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Salads, Samosas and Sprouts

December 28, 2021 | By

Sid needs to have sprouts and salads (S&S) in his diet as these healthy, power-packed foods will make him strong. But he doesn’t like them at all. So his Mom strikes a deal with him to make him love his S&S.

Salads, Samosas and Sprouts

Eight year old Sid opened his lunch box and scowled.

“What happened?” his best friend Tina asked him.

“The same old yucky stuff – sprouts. I don’t know what ma thinks I am – a cow or a horse.”

“If you continue eating raw stuff you might start growing a tail?” Tina laughed and Sid made a face.

Sid emptied  his lunch box in the dust bin.

“Sid, take this sandwich.  My ma has packed three jam sandwiches today – enough for both of us,” Tina said.

***

That night for dinner Sid’s mum, Anjali had made his favourite custard. As he was about to attack it Anjali declared, “First you have to finish your meal. After which you can have your custard.”

Sid groaned and started working on the chapaati and spinach curry and the salad. By the time he finished the yucky stuff he was almost full but still managed to tuck in two and half helpings of the custard.

Sid and his mum were the best of buddies. They loved each other’s company and had lots  of fun. The only time when they didn’t see eye to eye or tongue to taste was in the matter of sprouts and salads. Anjali was a nutritionist and it was her mission to make her family eat the  healthiest  food.

***

That night Sid was sleeping peacefully when he woke up with a start. His window was open and strange sounds were filtering in. As he tried to disappear behind his pillow he saw a  monster floating in. It looked like a giant carrot with round eyes and a wig made of sprouts. It was followed by an equally strange creature which resembled a cucumber with bits of lettuce dangling from its ‘skin’.  Last to enter was giant cabbage that was spinning in the air and hissing through its mouth.

As Sid shrank back the weird brutes started jumping and singing:

“Google, gurgle and doodle doo
 You better chew  us
Or we shall gobble you.”

As they closed in Sid screamed. The next moment he found he was in his bed and his clothes were drenched. He ran out screaming to his mum’s room.

“Mommy!” he yelled and jumping on the bed buried his face in her bosom.

“What happened, Siddie?”

“I think I had a dream,” Sid said recounting his nightmare to her.

“Mommy, Rekha was saying that dreams one sees early in the morning come true.” Rekha was their housekeeper.

“That’s all nonsense, Siddie. But yet dreams do give us a message.”

Sid gave Anjali a blank look.

“Your dream is telling you that you should happily eat salads and sprouts.”

Sid slowly nodded his head even as his face grew long and sad. Anjali’s heart went out to him and she pulled him close.

“Okay champ, let us make a deal.”

Sid’s eyes brightened up a bit.

“You shall eat salads and sprouts every day and not throw them in the dustbin?”

“M…mum how do you…I…I…mean….” Sid stammered, his face turning red with guilt.

“Mommies know everything Siddie. So you shall eat S&S and I shall make one of your favourite dishes every weekend.”

Sid jumped up. “You mean you will make stuff like samosa?”

“Yep and pizza.”

Boondi laddu?”

“And golgappa.”

“Pasta?”

“And gajar halwa.”

Sid planted a sloppy kiss on Anjali’s cheek and mommy and sonny got into a hugathon!

More to read

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Yummy, Mummy! Anything for a Hungry Tummy

Fairy Tale Country

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships. His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year. Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer. Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy. An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books. Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many. His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
All Posts of Ramendra Kumar

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