Hi! I am a father of two, and a husband of one. I am here to write about kids and their eating habits, eating schedules, eating tantrums, eating tears, eating bribes and everything else related to eating.

So why is a father writing this? Why can’t a mother with some feeding experience write? Fair enough. To begin with, kids and eating is mom’s territory. Mostly. I am not trying to stereotype. I just think it is. It’s always the mom who takes care of the menu. And in my case, it’s not any different too. It’s the mommy who decides. And I am the one who frets. I am a classic back seat driver. Did they eat on time? Are they eating the right things? Is it hygienic? Was it refrigerated? I can just go on and on, literally fry my wife’s brain, and then eat it too.

So yeah! The way I fret, and the research that happens after that, qualifies me to write, I guess. So here we go.

It was different for our generation and the generations before us. Our folks had it simple? They would make the dish and then ask, “Will you eat?” It was a multiple-choice question. We could choose Yes or No. A “NO” would then probably meet a cold stare, a verbal threat or a long cane and then magically turn into YES.
Today, it’s about Kids VS Carbs, Proteins, Calories, Saturated fat, saturated parents. And then you have GMOs, MDMs, gluten, lactose, preservatives, more preservatives, colours, sugar, etc.

It’s no easy task. Now you know why I fret.

Anyway, this first blog of exquisite writing and cutting edge insights was all about establishing my credentials, or lack thereof. The next blog will be about MDM. What’s MDM? Well it’s an unpleasant truth that’s there in your food. Something that will make you fret.

That’s all from the fretty father, for now! See you around.

I am back, and so are school days. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. is back. ‘What will I put in my kids’ lunch box?’ is back. The way I see it, the “Back to Back” challenges are back. And because of all this, the headache is back.

So what’s the biggest headache?

What will my kids eat? The bus comes at 6:30 a.m. So what should they eat? Or should they eat at all so early in the morning? What should they eat for the first break? What should they eat for lunch? They don’t eat what they should eat. And I don’t want them to eat what they want to eat. So what should they eat? Confusing, right? You bet!

Now, every day has become a power struggle!

What my kids should eat comes back uneaten (if that’s even a word). And then because they have to eat something, my better half and me succumb to their demands and give them something to eat, knowing very well it’s not good for them. Having done that, I start questioning my parenting skills. I feel guilty, slightly depressed that I am not being a good parent. And when I am depressed I eat. And I eat what I should not eat.

In short, my kids drive me to eat what I should not eat. Do you get the irony of this all?

So what next?

I don’t know. I am still experimenting. But I need help. I need you readers out there to share if anything works for you – what you make, how you make it and how you convince your kids to eat it. And by anything, I mean anything. Of course, one can Google it out, but then one tends to trust someone who is sharing a personal experience.

So yeah, HELP! Fretty Father’s fretting. Hopefully I get to see some authentic, healthy, easy to make recipes in the comments section below. I just want to see my kids eat and eat the right things. Remember, you would not just be helping me, you’ll also be helping the fellow readers.

That’s all for today. And as I always do, I’ll be back soon with one of my other frets. Till then, live it up and say no to MDM.

Hi. I am back. So what’s my fret today? Homework, by far my favorite fret. There’s something about homework that really ticks me off. 

It all started with a conversation that I had with one of my kids’ teachers. I was very politely told, “You should not bring office work home. Finish everything at work, go home, and spend some quality time with your kids.” 

So like a good parent, I stopped bringing work home. But then when I reached home I’d see my kid doing homework! Wow, can you believe that? Don’t bring work home. Agreed. But what about homework? Shouldn’t the same apply? 

Homework just wrecks my weekend. One of my kids gets homework on Thursdays. That means my Friday and Saturday family time with the kids has gone for a toss. This is how it pans out. Friday is movie time. Just while I am beginning to enjoy the movie, the thought of homework will make a cameo appearance and remind me that we need to get back and do the homework. There goes my peace of mind and the movie. I go out with the kids to the park, and the stress of homework follows me, ensuring that I compromise on my fun time so that I can rush back home and get the kids going with the homework. Of course, the intelligent guy that I am, I have also tried  to finish off the homework first and go about living up our Fridays and Saturdays. But then this is what happens. We make a “Mission Homework” plan, assign schedules, responsibilities and timelines. Now they are kids. So things don’t exactly pan out the way we want. Little distractions, “Mom, I’m hungry”, “I am tired”, “Can I take a break?” situations happen. And what do we do? We just watch helplessly as the clock ticks by. We see our precious Friday time tick by. Bye-bye, Friday, and we are still not done with the homework. Time with kids still not done. Saturday creeps in and it’s time for homework all over again Aaaargh!

My question is: Why do they need homework in the first place? If I shouldn’t be bringing work home, why should they? Why can’t we change homework to “After School” work? Why can’t the kids sit the extra hour in the class and do the assignment, in the presence of the teachers. The way I see it, one teacher supervising the homework will free up approximately 28 parents. Now, imagine the whole school freeing up parents. Just thinking of this puts a smile on my face. Now, let’s talk quality time with kids.

Am I just rambling? Is my imagination just running wild? Do you all even agree with me? If yes, let me know by writing a Yes in the comments section of the blog. That way I know I’m not the only one fretting. Having said that, I am done for now. I’ll be back soon. Till then, live healthy and say NO to MDM. 

It is a given that in today’s economically unstable world many corners will be cut. And since MDM is processed and used in products consumers don’t necessarily expect to look like actual meat, you’ll never know whether what you’re eating contains something it shouldn’t. After all, it usually boils down to cost vs. healthy foods to eat.

Which should not be the case – ever. Bite into a Freshly Foods No MDM Chicken Nugget or No MDM Chicken Sausage and you will know the difference between real meat and MDM. Because your health and safety will always be a bigger priority. So yes, we may not be able to stop the use of MDM everywhere, but you can rest assured that Freshly Foods products will always be there as a tasty, convenient and healthy meal option.