by Kessie Carroll

Created on: August 27, 2008

Every kid knows the dismay of sitting down to dinner and seeing something unidentifiable on their plate. "Mom, what's this?" they ask, hoping against hope that it's edible. But their mother replies, "It's eggplant tuna casserole with wheat germ, dear." And then the four most dreaded words ever: "It's GOOD for you!"

For many of us, we think of health food with shivers of nausea, remembering being forced to eat gross food by our parents. But hold it! Is health food really disgusting? What was it that you hated eating so much? Was it really the "health" food, or was it just that your mother's cooking had flopped that night?

Health food is really just whole food. Whole wheat, whole oats, brown rice, fresh organic fruits and vegetables, meat raised without extra hormones. Quite apart from any health benefits, whole grains make you feel full longer.

Whole fruits and vegetables, especially ones fresh picked, have the most amazing flavor. Have you ever bought fruit from a fruit stand beside the road? It tastes nothing like the limp, pathetic offerings at the grocery store. Strawberries burst with flavor, avocados are rich and meaty, and oranges are actually juicy, not dry and sour. It's because they were allowed to ripen. And naturally-ripened fruit and vegetables have far more vitamins than produce picked green and kept for days under lamps to turn them the right color.

Brown rice has a wonderful flavor, especially when cooked Spanish style. Whole wheat pasta noodles are even tastier than regular pasta noodles, and they fill you up faster. Whole wheat flour makes a tasty thick bread with lovely springy texture. As opposed to white bread, the poor semi-liquid substance, which barely holds it shape and has all the flavor of styrofoam.

If you can, grow your own vegetables or fruits. Home-grown tomatoes, bell peppers, and corn are excellent, and available right there in your yard. Lettuce and spinach are easy to grow, and provide you with a constant salad. If you don't have the room to grow your own, visit fruit stands of farmer's markets. Serve your pickings promptly, because produce loses some of its flavor and gloss if abandoned in the refrigerator for days.

Serve meat sparingly. The American diet is mostly meat and sugar, and cutting back on both will make us a healthier nation. Serve white meat and save red meat for special occasions, like weekends when you're ready to fire up the grill. Eat more fish. Just like produce, fish is best when bought fresh, and not allowed to age. Fresh frozen fish fillets are usually quite tasty, too, and tuna makes a delicious sandwich at lunch. Don't forget eggs, which are the protein that is the easiest to digest. If you need an energy boost in the morning, try eggs! Better yet, get eggs from a friend or two who raise chickens. Free-range eggs have many more nutrients than store-bought, and they're usually cheaper, too.

In short, eating "health" food is all about eating more whole foods. Eating more vegetables satisfies your stomach, and when your stomach is satisfied, so are you.

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