by Erin Yarrobino

Created on: March 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 23, 2009

I do not need much time to think about what I would order for my last meal. Despite the fact that I am a self-proclaimed health nut, I would throw all that out the window. It is my last meal! I do not have to worry about preventing diabetes, cancer, heart disease, or any other illness. I eat healthy to avoid these illnesses and to stay healthy, so one really good meal would be the greatest way to end this life.

Throughout my life, starting when I was a child, I have had great food memories with pasta and meatballs. As a child, my grandmother would make the best pasta known to man. When I say the best, I mean it.

I never asked her what sauce she used or how she prepared it, but nothing could beat it. I used to look forward to going over her house when my mom had to work. I knew she would always make the pasta and meatball dish for me. There was not one time it did not live up to its standard.

Ordinarily, I like most pasta types, with some exceptions. With grandma's pasta, however, that all changed. Of course, I come from an all Italian-American family, so pasta is always on the brain. There is something about eating it when it is made with some special recipe, as I am sure this was.

I am always satisfied after eating a meal with pasta and meatballs. The meat is protein, which helps to hold you longer. The sauce almost always has salt, which bloats you, but goes away when you drink water. By the time I am not bloated anymore, it is time to go to sleep. So, I never have to worry about eating after the pasta meal.

While eating this last meal, I would add lots of grated cheese to my plate. I could never eat pasta without grated cheese, no matter how good the pasta, it is just an idiosyncracy of mine. It just adds extra flavor to the dish.

For a drink, I would have some soda, probably a Sprite or 7-UP. Soda is one of the things I cut out when I began to eat healthy almost five years ago. I have always believed that soda and Italian food go together. You cannot have one without the other.

I would even order some bread. It could be regular bread, or it could be garlic bread-which was always a favorite of mine. I love to roll the bread around in the sauce. It gives plain bread the extra zing I always like.

If I am going to die, I might as well die happy and worry-free!

Never have your last meal without dessert. I would order either strawberry shortcake, or cheesecake. I would not resist cutting a large chunk of the cake either. I would not eat much before this big meal, so I would have alot of room saved.

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