By Lois Hewitt

I did something yesterday that used to be normal for me but something I have not done in a while. And it really stopped me in my tracks.

This post isn’t about me thinking I’m superior or anything. Let me start by saying I suffered from horrible food choices and food addictions for decades and am still fighting the results of those choices.

I’m overweight with several health complications due to a long lasting poor diet.  I work everyday to be better with food.

I stopped going to the grocery store about a year ago.  I order groceries and have them delivered. I know that sounds extravagant but I actually save money.

I make a menu and buy only what I need for the week.  No impulse items.  No throwing extras in the cart.  I actually eat better and save money.

Of course there are days I want candy and I curse this plan but I get over it.

I buy from Whole Foods, just my preference.  Because I shop online, I have time to read ingredient information. Not everything at Whole Foods is healthy.  But it is a little more healthy than our regular grocery stores in the area.

Yesterday I had to run into a “regular” grocery store.  Some things you just can’t get at Whole Foods, like Cool Whip (which makes a great cake frosting).  You still gotta live a little.

I walked in the store, and it had been quite a while.  I noticed how small the produce section was compared to the bakery section.

Then I noticed two full isles of chips, pretzels and microwave popcorn.  Followed by a full aisle of candy and boxed pastries (I didn’t even tempt myself.)

Another double aisle of sweetened cereal and more pastries.

The frozen organic vegetable section was stored in one single unit and looked like it hadn’t been visited for a while.

Across the aisle were several freezers full of pizzas and the next aisle was premade food. The last full aisle was just ice creams.

As I continued through the store I saw a double aisle of just sodas and in the dairy aisle two tables of more pastries.

Even the beer and wine section was bigger than the produce section.

I was overwhelmed and saddened. That used to be my life.  Prepared foods, snacks, chips, more snacks, sugary cereal, even more snacks, Coke in glass bottles and snacks.

It’s all right there. Easy access. Anything you want, just throw it in the cart.

“They” tell you how expensive it is to eat healthy. That it is less expensive to eat processed food.  But they never mention the long range costs. Illness, depression and more.

Please believe me, I’m not preaching so much as I am concerned.

I grew up thinking breakfast was two Pop Tarts and a Coke or a bowl of Cap’t Crunch and a candy bar.  It was just my dad and me, so we ate out a lot. McDonald’s was my preference for decades.

I never really learned how to really cook until the lock down during COVID. I could make some things but knew nothing about nutrition.

As I stood in the middle of that grocery store, I was reminded of all my past bad choices.  All the illnesses I had.  The fact that my taste buds didn’t like anything that wasn’t heavily coated in sugar and/or fat.

I thought of all the money I wasted on food that did not nourish me.  Yes, it may have filled my belly but it never fully satisfied. That’s why I always needed more. Come to find out, that’s the plan and always has been.

Anthony Bourdain said that once food became convenient, it became unhealthy (I paraphrased).  Food was meant to nourish the body and satisfy the soul.

Food was meant to heal not harm.  Food was meant to be a catalyst for human connection, sharing a meal, not wolfing down a burger and fries in the car as you drive.

Many, including myself, lost touch with the real meaning of food.  And it takes a high price in wasted food costs and in health.

I must have looked like some kind of freak just staring at all the food and all the excess. Is there a reason there are a hundred different mustards?

I looked at all of the sum total of “food” and wished I had known what I know now then. It was too much. Overconsumption at its finest.

Again, not preaching. But it saddened me the lies we believed.  Vitamin enriched.  Low fat.  New and improved.  All natural.  All lies.

I grabbed my two (not good for me) items and ran out of there quickly.  Afraid that somehow the monster would attack again. 

Fear of falling off the wagon, is real for me.  I have gotten bags of garbage food and eaten it during the last four years.  But as I continue to learn more about nutrition, the less it happens.

God provides our daily bread. He wants us healthy and fully functioning. His food is simple and tasty not overprocessed and unhealthy.

It’s hard to cook every meal.  Luckily, I’m older now. I don’t work full time, in fact we consider the money I save by not eating out as equal to a part time job.

Not everyone has the inclination or ability. That saddens me because our food system in this country is broken.  And has been since I was a child. 

The long range effects of poor nutrition are now finally coming into the light.

I pray for our farmers, especially small family farms, at every meal.  Their life is hard. Going up against the Goliath’s like Con Agra and the like.  I pray that the food we eat is good for our body and soul.

I pray that more Americans see the lies the food lobbyists are telling us all in commercials and advertising.

I pray for the health and well-being of all people through the food we eat.

It’s harder and harder to eat better food.  But even small changes can help.  Eat well my friends. I pray for your health and that of our nation.