For me as a child shopping meant a monthly trip to the commissary on whichever military base we were living on at the time. My mom would stock up on paper products, canned fruits and vegetables, hot dogs, ground meat, margarine, American cheese, milk, and black and white boxes of generic macaroni and cheese. She would round out her purchases with a bunch or two of bananas and a vat of chunky, hydrogenated peanut butter. These trips were supplemented with visits to the local grocery store where we would stock up on canned biscuits, Cheetos, soda, fried chicken, and the occasional treat for dessert. We also ate out frequently at diners, buffets, and fast food restaurants.

When we went for a visit to my grandparents house in Missouri, I had fresh green beans for the first time in my life. My reaction? “These taste like dirt, grandpa!” I was completely unused to the complex, rich taste of fresh produce. I can understand why parents have such a difficult time getting their children to eat healthy food because I started out that way too, preferring packaged items with artificial flavors to real, whole foods.

Looking back on that time, it’s hard to find the logic in our families food choices. My mom is a registered nurse, so she took nutrition classes. She never let us have sugary breakfast cereal, and candy was a rarity in our home. So why was sugar so forbidden while all these other junk foods poured into our house? It’s hard to say, really... I guess it comes down to this: like anyone else, my mom was doing the best she could. I do remember pot roasts with onions, potatoes, and carrots. There must have been some fresh green veggies too, just not often enough to be memorable.

In the eighth grade I broke away from my families food traditions and became a vegetarian, a decision that saved me from the struggle with weight faced by so many. At first I was a “french fry vegetarian”, eating the standard American diet, just without the meat. Over the years I’ve gained more and more knowledge about the pitfalls and consequences of this kind of food, and I’ll never go back.