Protein Update

I am famous in certain circles for not worrying about what my kids eat. And generally I don't. M, as we recall, eats everything, and E eats what she eats. But I must confess that one reason I have not worried about E has been the cheese stick. To recall some more, E eats copious amounts of wheat products, significant amounts of raw fruits and vegetables, and a popsicle every night. She also has developed a sophisticated taste for diverse sorbets, but that is not germane to this discussion. This discussion is about protein.

I am also famous in some overlapping circles for being the vegetarian who has never worried about protein (and once I was famous as the pregnant/lactating woman who did not worry about calcium, except to up my ice cream intake). I figure that between cheese and eggs and fish, all of which I eat regularly, the protein thing is covered. Plus I think Americans worry too much about protein. Not to mention what their kids eat.

Really, though, the cheese stick was pretty important to my sense of maternal efficacy. E had a cheese stick every day for lunch, along with her bagel or pasta, fruit or vegetable, and treat. Therefore, I figured, her protein needs were covered.

Then she gave up the cheese stick. And cheese. Altogether. My sense of maternal efficacy was challenged.

Which led us to the egg white. I suggested a hard-boiled egg for lunch. E said no, she did not like hard-boiled eggs. I asked why. She said she didn't like the yellow part. I said what about the white part? She said the white part was fine. So we started boiling eggs, cutting them in half, taking out the yolk, and putting the white in a little tupperware for her lunch. Yes, indeed, we did.

Then she gave up the egg white. Yes, indeed, she did. She gave it up because it had water on it. S valiantly dried the egg white before putting it in the tupperware, but still the water persisted. I was distraught, or I would have been distraught if I were the kind of person who gets distraught about what her kids eat. Which I'm not.

Then I hit on the solution. What does E eat when we go out for sushi? What did E want for her birthday dinner? Yes! Edamame! Edamame are protein! And they are close relatives of the favorite food of M and E: coldy peas! E thought edamame in her lunch was a great idea!

So I bought frozen shelled edamame, organic at that, at the expensive organic store at that, and we put the frozen shelled edamame in a tupperware, and by lunch they are melted, and E gobbles them down, and she gets her protein, and everyone is satisfied.

Phew.