Happy Easter all.
As I sit enjoying some Good Friday sun, I wanted to talk to you about chocolate!!!
Why does it have such power over kids and adults alike. I’m not convinced it shouldn’t be somehow ‘restricted’ like a low level drug with special intoxicating powers. What makes things worse is that at certain times of the year, like Easter and Christmas, you turn into some kind of chocolate addict. At Easter for instance, it’s a frenzy to try and get the right egg for each member of the household. As for the new approach to make the egg a version of the chocolate bar, this just drives even more chaos - “I must have the Fruit & Nut egg” or “please could you get the Crunchie egg” or “mine’s the Malteser one please” being common demands in our house.
But in this house, I have to say that most days seem to be a chocolate day, even when the kids were young. I remember the days when our daughter used to devour those chocolate yogurt type things from Nesquik - we have a great picture of her in the high chair with one of these pretty much smeared across her face and in her hair!! Nightmare... Nowadays, that drawer in the kitchen I’ve mentioned in the “Food Fights!” Blog is full of chocolate covered goodies such as Rice Chrispie bars, chocolate mini rolls, all kind of biscuits, brunch bars and even worse the odd Snickers or Mars bar!! And as for the cupboard under the stairs, used as an extra storage or larder area, this holds the snack packs such as Minstrels, M&M’s, Maltesers, and the Cadbury’s Creme Eggs... Delicious devoured at the end of a stressful day whilst sipping a glass of wine. Not great for the diet or any post lockdown health kick but definitely delicious - isn’t it ‘the lighter way to enjoy chocolate’ anyway...
There’s no escape!!
So, does every parent have these issues or is it just us? My typical Dad comment tends to be “no, you can’t have that Cream Egg, you’ve already had a hat full of chocolate already”. But this remark will generally be greeted by my daughter with a shrug of the shoulders, one of those teenage looks and a response such as “er, I don’t think so......bye” as they ‘grab n go’. As for my son, he’ll simply say “I could definitely eat a whole box of Jaffa Cakes” as he polishes them off leaving two in the pack to, sort of, prove he’s not overdone it.
Thinking back to when the children were very small, maybe we should have totally restricted chocolate from their diets. Maybe this would have worked better in the long run. Or maybe we should have covered everything in chocolate - chocolate sprouts, chocolate carrots, chocolate cabbage...hmmmm sounds really nice!! Then again, maybe we didn’t do such a bad job - one is 6ft3ins and always asks before grabbing anything considered a treat and the other is fast catching her mum up in height and would have roast dinner every day if she could!! I think she even prefers homemade gravy to chocolate - tight competition but it might just win.
Back to the chocolate. If I’m honest, I’m probably the worst of the lot. I’m the one who recommends we “get some extra eggs in” or “could we get some mini eggs for the kids too” or it’s traditional, we have to get a few extra bits”. Mind you, my wife is no better, she's the one who would copy that advert where they cut the top off the Lindt Reindeer and fill it up with Chocolate Baileys. So, as for any chocolate egg hunt, not difficult in this house - the quantity means any quick look around provides an instant reward.
Oh well... I suppose there are worse issues to focus on than excessive chocolate eating!!
Happy Easter.
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