Yummy. Yucky.

Little Miss Fussy is a hoot.  She’s daddy’s little girl.  Mrs. Fussy asked, “What’s your favorite thing.” To which LMF enthusiastically replied, “FOOD!”  Pressing on, Mrs. Fussy asked, “What else?” And the answer was, “Whipped cream.”

The little one can also sing esoteric Talking Heads songs and some obscure, lyrically intense early Dylan.  It’s just that Desolation Row and Gates of Eden just make for good lullabies.

But recently I’ve been reading her this great book that divides the world into a simple dichotomy.  Yummy or Yucky.  You may know a few of these, but stick with me here.  Spaghetti is yummy; worms are yucky.  Burgers are yummy; boogers are yucky.  Fish sticks are yummy; fish food is yucky.

Stop.

Fish is a pretty sore subject for me. I’d like my grandchildren to be able to eat fish that lived in the wild.  But I think right now that future is far from certain.  We don’t eat that much of it, and before this book came into the house my children had no idea something called fish sticks existed.

When I do buy fish I make a point to consult with Seafood Watch to make sure I’m making good choices.  And you know what?  Many fish sticks are surprisingly not that bad from a sustainable seafood perspective.  I for one was quite surprised.

So guess who bought some fish sticks?

The thing that pushed me over the edge was stumbling onto a brand of frozen fish sticks that didn’t seem to be over-processed junk food.  Oddly, such a thing exists.

And odd is a good word, because it’s unlikely you’ve heard of the Dr. Praeger’s line of products before.  You have to get a look at the good doctor and hear a bit about his philosophy before you get the full sense of this frozen food oddity.

Here is the story.  This started out as a kosher frozen gefilte fish company called Ungar’s.  One of the Ungar’s had a heart problem, and after a successful surgery with Dr. Praeger himself, the good doctor became a family friend.  Later, Praeger would buy the company from the Ungar’s and create a line of sensible frozen foods, with his cardiac patients in mind.  By sensible, I mean healthful and tasty food that an early reader could make it through the ingredient list.

This is what is in their fish sticks:
Pollock Fillets (Wild), Breading (Unbleached Wheat Flour, Yellow Corn Flour, Corn Starch, Yeast, Sugar, Salt, Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Spices), Expeller Pressed Canola Oil

Wow.

Turns out that fish sticks were one of Mrs. Fussy’s favorite foods as a child.  I had no idea.  After many years of marriage, there aren’t many surprises left.  This caught me a bit off-guard.  Actually as a kid I ate my fair share, but they are not as redolent of the carefree days of my youth as they are for her.

She was unsure if these fancy-pants fish sticks would measure up to her taste memory.  After all, she and both the kids rejected the Heinz Organic Ketchup because its flavor profile differed from that of the red bottle they had come to enjoy.  On a side note, Simply Heinz ketchup has gotten the Fussy Children’s Seal-of-Approval and it contains no HFCS.

Bottom line, these odd Dr. Praeger’s fish sticks were a hit with everyone.

The Profussor: Happy with sustainable fish and a short ingredient list.
Mrs. Fussy: Happy with a quick (20 minutes in the oven) comfort food.
Young Master Fussy: So happy he went back for thirds.
Little Miss Fussy: Happy to be living her book, but she’d rather have beans.

Looks like these buggers will be giving Kraft Macaroni and Cheese a run for its money when we have the need for an “emergency dinner.”