A future chocoholic

When I was a little kid, my mother brainwashed me into thinking I didn't like chocolate. Every time someone offered the luscious fruit of the cacao tree, I would wave it away and say something like, "No thanks. I don't like that. I'd much rather munch on this delicious carrot."

The truth is, I'd never tasted chocolate. Big E told me I didn't like it, and I believed her. She claims that she manufactured the lie to promote healthy eating habits, but I know better. My mother told me I didn't like chocolate so that she would never have to share her treats with me.

Because Big E is addicted to all things sweet.

And I mean, wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-to-eat-a-cupful-of-sugar-in-the-raw-and-a-pack-of-Starbursts-mixed-with-Oreos-chased-by-an-entire-pint-of-Häagen-Dazs-chocolate-ice-cream-covered-in-syrup addicted. She needs help.

Since the days of my deprived childhood, I've come to appreciate the taste of Godiva, however, I'd much rather eat a piece of fried chicken than a brownie. I've learned to like sweets in moderation* and would never, for example, purposely give myself an extra shot of insulin to make my blood sugar low just so that I can suck sweet and condensed milk out of a can like a certain diabetic someone who shall remain unnamed.

Anyway...

Now that I'm a mother of a baby who eats solid food everyday, I want to make sure that Luki has a balanced diet. I started off pureeing different vegetables like squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes for him, and he was eating them with gusto...that is, until he discovered the natural sugars in fruit. Now, the kid cries and spits out his vegetables, but is always willing to have some banana.

At the suggestion of friends and relatives, I've tried to confuse him by feeding him a spoonful of fruit followed by one of veggies, but no dice. He's all, "Lady I may still crap my pants, but I'm not stupid", and turns his face away every time he sees it's squash puree.

So, much like Big E, but for totally legitimate reasons, I think I'm going to have to lie to my kid, because if he discovers the magic of chocolate, he won't ever want to put anything else his mouth again. Well, unless we're talking about sweet and condensed milk.

*Except when I was pregnant. When I was pregnant, I had butter pecan ice cream and Cuban Dulce de Leche (not to be confused with Argentinian Dulce de Leche) for breakfast lunch and dinner. But I'm sure that the industrial quantities of sugar that passed through the placenta have nothing to do with Luki's sweet tooth. He totally inherited it from my mom.