Food

Food...I love it, obviously. I have made it a mission to try and like as much of it as possible and it shows in my waistline. I eat from every cuisine and every nationality- Yum... most of the time!

I really wanted to be a good sport when we first went on MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) here in the sandbox. I fiqured...at least I'm not eating bugs. Though, not the all bugs are bad. I had a Tararula (jerky like, but with hair that sticks in between your teeth) in Cambodia. And crunchie cinnamon coated beetles- really good once you get pass the beetlejuice that squishes in your mouth at first bite. I've had a sushi Rattle Snake Burrito (really slimy with a subtle taste of chicken), really gamey beef stew that I know was dog, but what the heck...I swallowed it- people are starving all over the world, Or so my dad used to say.

I was working out and doing great on my plan until MRE's. I even got off a flight 3 weeks ago and my pants nearly fell off, so I proudly bought a belt...success and proud accomplishment in every step of my purchase...that was, until MRE's. They are packaged to give a young, healthy soldier nourishment for their trek through any mission using about 2000 calories or more per meal. Being a somewhat older broad, I would take one of these healthy meals and divide it into 3 meals. They consist of a entree, sides, always protein- think chocolate peanut butter packs and some concentrated bread or crackers that blow up in your tummy giving you the feeling of fullness. Let us not forget dessert, snacks and sugary drink mixes galore in every meal. There are serious trades going on for the poptarts, combos, cheese-its & M&M's. There's even trades for creamer...you get tons of instant coffee. Trades for jalepeno nuts, sugar, hot sauce- can you imagine. One lady tried to talk me out giving away a cheese package to a guy sitting at the adjoining desk. She said that it would be worth 2-4 snacks or a load of creamer. What the heck, share and share alike!

So it was with singing in my heart when I had my first kitchen made, (really barbecued) hot meal of Hamburgers and Hot Dogs- that's it. I skarved those baby's down like I hadn't eaten in days. It's amazing what food taste like when you are forced into a cuisine. Not that MRE's are bad. They're not and they come with their own heating package. The choices are almost unlimited, so what exactly was my problem. Did I really want to go back to salad's for lunch and "just a little" as I would say to the cooks. Hell no! I'm living everyday and eating every meal as if it is my last...while enjoying every bite and every pound.