Crack Pretzels

Okay, so I spent a little time at home in Ohio with my parents, and niece and nephews and got a little off track...I don't know how people with kids manage to watch their carbs! We try to limit the sugary snacks and, of course, no soda or sports drinks, but it still creeps up on you...food left uneaten on the plate (you're not going to throw that away are you?), the ubiquitous pretzel snack (what kind of a devil-person brings peanut butter stuffed pretzel bites into a house?? Don't you know those things are like crack?!), and of course, a little fast food (oh what the heck, at this point I'll wrestle you for the bun). At 8, 10 &10, these kids are just starting to really learn about food choices, and it's interesting to watch. One loves the little cups of mandarin oranges, but when she's finished with the oranges, drinks the "best part"...the "juice", otherwise known as high fructose corn syrup these things are packed in. Someone get that kid an actual orange! I realize how hard it is for kids to learn about nutrition, what with their cartoon network channels crammed with commercials for fast food and sugary snacks and drinks, but they do like wholesome good food in the absence of other bad choices...........ah ha! Just like me, they do fine unless the bad food options are omnipresent. So why do we bring the stuff into the house? I don't have crack pretzels at my place, so I usually crave those microwave greenbeans dipped in ranch dressing. What if, as responsible adults, we simply didn't make the excuses and refused to buy this garbage? Having grapes and fresh cut fruit readily on the counter when the kids want a snack, instead of the big tub of pretzels and a couple bags of chips makes the decision easy...and they don't ask for anything else. I know, life is full of temptation and hard decisions, and there will always be the equivilent of peanut butter filled pretzels around to lead us astray...but can't we just admit we're human and capable of taking the path we know is wrong, and make it easier on ourselves by not throwing those detours in the middle of our perfectly good path? Grandma, get rid of the crack pretzels...as for me, I'm back on induction.