Like most people I know, my diet consists of a variety of foods, some good for me and others that aren't too good for me. Hey, I bake with real butter and eggs; not what my cardiologist would really like me to be eating, but I follow my mom's advice..everything in moderation, so I do okay.

For the past week I've been in Ft. Wayne, Indiana taking care of Mr. Squishy, aka my grandson, and a few things really struck me, primarily, the food we feed our children.

Honey Girl does a good job of feeding Mr. Squishy the right stuff - lots of veggies, fruit, meat, nothing fried and easy on the sweet stuff. I did, however, take a look at the labels on the can of peaches he was inhaling and was really surprised to see that the store brand had peaches packed in 'heavy syrup' aka high fructose corn syrup. I had to stop myself from grabbing his plate and tossing them down the drain.

To me, high fructose corn syrup is the enemy, especially when given to children.

So, after dropping the little guy off at day care the next morning, I drove over to the big box retailer where Honey Girl does her shopping to do a little label investigating, which ended up being very discouraging.

Who do these big companies think they are, packaging food in bright colors that kids will like and covered with words like "Made with real fruit juice" and "100% vitamin C" so the uneducated parent will feel as if they are doing the right thing? I was stunned.

It's no wonder we are a nation of overweight, obese, diabetic people when the food that the vast majority of people can afford is terrible for us. I understand why people purchase this inexpensive food, I just wish it weren't so.

I'll admit...when my kids were young and I was raising them alone with very limited funds, I bought packaged food, thinking I was doing something good for them. Hey, it was made with real juice, right? We all know so much more now and I really find it appalling and disappointing that this stuff sells.

Instead of the administration trying to get everyone to grow a vegetable garden while they are also regulating Wall Street and running automobile companies, why don't they incent the CPG companies to create healthy food choices that people can actually afford? Why not create programs in our schools that teach children and young adults what can happen if you put bad food into your body and also subsidize schools with fresh food for the students. Get rid of the junk - just make the schools stop buying it and cooking with it. Believe me, you let a kid get hungry enough and they'll start to eat the good stuff.

It's as if our entire nation needs a high-fructose corn syrup intervention.

I don't want the government telling me what to do in any area of my life; however, we owe it to our children to provide proper nutrition to them just like our parents had when growing up. We all need to give our kids a better start and to avoid anything that isn't good for them.

You wouldn't give a child a highly addictive drug, would you? High fructose corn syrup is the same thing - it is highly addictive.

Mr. Squishy had peach slices packed in pear juice last night and he ate them with as much gusto as the ones that were packed in high fructose corn syrup. I'm going to start with this child and maybe if we all make changes at home, together we can make a change in the world.