I fully recognize that I maintain somewhat restrictive dietary habits. I also have two teenage sons (almost; my younger son turns 13 in November). I encourage their love of food by preparing things they’ll thoroughly dig eating. Eating rules.

One of the many advantages of this arrangement is gleefully experiencing indulgences through my young men. I normally dodge pasta as part of my menu, but today, I whipped up a breakfast pasta dish.

Dry, boxed or packaged pasta is heavily processed and therefore falls on my personal avoid list. From getfit.com:

Semolina flour is a refined flour made from the heart of the durum wheat kernel — a type of hard wheat with high protein and gluten content and a relatively low carbohydrate content. The flour is mixed with water and formed into a dough, which is then extruded or forced through a metal die to produce the many classic shapes of pasta. Semolina pasta is not a whole-grain pasta. Therefore, it contains less dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals than whole-wheat pasta.

To be clear, whole-grain pasta doesn’t change my narrative. If any food product looks and feels nothing like when removed from the earth or the animal, I have less interest. Quite simply, I urge us to eat foods as close to their natural form as possible. I stick to the flesh of humanely raised animals that ate their natural diet and organic, fresh veggies as my staples.

That doesn’t mean there is no room for flexibility. At Kaplifestyle, I emphasize finding your own way and progressing through trial and error. I follow that principle when it comes to feeding my sons as well. They’re young men now. I’m not carrying them in a baby Bjorn through their high school cafeteria, although I’d like to have a photo of that scene to share with you. They’re making the majority of decisions about what to regularly ingest. This is a totally natural progression.

As a moppet of 12 at Portola Junior High School in Los Angeles, I had a routine of scarfing two hefty chocolate chip cookies and a carton of milk at “nutrition” (the first break of the day at LAUSD schools), and there wasn’t a damn thing my folks were going to do about it.  I was out in the world exploring flavors on my own, namely warm, under-baked, soft, processed, chocolate-y deliciousness.

My boys dig pasta, and that’s fine. I’m willing to make the compromise on boxed pasta dishes. Over time, their values may change as they select foods to meet their personal quality criteria. For now, I’ll do my best to make their taste buds sing (within the confines of my comfort level).

Today, I started with organic ziti. After lightly salting my water and bringing it to a boil, I added the pasta. As it cooked, I prepared organic bacon in a frying pan. When the bacon was crispy, I removed it from the heat and set it aside. In the same pan, with some added grass fed butter, I scrambled two free-range, organic eggs. After the quick cook, I added them to the bacon and tossed in a few tablespoons of chopped cilantro. At this point, my pasta was al dente and ready to be drained. The pasta and the egg/bacon mixture went back into the frying pan on low heat. I folded everything together just until well coated with the remaining butter and bacon fat, and then divided it out into bowls. I tossed in some finely chopped, raw, grass-fed Parmesan and Cheddar cheeses and gave it a good mix.

My growing monsters started their day with full bellies and big smiles. They don’t think about restrictions; they just appreciate tasty food. This is our mission as it stands. The last thing I want is for them to say, “Dad, I’m Paleo now” at age 12. Be a kid, kiddo. At least for a little while longer.

Kap