A Healthy Diet

My brothers and I were probably some of the luckiest kids in the world growing up. Mom didn't like anything fresh. Even though we lived in Southern California, we never had fresh fruit or vegetables, fruit juice or much of anything else of redeeming value. In fact, even though the house I grew up in was surrounded by orange groves, I never peeled an orange and ate it until after I had married and been transferred out of California. 

Mom grew up in Kansas until she was in high school, and she was kind of a product of her upbringing. Her mom like weird food and handing out some kind of wonder pills that used atomic energy to clean out ones intestines. Meal times with gramma were always interesting. So, in many ways, my mom did her best to be totally different from her own mom, and when you couple that with her extremely picky palate, and a hatred of any domestic tasks, our own diets were interesting too. Boxed and canned were the way to go. 

We actually grew up eating spam and canned peas, a lot of slightly burned things, because she liked them crunchy, and a semi truck load of Hamburger Helper. We never complained. It was quick, easy and dependable, and mom didn't mind doing it. Dad drew the line at T.V. dinners, so it was all good.

The best part of our kitchen, though, is that mom could be counted on for fun food. She liked chocolate and soft drinks. So, guess what WE got!! That's right! There was always desert. Always. And I'm very thankful none of us ever struggled with weight. Breakfast was usually the best. Dad often walked to Winchell's Donuts around the corner on the weekends. They were so good and such a treat! And the rest of the week, mom could be counted on to provide sugar cereal. All the biggies: Trix, my personal favorite, Cocoa Puffs, Cocoa Krispies, Sugar Pops which we counted as a vegetable, and Apple Jacks. That's right. That was our fruit. Are you noticing a trend? Processed, filled with sugar and preservatives, and we all turned out fine. Perhaps we should re-think our views on food.

But the one food that could be counted on to create dissension was Lucky Charms. "Frosted Lucky Charms, they're magically delicious!" Yeah, now the tune is stuck in your head too, right? The only problem with Lucky Charms was that one of my brothers would usually get to the box, eat all the marshmallow pieces and then leave the oat-y part behind. Any time you heard "Dang-it!!" coming from the direction of the kitchen, you KNEW someone had opened the Lucky Charms, only to find they had been beaten to the box, and all that was left could be considered almost healthy. And when they started putting that rainbow shape in the mix, the insult was doubly harsh.

Our family still appreciates a good dose of morning sugar on a regular basis. But I don't buy Lucky Charms. It's just not worth that sense of loss when the oats outlast the marshmallows.

Yet He commanded the clouds above

And opened the doors of heaven;

He rained down manna upon them to eat

And gave them food from heaven. 

Man did eat the bread of angels;

He sent them food in abundance.

Ps. 78:23-25