I seem to always be discussing food but by now, you must also know that besides eating, sleeping and causing ‘mayhem’ in the house, there is not much else toddlers do. I have also previously told you that in our household, we ‘worship’ anything food related. So you will bear with me.

While Kwezi is at a point where she can eat anything that we eat, like every parent, I seek the assistance of the supermarket to find some things to complement her meals. I always choose food items based on the nutritional content. When it comes to porridge for instance, I tend to choose the one that has a grain mixture and sometimes an addition of crushed small silver fish.  Sounds gross but it is what it is.

One other thing that I am really keen on is the expiry date. I am strict about this to a point that anything expiring within a few months is a no go zone for me.

So it was normal routine for me when I headed to one of our biggest supermarkets to stock up. I was proud of my choices but I was in for a big surprise.  It all started off when Kwezi took a few spoonfuls and walked away. What? You don’t get to play with my hard earned cash so I took a spoonful to try and ‘see’ what could be wrong. I was shocked. The porridge was bitter. Really bitter. I felt sorry for my baby and her cousin Jasmine; her permanent meal partner since they had taken it several times.

Before I even recovered, the nanny took this opportunity to tell me that she had thrown away a packet of porridge about a week before when she had found maggots and some other creatures having fun in it.

We threw away everything and emphasis was put on the nanny not only to open her eyes even wider but to take tasting these children’s food before feeding them even more seriously.

I couldn’t fault the supermarket but my conclusion was that perhaps these products sit on the shelves for too long and the temperatures in there damage them.

We are currently stuck. I am a creature of habit so trying new things makes me nervous. I want something straight from the factory to my saucepan, not packets that sit on shelves for months. I am thinking of trying "Nootri” products because they are sold in pharmacies. I am told that their products don’t thicken the way porridge does but at this point, thickness is the furthest thing from my mind.  I need a solution or else I may have to go to these farms, pick the grain and bring it to the milling machine myself. But is that even an option? Obviously not.