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Nu t s Abo u t Nu t r i t i on
MOMMY BLOGGER
LARA BALDWIN
BLOGGER
If you’re blissfully unaware of the madness of
our generation, let me educate you: gluten is
bad. Dairy is frowned upon (both are banned
from my son’s preschool classroom).
Sugar is a no-no. If there’s anything worse
than sugar, it’s artificial sweetener. And
don’t even say the words high fructose
corn syrup, artificial food dyes, or partially
hydrogenated.
Make no mistake, this has affected our
shopping habits in ways I’m certain are
uniquely millennial.
We have to be allergen-
conscious.
According to the
CDC, food allergies among children
increased by approximately 50 percent
between 1997 and 2011 and is only growing.
Many schools are now nut-free. Milk, eggs,
wheat, and soy are other hot-button areas of
concern as varying levels of intolerance affect
policies not just at school but also for sports,
camps, and playdate etiquette. I can sleuth
out a precautionary allergen label faster than
you can say liability lawsuit.
We don’t buy soda.
I grew up
with parents that wholeheartedly
believed lemon-lime soda could fix
any ailment, from a headache to a broken
heart. Drinking soda wasn’t just allowed;
it was encouraged. Our fridge, and that of
my friends and grandparents, were always
stocked with a buffet of soda options. My
kids? They don’t know what soda is.
Instead, there’s another bubbly
beverage that has taken soda’s
place: seltzer water.
The calorie-
free, sugar-free, sodium-free, artificial
sweetener-free magic has assumed saintly
status, with steadily climbing sales. The same
moms who would never dream of letting
their kids drink a cola will derail group
discussions at book club to salivate over the
newly released flavors from their favorite
brand of seltzer.
We are suckers for
organic
and
local
.
Just slap an organic label
on that lollipop and my mom-guilt is
slightly lessened.
We visit multiple stores.
While my mom is still loyal to the
local market we stopped in almost
daily growing up, my approach is much
more fragmented. I visit the bulk grocery
store once a month, buy my fish and produce
each week from another, and get all my kids’
favorite snacks at yet another store. A highly
scientific survey conducted on my Facebook
page confirms that I am not alone – we need
very specific products and we are willing to
be highly inconvenienced to get them.
The modern obsession with nutrition
has been both a blessing and a burden
for parents. We’re looking for a particular
combination of quality and value that meets
precise nutritional profiles, and that pressure
has been passed on to retailers to meet these
diverse demands.
■
Today’s parents are under pressure to be more
nutrition-conscious than ever.
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