Warning! I’m stepping up on my soap box!
My friend Jeni at Jeni Eats recently wrote a post about being a food snob! A food snob, I am not!! (She isn’t either by the way and you can read more about that HERE) but she brings up a very important item of business that I felt so strongly about that I decided to write a post myself…well, to be honest I was commenting on her post and when I looked up after typing with a fury I had written a LARGE paragraph and thought, “someone else’s blog is not the place for my soap box!” So, here I am asking you, “Are you the food police?” “Do you have a license to judge me for what I eat and what I feed my family?” It seems that in today’s world so many people have strayed into a world of being Judgy McJudgerson! If you don’t agree with me (be it politics, religion, food choices, etc) then you’re wrong and a horrible person. Whether you are Christian, Jewish, atheist, Republican, Democrat, pro-GMO, non-GMO, vegan, pro-red meat, organic, pro-processed foods it isn’t your place to judge others who may be different than yourself. Can you disagree with them? Absolutely! Do you have to belittle them in the process and push their noses into your beliefs/positions until they give in? Absolutely not!
As a person raising kids in today’s world there are so many choices we make (smartphone vs. basic phone, whole/organic foods vs. processed foods, video games vs. playing outside, raising them in a church vs. not) that it becomes very overwhelming at times. Lately though there have been a variety of people in my life (close friends and family as well as acquaintances) who have said and done things, made comments, etc. that have made me feel like a TERRIBLE parent! They’ve made me feel this way all by judging me and what foods I feed myself, T, and my step-sons.
What do my boys eat? They eat pizza rolls, hot pockets, & frozen pizzas. They love my homemade (yes, from scratch..my moms recipe) spaghetti sauce & meatloaf served with garden grown green beans that I froze myself. They 
love chips & dip, candy, brownies and ice cream. They eat only farm fresh eggs (and by that I mean produced on my dad’s farm from one of his lovely 15 hens), they eat beef that has only been purchased directly from a farmer we know personally and know how they care for their animals, and they eat chicken that was also grown on my dad’s farm. They eat chocolate Pop-Tarts for breakfast and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white bread (that I bought at the grocery store) for lunch. They love mashed potatoes made with potatoes from either ours or my dad’s garden and all corn eaten in our house was raised on a farm and frozen by hand by yours truly (T helps with this). They drink milk and Powerade, no soda at our house. So, what do my boys eat? Essentially everything…all types, kinds, versions of food! And guess what? They are healthy, happy, growing-like-weeds boys! They haven’t lost a limb, they haven’t developed a 3rd eye, and aren’t suffering from malnutrition.
What I know is that I’m teaching them moderation and variety. Try new foods, stick to things you like. Eat vegetables and fruit, but enjoy your Velveeta! Life in general, is all about balance just as much as our food choices!
Raising kids is hard enough without having to worry about what others think about the food choices for my family! Be kind to one another! Don’t judge! Instead, support one another and provide encouragement to each other! Because I don’t know about you, but figuring this thing called life and parenting out…well, it’s just all Learning As I Go!
Steps down off soap box!
Searching for the Amen button! Food choice is a beautiful thing, to each their own.
Isn’t it amazing how some people choose to make others feel bad for their choices, though? Sad!
My boys ate spaghetti O’s (straight from the can, no warming up), mac n cheese, and hot pockets when they were young. Neither of them would touch those foods now. Well maybe REAL mac n cheese but back then it was the orange Kraft stuff. We all try to eat healthier today but we ate then didn’t kill us. They both turned out to be great cooks, too.
That’s awesome Laura! I have to admit that I still love that Orange Mac & Cheese…but I also love asparagus and broccoli and eat more of that than the junk!
Oops, word missing—“WHAT” we ate then didn’t kill us.
I love this, Katy! You nailed it! Tonight for supper Jude ate white pasta topped with sauce from a jar, organic sweet potatoes, Hy Vee brand canned peaches and pears, and home grown frozen squash. I am a walking contradiction. Welcome to motherhood, am I right?!! 🙂
Amen! Some days I throw the hot pocket at them because I’m exhausted and don’t have time to make them a three course meal with whole organic foods! It doesn’t mean I don’t love them less, so yes…that is motherhood!
I 100% agree with this! Think of all the processed foods we all ate as kids, and we turned out just fine!
Absolutely!
This is great Katy!! Well said. You have to do what works for your family at the time! Here’s what we have had this week…Spaghetti O’s, Mac and cheese, hot dogs and frozen pizza. Oh and L likes hot dogs for breakfast. Not the best week for meals but it is what it is and it doesn’t happen every week.
Thank you! And you’re right…some time it just is what it is! And, just like with everything else in life its all about moderation! Next week may all be home cooked meals and it may not! Our kids are well nourished and cared for! That’s what counts!
Great post Katy! I am happy we have food choices living in America and I feel privileged to be apart of the food production chain.
I agree! And thank you for everything you and your family does for us all!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Moderation is a good thing:)
I love that we do have different likes and dislikes as a society rather than everyone being the same. I totally agree that we should treat each other in kindness rather than judging differences of opinions 🙂
Great post! Many are the Food Police and don’t even realize it. Often times the first comment I get on a picture of a soybean or corn field is, “Are those GMO’s”? Really? Can’t we all be nice and get along? AWESME POST!!!!!!!
Well said! I hate that I sometimes feel I have to police myself as far as sharing what we do or don’t eat to avoid criticism. Or that there are people who will take what we do or don’t eat as a criticism of what they do or don’t eat.
Thank you! Yes! The great thing about where we live is choices and we all need to remember that we get to choose and whatever we choose is our freedom!
Judgy McJudgerson!!! That seriously made me laugh out loud. You make very good points as everyone else has stated. I agree that I have not always eaten well or fed my boys the most healthy options but I think we all came out okay. Moderation is key and everyone has the right to eat what they want to eat—no judgments. Great post!
Thank you! I’m all about moderation in all aspects of life.