Uncrustables

So, the first time I ever heard of Uncrustables was several years ago. I was directing the Children's Christmas Musical at our church and one of my little actors brought one of these in for her lunch. I vowed then and there that if I ever had the good fortune of being a mother, I would never purchase these. For starters, they're missing the crust and, at the risk of sounding like every adult I ever came into contact with as a kid, the crust is the healthiest part. But aside from that minor detail, I could not believe that someone would waste their hard earned money on something they could slap together on their own kitchen counter for a teeny tiny fraction of the cost. I would never be so frivolous.

If you've spent any considerable of time around my toddler son, you've probably seen him with an Uncrustable. Why? Well, isn't a girl entitled to change her mind? It was actually my mom who bought them first and they were a treat at Grandma's house. I certainly wasn't going to tell her not to spend her own hard earned money on something that clearly made her grandson happy. I think it was back in January when she sent one with me for our plane ride away from Paradise and back to the tundra. We took it out of the freezer and voila, it was ready to eat an hour later. It was relatively tidy considering our world of sticky fingers and laps full of crumbs. And Garrett devoured every bit of it.

So I broke down. I broke my word. I changed my mind. I bought a box at Costco. But I still refuse to let him have one at our house. They are for days when I know we're going to eat on the road or we're going somewhere for dinner that might not be serving one of the eight or nine foods that my son will actually eat. He's really not that picky considering the age but he won't touch chicken unless it's in nugget form and he thinks noodles are spawn of Satan himself. There are times when we have to wake him to go back to the church for a meeting or event. Uncrustable to the rescue. There are times when I have to do my grocery shopping during lunch time. Uncrustable to the rescue. And, of course, there is still the occasional plane flight. You guessed it. Uncrustable to the rescue. Yes, I am capable of slapping peanut butter and jelly onto a slice of bread for these occasions but they make a much bigger mess. Trust me, I've done that science experiment.

So what items did you vow never to purchase but did anyway?