Unagi? Manchego? These kids are game

My husband and I love food. We love growing it, cooking it, shopping for it, watching it on TV (well, watching the chefs). We travel based on what delicacies we can sample. We once drove to Quechee, Vt., just to dine at The Simon Pearce Mill. The calamari salad there has made its way into our family's culinary lore.

Our children have become miniature foodies by cultural osmosis. Their palates are vast, and their taste can be, well, expensive. I'm certain I never asked for Manchego cheese by name when I was four. And I bet my parents didn't take us out for sushi either. Most preschoolers don't eat unagi. Many adults don't for that matter.

And so my sons, ages six and four, have words like high fructose corn syrup, nitrite, MSG, trans fat, and sodium in their vernacular. We talk about how our choices affect how our food tastes, how healthy our meals are, and most importantly, the planet. Sure, we eat our share of processed packaged junk on occasion, but the kids know it's a treat. We stick to fresh foods and eat three home cooked squares a day. It's a fine plan...until my kid comments in the school cafeteria that his classmate's Lunchable is "junk." Clearly I gotta work on tact. But secretly, I'm one proud mama.