Kids and characters

Last week while in the cereal isle (also with granola bars, Pop Tarts, and other such 'breakfast bars) I had a heated argument with the kids. You see, the Betty Crocker fruit snacks were on sale for $1.66/box while the Kelloggs fruit snacks were $2.00/box. To set the mood, I would like you to picture about 30-40 different fruit snack varieties, each with a different theme such as Superman, Hello Kitty, Cinderella, Dora the Explorer, etc. etc. etc. First of all-- why in the world are fruit snacks called fruit snacks-- they do not come close to resembling fruit, nor are they snacks-- lets get down to it: they are candy in disguise parading themselves in colorful, character-laced boxes.

If you haven't yet guessed the argument I was having, I will inform you: Eliza wanted a "girly flavor", while Davis insisted on a "boyly" (quote) variety. After I broke down and told them I would get each of them a box, I realized I had yet one more hurdle to jump. Eliza wanted the Strawberry Shortcake (Kelloggs, of course) while Davis wanted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also Kelloggs). I tried every logical argument with them-- "Well, you know you when you eat the snacks, they turn into one big mush in your tummy anyway, so it doesn't matter if its a turtle or a block of Kryptonite (Superman fruit snacks)" "You guys don't even pay attention to what you are eating anyway!" "Oh look, they've got Little Einsteins. . . " Finally, I sacrificed the 33 cents (apiece) and just bought the Kelloggs brand. Anything it takes to avoid a real scene in the grocery store, right?

As I've been pondering this little grocery store moment, I actually think the marketers for kids foods have got a good thing going. Why don't they put pictures of Patrick Dempsey on the broccoli and carrots? Better yet, every package of oreos would come with an approval from Roseanne Barr. Oooh, I'd be eating more fiber cereal if they had a slimming mirror on the box, wouldn't you?

life's little mysteries

Do any of you remember that scene in "Father of the Bride" when the father, Mr. Banks has a nervous breakdown? During his grocery store visit he goes nuts because he is trying to buy hot dogs and can't figure out why the buns are sold in a greater quantity than the dogs. He opens the bag of buns, removes two, and tells the store manager that he is removing the "superfluous buns." This incident lands him in jail overnight.

I had one of those moments today at the grocery store. Our family has switched to ground turkey because it has less saturated fat, and I can't really tell a difference (except in hamburgers, where the extra fat is needed to keep the meat together). The only brand of ground turkey my store carries is Jennie-O. The catch: the Jennie-O ground hamburger ONLY comes in quantities of 1.2 pounds, but every recipe I know of calls for 1 pound of ground burger. What am I supposed to do with a 0.2 lb (4 ounce) piece of burger? I've considered cutting off the extra and freezing it until I accumulate 1 pound, but I always end up plopping the whole "loaf" into the pan cause I'm in a hurry (and probably lazy). So my masterpiece always ends up a little meat-heavy. I think it is a conspiracy by the folks at Jennie-O to force me to buy more meat than I need. Oh, the injustices of life. . . . .