from snack to poison, eating healthy food

My mom always said you are what you eat and for the longest time I never knew what she meant by it. My friends all ate whatever they wanted with seemingly no negative effects while I was restricted to only healthy foods. I wouldn’t say she is orthorexic but she is obsessed with eating well. These views have been hammered in me to a point where I wasn’t aware of normal mainstream eating behavior, which has led to lots of awkward conversations and being made fun of. Now as an adult, I can look back on this and be thankful for the knowledge and habits that my mom has instilled in me. I can vaguely remember the time when I was in kindergarten when the pantry used to have a selection of snacks that were delicious. I would come home from school and grab my favorite snack, Cheetos. After eating too many while watching my favorite TV shows, my shirt would be covered in cheese dust and leave my fingers stained orange. At the same time, my mom dove deep down the rabbit hole of eating only healthy foods. There wasn’t any sort of cause for this but the impacts it had were huge. Without any notice, I came home, ready to have my favorite snack, and was met with an empty pantry. The whole house had been purged of the foods I was used to and was treated like poison. I was told that these were not good for me and we would be getting other foods that would taste just as good to replace them. In the following days, I found an assortment of strange off-brand products made with quality ingredients. It wasn’t the same. From here on out, my life was void of any normal processed foods, period. This bled into all aspects of my life. The pretzel bread roll that my sandwich was on was switched to a lettuce wrap and my Goldfish were now organic cheddar bunnies. Not only was it a tough transition, but my classmates also laughed at me and my odd lunch. I always tried to explain that I was going to become bigger and stronger than them but that had no effect and made them laugh even more. I would also have to warn friends before coming over for dinner after many were freaked out by the strange foods. With anything from chickpea pasta to cauliflower crust pizza, these seemingly typical foods always came with a surprise. I grew to enjoy or perhaps just got used to many new foods but the incorrect textures and flavors of some substitutes were inedible. Another issue that came with this was going out to eat. In your teens, it isn’t uncommon to end up at a fast food restaurant on a night out with friends. My mom was against all greasy food and strictly prohibited McDonald’s. On several occasions, I went to McDonald’s, eventually slipping up and leaving a receipt in my pocket for a quarter pounder, medium fries, and a drink. This meal violated every commandment in her healthy food bible and then the lectures went on for days about the research on foods and their impact on health. I also noticed not feeling as well and energized as I normally did after a fast food meal, beginning my realization of how she had been looking out for me. I soon looked forward to family dinners where I would never know what to expect. It became funny to me what kind of crazy substitutions she would bring home from the store. My personal favorites are almond flour tortillas, which are impressively good considering that they are made of nuts! Looking back on this experience, I am very thankful that I was pushed to eat well. Even though eating healthy often causes social implications, I have survived. It was sometimes difficult but after overcoming the adjustment, I am happy eating my lettuce wrap sandwiches. While I don’t eat as strictly as my mom does, I do my best to avoid bad foods when possible. Much to my surprise, I have also taken an interest in the latest research on healthy eating. Even as healthy eating is slowly becoming more mainstream in society, as I share healthy lifestyle tips with friends, I often find myself in the same position as I was in kindergarten. Friends still laugh and ridicule me. As an adult, I know this is for the best and it doesn’t bother me like it once did. To this day, I have my own stash of Cheetos. I have learned to make the right choices majority of the time but find that it is also important to enjoy yourself once in a while. Eating healthy isn’t an easy habit to build, but has taught me so much and improved my life in countless ways.