A half-gallon of good wine for me, ramen noodles for the kids

[theHandpuppet]

At least that's what floored me at the grocery this morning. That's what the smartly-dressed woman behind me in the checkout line quipped when someone she apparently knew made a comment about the contents of her cart, which consisted of a few costly "adult" treats like gourmet cheeses, a hefty half-gallon of good wine she gripped in one hand as if her life depended on it, and the remaining bulk a teeming mound of ramen noodles, boxed pizzas and cups o'noodles.

Jeezil H. Christ! This woman was very well-dressed, loaded down with jewelry -- obviously not hurting, if you know what I mean. So she gets wine by the drum and gourmet cheese while her kids are supposed to get by on ramen noodles and boxed pizzas? There's good old-fashioned family values for ya!

[CottonBear]

1. I love analyzing the contents of grocery carts.

You can really tell a lot about someone that way.

[chicagojoe]

4. Possibly on the same subject,

I always get self conscious when I'm in the checkout line with 2 or 3
items that seem like an odd group,like, a head of lettuce, a pack of light bulbs and a gallon of paint thinner. "What are they thinking".

[Telly Savalas]

30. Not always.

We buy all our produce at the green grocers and farmer's markets, and most of our meat at the local butcher. Someone looking in our supermarket shopping cart would get a distorted view of how our family eats.

[LisaM]

2. WTF was someone commenting on what was in her cart?

I can't imagine doing such a thing - especially in front of other people. Maybe her kids love ramen noodles. Maybe she was having a party.

[Cocoa]

6. a checkout lady at my store comments on EVERYONE'S purchases

I'm kind of amazed she's still working there. I don't personally care, I think it's kind of funny, but she crosses way over the line as far as giving her opinions of what people are buying, not to mention slowing the line down quite a bit.

[theHandpuppet]

26. It was apparently someone who knew her...

... that and the fact that she was holding up that half gallon of wine as if she just gave birth to it.

[July]

28. I really don't like it when people do that.

Fortunately, while I've seen it happen, it hasn't happened to me.

If it did, a frosty, "I BEG your pardon?" would be headed the speaker's way.

But I can be bitchy that way.

[Amaya]

3. My kids love Ramen noodles and frozen pizza

They rarely get it, so it's a treat. Geez!

[BikeWriter]

5. I know one child who will eat few things besides ramen noodles.

I consider it child abuse to allow them to become so finicky.

[eyesroll]

7. I fail to see the problem.

I grew up comfortably, and my sister and I still lived on Ramen for a long time. We'd request it. "Big noodle soup, cottage cheese and chips" was lunch for us on many, many occasions. We even chanted such from the bottom of the stairs.

We were four and two.

And don't most people have a boxed pizza or two in their freezer, regardless of income?

[madinmaryland]

21. I still love them, and i'm 43.

they are also easy to fix. boil 3 minutes and they are done.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

25. I DO see a problem -- but it's not the one the original poster saw

Some kids are so bitchy to eat they refuse everything but ramen noodles.

[candy]

8. I have a grandson that eats nothing but noodles and pizza---

Believe me his parents would love him to eat what they are eating,he just won't.

It has nothing to do with money,believe me. I raised five and one was like my grandson,healthy but with a very limited diet.

Lighten up!

[mondo joe]

9. Your analysis MIGHT be off.

Of course she might be a loathsome meanie - but it might be that these are special treats for her kids.

I hate to think what anyone might conclude my kids eat based on just one random meal.

[Demit]

10. you're assuming this was her main shopping trip for the week?

Sounds like it probably wasn't, and she was making a joke to the person she knew.

Try to slow down on the whopping assumptions before you speed out of control.

[giant_robot]

11. There's no accounting for the tastes of kids

I mean, they like spaghetti-oh's fer chrissake! Has anyone here tried spaghetti-oh's since reaching adulthood? *retch*
:puke:

[mondo joe]

13. They're great if you get in at 3am and have an appetite

But like a lot of things that seem like a good idea at 3 am, not so good the rest of the day.

[giant_robot]

15. You have a hardier constitution than I, my friend.

I'm not totally anti-Boy-ar-dee. I like the ravioli, I can tolerate the beef-a-roni, but spaghetti-oh's, bleeech! more like spaghetti-no's.

[mondo joe]

17. I intend to conquer all foods. Only Sea Urchin is tougher than I.

And I might try it again too. God damn sea urchin.

[giant_robot]

19. I hear sea urchin sushi is very good

I think sea cucumber would do me in, though. It's a relative of the sea urchin. They used to eat them when I lived in Greece. If you ever see a live one in the ocean, you'll never want to put THAT in your mouth.

[mondo joe]

20. That was what I couldn't do -- Uni -- the sea urchin sushi

Something aboout the texture.

Ugh.

[Hand]

24. Gak--You didn't hear that from me...

And I've tried the stuff. Um... well, call it an acquired taste. And not worth the trouble acquiring.

:nuke:

[Cadence]

16. I didn't even like spaghetti-o's when I was a kid

they're disgusting! I've known people as adults that claim they eat them with Ritz crackers crumbled in them. :puke:

[MissMillie]

12. I'm pretty skeptical of the phrase

"half-gallon of good wine"

do they sell "good" wine by the half-gallon?

[Bertha Venation]

14. "There's good old-fashioned family values for ya!" I disagree.

You can't tell one's values by the contents of one's grocery cart. Perhaps the woman had everything she needed at home, but left a few things off the list last time she did big shopping.

[BikeWriter]

18. Most Children will eat different foods if exposed to varying tastes...

...at an early age. I ensured mine were offered everything including greens and liver while on junior foods. Their older step-Sister is the picky eater.

[mondo joe]

22. Even so, they generally go through picky phases

The range of what kids will eat generally expands and contracts a few times.

My kids ate everything from spicy vietnamese fish stew to cabbage to sushi to falafel. They also both hit points at which they only wanted a few foods. Then they opened up again.

I suspect it's some evolutionary insurance tied to ages at which kids get out on their own more - in short, a way to prevent them from eating dangerous foods as they leave parental supervision.

But I do agree, if you give them a wide range early on they'll likely have a more expansive diet later on.

[BikeWriter]

27. Yes, your tastes seem to evolve when you're young, despite...

...DNA. Case in point, five of my siblings and I will eat anything that does not eat us first. The one exception is the sixth Child, raised after Dad and Mom were in their forties. She had all the choices of what she preferred, ergo, she ruled out entire food groups of nourishing foods.

[LibertyLover]

23. Ramen noodles

My daughter, aged 2 and a half, loves ramen noodles. While she does eat other things, meat and fish being particular favorites, if she is having a bad day (potty training is hard work when you are a two year old) or has a cold, ramen noodles are a comfort food. She is originally from Hubei province and I suspect that ramen and rice will always be comfort food for her. My husband and I sometimes do feed her ramen noodles while eating something that we enjoy but she doesn't. That way everybody is happy.

[khashka]

29. I guess I'm a very bad man

but I agree with the woman in the shopping line.

Ok, she should have thrown a vegetables in the cart for the kids.

Two points....

1) Good wine does not come in half gallons

2) The wealthy treat their children as possessions, and not very valuable ones at that.

Khash,
bitter but still laughing

[Pithlet]

31. You don't know what's in her fridge already.

It's possible she buys quality stuff for her kids also, but the timing of what she needed made the contents of her cart look odd, and she was jokingly referring to that. You can't tell how someone always shops by just one glimpse into a shopping cart. I've often looked in my cart and remarked how weird it looked, because I would happen to need odd things all at the same time, and I'd joke about what it looked like it with whomever was with me. I can totally see something like that easily happening.