Home The China Adventures of Arielle Gabriel

Canada's Diet: Sugar! Sugar! Sugar! We fed our children sugar by the car loads, and sugar came into our homes in a vast exciting array of packages, jars, and boxes. I will expose our sugar addiction, with happy memories, as sugar connected itself to all holidays, such as birthdays and Christmas times, but also to just plan dessert. Dessert was your treat or reward for getting through the first course of beef, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn niblets. Dessert came every night, like clockwork, though the Canadian morning started off quite excitingly with a great deal of sugar. First, there was cereal, which usually had a double whammy of sugar.  Sugar frosted flakes, the sugar was already in the cereal, and then there was brown or white sugar sitting on the breakfast table.  Health conscious parents bought Shreddies or Corn Flakes so the sugar was only served once. Then was the toast with strawberry jam or orange marmalade.  There was Nestle's chocolate powder to spoon into your morning milk.  French toast or pancakes were more special weekend treats, with options of maple syrup, real or simulated, to add. All sugared up and ready to go, we raced off to schools and offices. Lunch was a bit of a let down, with my mother chopping up carrots and celery sticks, and even conscientiously adding cartons of raisins to my lunches, with sandwiches of tuna fish, devilled egg, or cheese and lettuce.  Not too muchsugar about, sometimes a couple of small thin cookies. The most touching comment our mothers made came just before dinner time, "Don't let me catch you eating candies, you will spoil your appetite for your dinner." As though the earlier sugar stuffing that went on throughout our entire Canadian Day had never occurred.  As though we were not already looking forwards to the ice cream, pies, or cake that would follow the boring first course of hamburger patties and mixed frozen vegetables. Like plants, we grew on sunshine and fresh air and the grace of God.

Join My Linked In, 25,000 Friends

Facebook @ArielleGabriel555

The International Paper Doll Society