Gummy Bears and Green Pancakes: From Takeout Dinners to Homemade Yogurt and Kids Who Ask for Sugar-Free Treats
Before we had kids, my husband and I were elite-level restaurant regulars — so much so that our stove probably thought it had been retired. My version of home-cooked meals consisted of boiling pasta (barely) and sometimes even managing not to burn rice. It was a time of simplicity, sodium, and seamless food delivery apps.
But then came the girls — Gemma and Jules — and with them, a total culinary plot twist.
These two little humans have grown up on a menu that could rival any clean-eating wellness retreat. Think oatmeal and spinach pancakes for breakfast (yes, they’re green and yes, the girls still eat them), ground turkey with vegetables and basmati rice for lunch, and salmon with broccoli and potatoes for dinner.
Snacks? Homemade muffins (sugar-free, naturally) and Greek yogurt that I literally culture myself like a 19th-century homesteader.
Oh, and let’s not forget the Greek snack trifecta: feta cheese, cucumbers, and pita — aka, toddler charcuterie.
Now, when we travel, we try to stick to the golden 80/20 rule. Eighty percent real food, twenty percent “OK fine, we’ll just eat out.” And recently, during one of those 20% moments, something magical happened.
We were at a supermarket, hangry and hovering dangerously close to meltdown territory. I was clutching a pack of salmon like it was the last filet on Earth when we entered the checkout line — a.k.a. the Bermuda Triangle of parental resolve.
There it was: a bag of gummy bears.
Like a hawk spotting a field mouse, Gemma swooped in and grabbed it. My husband and I froze. We knew she was hungry. We also knew what happens to toddlers when they’re hungry. It’s not cute.
But then... she looked up at us, held the bag and said:
“Mom, we don’t eat these because they have too much sugar. But can you make me some, please?”
Insert dramatic slow clap here.
In that moment, every doubt, every “are we doing this right?” moment disappeared. She got it. Our green pancake-eating, sugar-dodging, feta-snacking 4-year-old understood. She didn’t want a lecture, she just wanted me to make her gummy bears — her way.
So yeah, we have nothing against homemade Elderberry honey-sweetened gummy bears. But the bright red, dye-loaded sugar bombs? That’s a hard pass in our house.
To any parent wondering if all the work is worth it — it is. It’s hard and it’s weird (spinach pancakes, really?) but it pays off in the most unexpected, wonderful ways.
And if you’re looking for some inspiration, recipe swaps, or just want to hear how I make yogurt without burning it — reach out! I promise to share all the good stuff, and maybe even a gummy bear recipe or two.
In the meantime, we’ll keep cooking, keep laughing, and keep raising our little foodies one green pancake at a time.
Quote of the Day by Gemma:
“If you put broccoli in a muffin, it’s still a muffin... right?”
Spoken like a true health-food negotiator.
Love, Gemma and Jules’s mom