One of the ways I give myself a little "pat on the back" as a "good mother" is by packing my kids' lunchboxes with fresh fruit every day. It feels like the responsible parenting thing to do, you know? All those nice little vitamins and minerals, there's nothing better than fresh fruit. And veggies. But neither will eat those raw. But that's another story. Moving on!
So: fresh fruit! Go mom!
But here's the thing: sometimes, due to time restraints or picky appetites or whatever, the fruit doesn't get eaten. And then by the time it comes home, the nicely cut and washed fruit is often gross and mushy (and, in the case of a hot day and washed raspberries, already molding, I kid you not) and then it's either eaten (by me. on occasion. because God knows the kids won't touch it) or thrown out. And I hate wasting the food.
Enter: the canned fruit, single serving. This has always seemed to me to be such a cop out on lunch. I mean, it requires no effort, it must be, right? REAL mothers cut their childrens' fruit each morning! Not this canned stuff! But survey says that canned fruit is very nearly as nutritionally sound as fresh -- sometimes moreso in winter because the canned stuff is packed when it's at its freshest. And I buy the kind packed in water, not with extra sugar, so that one main concern is negated. And -- what's more -- if the kid in question doesn't get around to eating the fruit, I can just pack it again the next day, no problem at all. No more food wastage! YAY! I mean, that alone is worth a lot of cut fruit, am I right? The added expense of canned fruit is kinda offset through the amount less wasted, I would think.
I really need to get over this mindset, you know? The food is every bit as nutritious, and I don't waste precious time in the morning cutting fruit that I end up throwing away that night. It's a GREAT solution.
(NO, don't talk to me about single serving packages and the environment. It's bad, I know.)
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