"Right Now"

Scene: The car.

Time: Noon

Players: My son and me.

Me: "What do you want for lunch?"

Son: "I want lunch right now."

Me: "We are driving home now, but what do you want to eat?"

Son: "I want to eat right now."

Me: "I understand that you want to eat right now, but can you tell mommy whether you would like a sandwich or granola?"

Son: "Right now."

Children want everything immediately, and the younger they are the less patience they have for anything beyond "right now."  Save the lecture on "it is our job to teach them patience and delayed gratification," because any honest parent will tell you that you reach a point where you just want to cure that immediate "right now" to preserve your sanity [and move on to a new "right now"].

This dynamic is part of the reason why so often fast food is chosen over a healthy alternative.  The hamburger and fries are by the road "right now" where as the healthy alternative is perceived as being miles and labored hours from now.  Adding to that perception was an email that I received today from a top parenting source entitled "The Drive-thru Kitchen."  Unfortunately, any car would run out of gas waiting on those sandwiches, thus doing nothing to provide parents with a realistic alternative to fast food. 

I will not deny that the sandwiches looked delicious, but a sandwich implies lunch, and lunch is the middle of my day, when I do not have the time nor inclination to grill vegetables, more or less blacken chicken.  So what can real parents send or and prepare "right now?"

One great alternative is a healthy twist on a classic and favorite of the children and parents of this household, as it is bursting with flavors and a great variety of good-for-you-foods, some that children would not necessarily seek out, but are a great source of Omega-3, which is often lacking from children's diets:

Quick Salmon Salad

(makes 3 sandwiches at 380 calories per sandwich):

1 8oz can of wild Alaskan salmon (drained)

1/2c diced cucumber

3/4c diced Vidalia onion

1/2c diced red pepper

1/2c diced grapes

1/3c yellow mustard

3-4oz low fat or fat free cream cheese

1t cumin

Dice all of your vegetables, adding more or less according to taste.  Mix all ingredients together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you like it hot, add a fresh, diced cayenne pepper. 

Serve on wheat bread with slices of tomato.

This sandwich offers 28g of protein and is a great source of manganese, of which it is estimated that 37% of Americans do not get their RDA.  More important to this conversation, this combo is great today, and even better tomorrow, so double the recipe and save half for tomorrow's "right now" lunch, when you want an amazing lunch option that actually is faster than the drive-thru.