Womenzwerk at the grocery store

Is it Womenzwerk to make sure everyone in our household eats properly?

I power-shopped at the grocery store this weekend and didn't pay much attention to what was on my list. As it turned out we were out of just the essentials, you know Diet Coke, sugary cereal, chips, cookies (hey, c'mon they were 100 calorie packs), ice cream and peanut butter. I think there was some type of chicken in there. Maybe a can of tuna. The bill came to over $200. As I was checking out and waiting for my bags (can I get paper AND plastic?), the cashier leaned over and said "enjoy your vacation". When I looked confused she stammered "well I just assumed you were shopping for vacation". Nope, lady. This is how my family eats every day. There wasn't a fruit or veggie in sight (unless you count spinach dip).

All the way home I pondered this. Just how bad a mother am I? And wife? I have a teenage son who eats huge quantities of anything he can find and has always steered clear of anything good for him. I have a carnivore for a husband who also loves gravy. He eats a diet from the 60's which I'm pretty sure he'll never change. Should I just buy the things these guys should eat and hope they'll change their ways? My daughter feeds her kids only organic and is going "raw" herself. But when she comes home, she wants the good stuff too. Is it my job to force people to eat healthy? Or my job to set the example when they really don't care?

I agree that when the kids are little we have a responsibility for their early eating habits and I was much better when I could control what went in their mouths. Now, though, what's realistic? I think it's grossly unfair for women to carry the responsibility for not just the shopping and cooking but also the eating preferences of everyone in the house. Half of the time they eat out anyway. I might be just rationalizing my total female failure here, but I'm wondering at what age people begin to fend for themselves and make their own choices about their health. I'm pretty sure my husband is at least that old. I tried to think about what would happen if I had a mom in my house and I was a member of the tribe. When I grew up, healthy eating wasn't even discussed in polite company. Only hippies were vegetarians. So I have no role model to look to. So fast forward to today, if I were a member of a household rather than the head of a household I think that I would expect to state my food preferences and lobby to have that food in the house so I could eat what appealed to me. If it was healthy food I'd ask for that. So, conversely, since my family asks me for unhealthy food do I really have a choice? I feel like I don't.

I want to be comfortable with this and not change my ways. Still, I think I'll shop at a different store next week.
So... what do you think? Is it really our responsibility to keep everyone in our family eating right?