committed myself to it being a better cookie. I have a plethora of recipes from my grandmother that I can modify with wholesome flours and flaxseed and chia. In the meantime, I bought a “better” cookie. Here is a picture. Alex, bless it, ate one s,