Dietary Concerns

"Well, look at it this way. You're from Minnesota, right?"
"...right." Wondering where he's going with this.
"You guys have that salad thing with like two pounds of shredded turkey and ham on it, right?"
"Chef salad. It's usually less than two pounds. And I don't think that's just a Minnesota thing."
"Well, whatever. It's like that! You'd eat that, wouldn't you?"
"Mike, the argument is not about whether it's okay to mix kingdoms. The fact is that if I find a living critter INSIDE my apple again, I will react with startled disgust, and then refuse to eat the rest of it."
"I'm just sayin'. Protein and carbs. You're good."
"Mike, would YOU eat it?"
"**** no! I'm not into all that healthy ****. You know that!"

I hang around with a lot of guys (and one girl) who survive and thrive off straight junk food. (This is by no means the majority of the Navy - thanks to the requirements on us, most personnel exist in the "culture of fitness.")

The food on base is...um...suspect. There's food we're already charged for - if it's anything actually healthy, be suspicious of how long it's been sitting out and where it was beforehand. There are other food options, but as you're ALREADY paying for the one, most people prefer to go there.

By now my system is conditioned to a new level of fussiness - it won't tolerate junk food. I had three oreos and a chocolate chip cookie when I was home one afternoon, and everything was grumpy later. It WILL tolerate organisms from other kingdoms (animal, fungal) present in my food, that's more of a mental hurdle to get over.

I usually end up ingesting such things by accident. Once I realize the mistake, the reaction is no longer to fling away the offending article with a shrieking spasm, but just a resigned sigh. "Ah, man. I wanted to eat that."

Then again, I've been in for less than a year. The day could very easily come where I just won't care at ALL.