Let's take a step back in time, all the way to the early 2000s. You with me? Good. Our story will begin with a discussion about ketchup.

Now, as far as I can tell--and I have no doubt there are plenty of examples to back me up--parents have never had any issues getting their kids to eat ketchup. It might be one of the first five things we humans love to eat once we get past formula and baby food.

I've seen kids use LOTS of ketchup on foods I would never let anywhere near the wildly popular condiment--chicken fingers, sausage links, macaroni and cheese (oh wait, that wasn't a kid; that was Barb Birgy).

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I love ketchup, but only on fries, burgers, and meatloaf. In the year 2000, Heinz must have thought kids were losing their interest in it (they weren't) and came up with a rainbow assortment. There was blue ketchup, purple ketchup, green ketchup, even TEAL ketchup. Good Lord. They all went away. Seems kids had no problem at all with RED ketchup. Imagine that.

That minor misstep came to mind this weekend when I happened upon a rack that was displaying Cap'n Crunch brand Crunch Berry Pancake Mix and BLUE syrup. Well, you can see the picture. It's REALLY blue.

Almost like Kentucky blue. (And honestly, if the concession stands at Rupp Arena or Kroger Field came up with some sort of French toast stick-type of snack and served it with cups of this weird concoction, I wouldn't be surprised.)

When I was a kid, there was no arm-twisting to get me to eat syrup. Loved it. I even ate corn syrup back then. (Today, I'll admit I'm kind of a snob and stick with pure maple.) But the thing is, it didn't need to be blue or magenta or mauve in order to get me to put it on my pancakes or waffles.

Maybe it's funny, in a way, but maybe all that dye isn't good for kids, either. A study reported by CSPI Net says that dyes can cause hyperactivity in children. It goes on to mention other more serious issues that could arrive from ingesting such dyes.

The bottom line for me is this, maple syrup is really, really good. And you don't need a lot of the authentic stuff to make your pancakes, waffles, or French toast absolutely delicious. Furthermore, maple syrup is not without quite a few health benefits, according to Maine Maple Producers.

So, blue syrup. REALLY blue syrup. Does it turn green when mixed with butter? Does it turn purple if you also used strawberries?

Look, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade...or even pour blue syrup on it. I just don't think you need to convince kids THAT hard to put syrup on something. It's always been brown. It's always been amazing.

It's always worked.

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