weapons of massdistraction

I’d like to point the finger at The Backyardigans, but really, I only have myself to blame. My first mistake? Last week I let the little man pick out a DVD of theirs at the library. He is enthralled. Second? For the past two years he has spoken in reverential tones…of the non-vegan food products his classmates bring to school. There are no vegan-friendly Lunchables, but if there were I’d still be concerned about them being crappy pre-processed junk. I may not be up to Vegan Lunch Box standards, but I still try to make the lad a fairly healthy lunch every day. Organic PB&J on whole wheat, servings of fresh fruit and/or vegetables, maybe some soy yogurt, pretzel sticks, various crackers, etc. But lately he’s been obsessed with the character-shaped “fruit” snacks he sees at school. Yesterday I was shopping at a Super Target. A box of Backyardigans fruit snacks caught my eye. In a moment of weakness I picked it up and read the back. The ingredients happened to be vegan. But they’re also total crap. Mostly high fructose corn syrup. I explicitly told the little man they aren’t for every day, that they’re only a sometimes food. He immediately began trying to negotiate with me, laying out which days of the week he could have this special treat in his lunch. Then this morning…he was so excited by the prospect of having this “cool” snack to take to school that he came into my room at 3:46am. He was fully dressed for the day. I insisted he return to bed, but that only lasted for an hour or so.

Update: Turns out the boy has come down with a crappy cold, which might be part of the reason he woke up at such an odd hour. He’s got another theory though. He’s blaming his cold on the cauliflower and carrots I packed in his lunch bag (right alongside the crappy fruit snacks). I can’t win.

Bonus: Been listening to New Young Pony Club. Sometimes I like the electropop. And it’s excellent Monday morning music (via flickr).