Am I Too Young – Or Too Old – To Eat That?

While attending a recent weeklong convention out of town, restaurant menus became a major source of reading material for me. As such, I was reminded about age-specific foods that our society seems to dictate. In other words, there’s a kids’ menu and a regular menu at many eateries. There are also other foods you’ll find throughout the grocery store that seem to fall under different categories as being more acceptable for youngsters to eat and those that adults primarily consume. Here are some examples:

FOODS FOR KIDS

• Lunchables
• Macaroni and cheese
• Chicken or fish fingers
• Cheese pizza
• Hot dogs
• Happy Meals
• String cheese
• Lucky Charms
• Eggos
• Pop Tarts
• Cocoa Puffs
• Hamburgers
• French fries
• - Mozzarella sticks

FOODS FOR ADULTS

• Salmon
• Supreme pizza
• Filet mignon
•  Eggplant parmesan
• Caviar
• Vegetarian lasagna
• Squash
• Wild rice
• Avocados
• Fiber One cereal
• Ensure
• Bananas Foster
• French onion soup

- Tiramisu

Our society certainly defines lots of things. But why should we let it define the foods we consume in our daily diets? If I were a 10-year-old kid, why couldn’t I enjoy a healthy serving of salmon with lemon butter? Or, as an adult, why can’t I go a little crazy on a bowl of Lucky Charms soaked in chocolate milk? Yes, I’ve always been somewhat of a picky eater. However, it kind of irks me when someone grabs something out of the fridge that is not necessarily catered to them in terms of marketing or, perhaps more importantly, in terms of how society thinks people should consume certain food items based on a birth certificate. I can assure you that any food manufacturer does not care who is purchasing their delicious delectable.