Please, Sir, May I Have Some More?

My 13 year old son's eating habits are a curious combination. On one hand, he's a notoriously picky eater and finds many common foods, like pasta, repulsive. On the other hand, of the foods on his quite limited "acceptable foods" list, he can consume massive amounts without gaining a pound. Note the photo above. Yes, he did ask if he could have a brownie. No, I didn't define what size I meant by"one brownie". And, yes, it's time for a talk about portion control.

One of the worst food phases was when he liked ice cream cones. Literally, the cones only. No ice cream. When we'd go to an ice cream parlor and I'd order a plain cone with no ice cream for my son, more often than not, I'd get suspicious looks from the staff. I'm not sure if they thought I was being absurdly cheap or simply cruel. Now, of course, a quart of Breyer's Natural Vanilla lasts maybe a matter of hours with my son around.

On vacation, we went to a restaurant that served all-you-can-eat meats from their wood-fired grill. With steak being a big favorite of my son's, I suspected he'd have more than one. What I didn't expect was that he'd eat six steaks. After the 5th steak, he politely asked the waiter for another and the startled man glanced at me and asked, "Are you sure this is alright, ma'am?" I think he must have thought my son was stuffing the steaks in his pockets or something and wanted me to check.

To be honest, I can remember eating almost like that as a teen and remaining somewhat underweight. Lunch might have been a grilled reuben sandwich, french fries, and a 3-scoop ice cream sundae. Dinner, no less caloric. Fast-forward to the present and I seem to gain two pounds if I choose the wrong salad dressing. So, all in all, I simply have to look at my son and say, "Enjoy!"