What is it about kids and ketchup? I recently learned that Baskin Robbins once tested a Ketchup flavored ice cream. I guess it didn’t go over so well, but I bet if it had been left to three year olds it would have made it to the stores. Even as an adult I admit to being a ketchup lover. A serving of french fries just isn’t the same without a big puddle of the red stuff to dip them in. But according to my older brothers I was an even more avid fan of this much loved condiment as a child, they love to recall stories of me pouring it in my milk to make my own special version of “pink milk”, and even I remember spreading it on bread for a snack. Yes, just in case you were wondering I have long since outgrown these unappetizing habits, but it seems my three year old is headed down mommy’s path.
A recent trip to walmart lasted longer than expected (what trip to walmart doesn’t) and since it was after lunch time, I took my daughter into McDonald’s for a happy meal, something I don’t feel quite so guilty doing since they now offer milk and apples instead of just fries and soda. As we are enjoying our lunch I started to notice that not only were the chicken nuggets going through the ketchup before heading down the trap, but so were the apples. The Apples!!!!! Yuck. As I saw this I tried to hide my total disgust in an attempt to avoid giving her some sort of complex which would result in hours of therapy years from now (I can just imagine her coming to me at some point telling me that the reason she can’t get into Cornell being due to a self esteem issues that stemmed from this moment). Ever since then, if we are eating something dipable (is that even a word), she asks for ketchup. I started to notice to notice her wiping any remaining ketchup on her place up with her finger and licking them clean. Today it rose to a new level. After eating a well balanced lunch, she was left with an empty place except for a puddle of ketchup in the middle. I guess she thought it was time to skip the middle man and go straight to the source, because she skipped the finger step all together and started licking the plate. Wow.
I try very hard to adhere to the “pick your battles” rule, and so I’ve decided to just let this run it’s course. Besides ketchup is full of lycopene and it’s good to know that in an emergency situation she could happily survive on ketchup packets alone for at least a solid week.
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