Pizza 'n Fries

Sundays are my least favourite days to eat in the caf. We get two meals, one of which is the usual breakfast of eggs (which I don't eat), crunchy beans (which I don't eat), cereal, milk, bread, and spread. Today there was waffle mix but I'm 99.9% sure it was made with cow's milk so once again, I passed. I asked for a single wholewheat pita bread and left.

The board that serves as a desk in my room does double duty as a kitchen where I keep my kitchen utensils and food supplies. For brunch, I made a pita bread sandwich accompanied with pretzels and garlic dip. I didn't bother going to the caf for supper since it's the same menu every week: cheese pizza and French fries. (By the way, French fries are served twice a week.) Instead, I cooked a packet of mushroom noodles and added half a tin of sweet corn, chia seeds, and a few peanuts. A soy pudding was my dessert.

Last week some of the meals were particularly sparse. I jokingly thought to myself that this must be God's diet for me: salad and pita bread with small portions of oily starches. But in all honesty, God wouldn't give me such a diet. His diet is filled with fruits and vegetables of all varieties, grains and beans that are well cooked and taste good, and everything is made to strengthen the body. Unfortunately, that isn't my reality.

I worry a lot about eating healthy food. I know how important it is to eat dark leafy greens every day, but I see them once a week if that. I've learned that sugar, oil and salt should be used sparingly yet those seem to be the main ingredients in the dishes we're served. Over the past 3 years, I've carefully adopted a healthy diet and in the process have seen at least two significant health issues be reversed. I'm worried that not having access to a similar diet here will lead to poor health once more.

There was a really neat video clip on CNN that was circulating again recently. The 100-year old Seventh-day Adventist physician attributed his longevity and good health to a plant-based diet. His cholesterol is 117 -- amazing particularly given the traditional diet in North America that relies heavily on processed and fast foods. Obesity in the United States is rapidly becoming the norm. Sadly, however, it's not just there but worldwide as the Western diet spreads.

Interestingly, I've met several people here who prefer a vegan, or plant-based diet. Like me when I first came, they make do with the vegetarian options and because their stay is short, they don't mind. I'm here for a full year, though, and I do. I thought things were working out, but it seems not. So I return once again to the drawing board and figure out how to manage.