Breaking the Cycle

We've seen this happen in our society before. Something becomes popular and our society quickly becomes addicted to it. By the time we realize how dangerous it is, it's too late. By the time we fully realized the dangers of smoking, we already had a generation that had grown up smoking by the age of thirteen. Ask them to quit, and they'll say there's no point, because the damage has already been done.

We're facing the same issue now, except replace cigarettes with junk food. Obesity is the new lung cancer.

We talk about nutrition and how important it is. But talking about it is not enough. The fact of the matter is, until we incorporate healthy and nutritious meals into the lives of our children on a regular basis, it will never catch on.

The thing is, it isn't as easy as it sounds. We have to want to be healthy to make it happen. Poor nutrition is something that spans several generations. Past generations grew up on greasy, fried food and sweets, oblivious to what we know about these foods now. These are the generations preparing food for our newest generation. If they don't want to cook better food, they won't. They will only perpetuate this cycle of unhealthy eating habits.

We need to break this vicious cycle of unhealthy eating habits. now.

yes, it is possible to break the cycle. I am living proof of this. I grew up in a house where cheese, meat, and fatty foods were pretty normal. We did not eat a lot of red meat, but that hardly makes up for everything else we ate. Weekends were devoted to greasy chinese takeout and pizza. when I became a vegetarian at the age of 15, my mom told me she would no longer cook for me. My view on vegetarian cooking was skewed by my mom's short stint as a vegetarian, during which she would just eat veggie burgers/veggie dogs and pasta. This was my diet for a long time.

It wasn't until my junior year of college that I learned to think beyond the veggie burger. I was living in a house with two other vegetarian girls, both of whom cooked their meals from scratch on a regular basis. I was amazed by the food they made! I started researching things online and found some great resources.

So here I am now, cooking for myself in my little studio apartment on a consistent basis. I've come a long way from my days of eating frozen veggie burgers. But the point is, I did it. I broke the cycle.

For the record, I'm not saying that you need to be a vegetarian to be healthy. There's a lot to be said in how you prepare your food. We've been programmed to think that unhealthy food tastes better than food that is healthy. But that doesn't have to be true.

We need to promote healthier eating for our youth on multiple levels, starting with our schools. Healthier food needs to provided to children at school (also, french fries should no longer count as a vegetable). I'm talking about salad bars and vegetarian options at lunch and serving food prepared in school kitchens-not reheated and served. we also need to teach children how to prepare healthy meals themselves. when they know these skills, they'll want to put them to use.