Because it makes it so much easier to feed my family.
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Last August, I shared a video featuring a variety of packed lunch ideas for kids. I wanted to offer parents simple ideas beyond our usual “sandwich again” rut. The list included cereal and milk, muffin lunches, pasta salad, wraps, and more. The video went viral.
A few days later, a dietitian shared my video with an overlay of herself talking and pointing at the various lunches, explaining how each lunch could have been “healthier” and “better.” She gave specific suggestions on how the food could have been “improved,” where I should have used different ingredients and (often, more expensive) products.
Yes, it is true that anything I post on Instagram and TikTok becomes public property and out of my control. That is an uncomfortable and very real part of my job. (And why I’ve tapered off including my kids in my content.) And: It made me feel so sick to see my content used in a way I had not intended—as a vehicle to say, “this lunch you made for your kids is just not good enough.” Or, “Do better mom!”
I stewed about it for a while to make sure I was being (mostly) level-headed before I reached out, and then I sent her a message expressing my concerns. I don’t have a copy of what I sent, but it was probably something like:
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