Astronaut food

I decided to make one of my goals for 2009 to eat healthier. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Eating healthier! Of course, the question became – exactly what does that MEAN, to eat healthier? Obviously fruits and vegetables are healthy. I get that. What I don’t understand is everything else. All those packaged meals that are so convenient – are those healthy? The salads and other meals – are those good for me? I haven’t the faintest idea. I find it all overwhelming. They print nutrition labels on everything at the store, but all that information – are those grams of fat and protein and carbohydrates healthy?

So, I decided to start with a plan where someone else figured all that out for me. It didn’t take me long to decide on a plan, as the one I picked looked like the only “diet plan” out there that had a vegetarian program. I figured it was worth a try. It might have been smart for me to check it out a little closer before ordering that first month of food, as I was pretty surprised when it arrived. I called my dad and told him – it’s astronaut food! None of it is frozen or refrigerated, it looks like it’s freeze-dried and you add water and it’s instant food. I don’t know, that concerns me a bit.

Well, I’ve been on the “astronaut food” for over three months now, and I love it. First of all, it’s not all “add water instant food”, like the instant potatoes or soup. Some is microwavable instant food, like the lasagna and ravioli. Some is just instant food – like bars and cereal and pastries. I eat four entrees a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert) and add in my own vegetables, fruit, dairy, and protein items.

I’ve been learning to prepare some pretty tasty food! This shocks my friends and family who know how helpless I am in the kitchen. However, I love food and it didn’t take me long to figure out how to open bags of pre-washed lettuce and top it with my favorite fixings, or buy vegetables and cook them, or sprinkle cinnamon on a bowl of fruit.

So my meals are tasty and I feel MUCH better. I have more energy and have a lot less stomach upset. I’m pretty close to losing 30 pounds. People are starting to notice my weight loss, and I’ve been “forced” to buy new clothes. Lucky for me, I was trained by my mother, who’s a world-class shopper. My mom can out-shop anyone. She can smell a bargain a hundred miles away. I didn’t inherit or learn all her shopping skills, but I can hit a store, find bargains and try on twenty items over a lunch hour. I can’t do the marathon shopping expeditions my mother is capable of, but I can spend two hours in a shoe store.

I’m also starting to understand those overwhelming nutrition labels, and learning how to prepare meals that don’t involve the “astronaut food” but are still health. So, am I eating healthier? You bet! I’m also eating BETTER.

submitted for publication in The Greeley Citizen