The Food Change

 My mother took me to see the doctor because, lately, I had been tired a lot.

 The doctor checked my temperature and then she checked my heart. Afterward, she asked, “What have you been eating? Usually I find that when someone is tired, they have a nutrition problem.”

 I responded, “We have breakfast at school and lunch, too. I have milk and cereal for breakfast. Then I eat whatever they have.” 

 “But what about dinner? And weekends” the doctor asked. 

 My mother said, “I cook good, healthy food, but she won’t eat it. She wants to eat snacks, like cookies and candy. Then, when it’s meal time, she leaves the food on her plate.” 

 “No wonder you’re tired,” the doctor said. “You’re a growing girl, and you need to maintain a healthy diet. Haven’t you heard of the food pyramid?” 
 “Yes, we studied that, but it’s hard to get all those kinds of foods,” I told her. 

 “It doesn’t sound like that is the problem,” she said. “Your mother is making good food, but you’re eating candy and cookies. Do you know how much nutrition there is in those foods? They aren’t even on that pyramid. Sugar gives you a burst of energy, but that does not last. You need to have a better diet. You need good food to sustain your energy. You need to eat meat, fruits, and vegetables.” 

 When we left the doctor’s office, my mother grabbed a booklet. It told what foods to eat. I knew it was going to be a bad time.

 I reached in my pocket to get a candy, and my mother grabbed it right out of my hand. She said that was the end of candy, so I gave her the rest of the candy. This was going to be even worse than I thought. 

 On the way home, my mother bought carrots and raisins at the store. She gave them to me when we got home. I liked the raisins quite a bit, but I did not care for the carrots. 

 That night, when we had dinner, I noticed mom had made a salad with raisins and carrots. We had that with chicken and biscuits. I decided this big change wasn’t going to be so bad. 

 I still would like some candy, but I know that’s not going to happen.