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STARTING EARLY

Kaya's snacks, like those of her mother when she was a child, have always been sweet potatos, rice crackers, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, popcorn, natto straight out of the package if you can believe it, fruit, nuts, her "soft" drinks various herb teas and home-made fruit drinks. As a result, Kaya's palate remains unmutated by artificial flavor enhancements, to the extent that she enjoys subtleties I can only dream of (I got a late start on all this).

So when last night she and I walked through the new supermarket to check it out, as we passed along the aisles that were arranged to ambush the little kids, draw them screaming out of their carriages or away from their mothers, saying "I want these cookies!!" "Buy me this candy!" "Can I have some soda?", Kaya just walked quietly by my side, looking casually around at the bright packaging everywhere.

She didn't run toward the boxes of chocolate or reach for potato chips or scream for cookies or yell for Coke, because she didn't know what they were! When we got home she had a snack of gemmae mochi (brown rice paste) sprinkled with slightly sweetened soybean flour, and was happy as a kid with a double scoop of chocolate ice cream in a big glass of Pepsi with Oreos on the side. Healthier too.