We never had it rough when it came to food, when I was growing up.

There was always a roast of some kind on Sundays, then leftovers and various pretty healthy food throughout the week. We had a variety of things for breakfast, which my dad usually prepared: eggs, poached, boiled (I liked mine hard as golf balls), fried (I liked mine burned), and bacon, whole wheat toast, or various types of porridge from cream of wheat to whole wheat to Red River Cereal.

That was many decades ago.

As you can see, we were a well fed family. For some reason my mom was fascinated by nutrition and I think that gene may have been passed along. During the formative years, there was always fresh fruit and a Saturday trip downtown to pick up the baking. There was also a man in a truck, who we referred to as “the fruit man.” He would find out what fruits and vegetables you wanted that week, advising against or recommending this or that, and then spending ages in the back of his truck filling out the order. It was a big task keeping four hungry kids well fed.

Desserts were never fancy. Jello was the most memorable. Actually, no. There was another dessert far more memorable and frequent. I remember asking mom what was for dessert and more often than not her reply came: “there’s fruit, or you can have a banana cut up in a dish with milk and sugar on it…”

My point is, that other than special times of the year, there wasn’t much unhealthy food within our reach. In the summer we did have the cereal variety packs – probably because we spent most of our time tearing up and down the hill and playing in the river, and needed the extra boost of sugar, who knows. Those little boxes of cereal were as delightful as the little colored band-aids with stars and planets on them, that we pasted to our scarred knees from tumbling up the hill.

Nutrition nowadays

I see that my best first defense against weight gain and waist gain has been to keep the chips, pies and cookies on the shelf – at the grocery store. Everyone fighting that battle of the bulge has my true sympathy. We are the shape we are for various reasons and with this modern lifestyle it is truly a battle to stay mobile, positive and fit. I just bought a bunch of apples, pears and those little oranges, because they are all in season. I can tell you if there was a big delicious greasy chocolate chip cookie in the drawer under the fruit, it wouldn’t stand a chance. That’s why the cupboard is bare of such things. Out of sight, kind of out of mind.

I understand that food is no longer cheap (and I am feeling empowered because I got paid today and the fridge is full),  but for less than the price of a chocolate bar you can get a banana, and a heck of a lot more nutrients. The price of a burger could get you a can of wild pink salmon, your omega 3’s and 6’s and some great protein to go along with it… but that’s another blog.

So, keep the junk at bay or at the store and you will have taken that first step towards really caring for yourself.