What Do You Eat at Grandma's House?

Grandma's house. I have memories of roast beef with mashed potatoes and noodles (my grandma had Pennsylvania Dutch background). I have memories of non-alcoholic egg nog and a huge ham at Christmas time. And sitting around the table with a cup of coffee and a pile of Oreos to dunk in it. Hardly the healthiest fare.

Just because I have become the family "health nut" doesn't mean that everyone else shares my interest. They try to accommodate me when it comes to the kids, though. My mother will say, "Can he have some Sprite? It's the all-natural kind." Or someone will offer my child a dessert and smile at me knowingly, "Don't worry! It's sugar-free." I have found that life is just too complicated to explain that Sprite can not be natural with all chemical ingredients, and that sugar free is worse than sugar if it involves an artificial sweetener.  So I smile and say, "He'll eat whatever you serve him." (I try to make exceptions for genuine allergies...most of the time.)

Though some mothers enforce their real food policies at all times, I just want my kids to enjoy their grandparents and other family members. They don't see their grandparents every day and sometimes not even every week. If Grandma slips them an Oreo once in awhile, I won't complain. In fact, I may just pull up a chair, refill my coffee mug and grab one myself!