For some, eating healthy foods is a struggle because as a society we love processed, sugary fattening foods. For some students, their parents have made diet choices that removed processed foods from the house. This new trend of trading junk food for healthy alternatives is growing rapidly, especially in households where parents are taking the initiative. Sisters Margaret and Marion King are no strangers to this new-fangled idea. Their mother makes certain that their house does not contain any of the products most families would consider staples.
“I don’t really remember when she started going organic, I just remember thinking one day, ‘wow, she’s changed all the food’,” freshman Margaret King said.
“[Mom] has alway been hardcore healthy, so it was never, ‘oh, we are only going to eat organic from now on’ sort of thing,” senior Marion King said.
The refrigerator is filled with fresh fruit and veggies, the cabinets contain whole wheat cereal and the freezer hold all-natural fruit juice popsicles. There are no cans of Pringles or bags of chips.
“Marion and I buy our own food sometimes and we hide it,” Margaret said.
“Once we accidentally left a new container of Nerds on the coff ee table and [mom] came in and said, ‘oh, these look old, I’m going to throw them away’. The box was completely full, but she threw it out.”
“We used to hide stuff when we were younger,” older sister Marion King said. “Now, mom is a litt le more flexible. Like the other day, I was craving sour cream and onion chips and she went out and bought me a whole bag. She didn’t say, ‘only a have a few’ or ‘those are so unhealthy Marion’, she just let me eat them.”
To start making healthier choices in your own life, try eating diff erent color foods. Red foods, like strawberries, peppers and tomatoes are loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C. Anti-oxidants are proven to help prevent heart disease and strokes. Orange and yellow foods contain beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. In turn, vitamin A helps to maintain the lining of the body’s organs. The healthy, thick tissue prevents the organs from gett ing infected and making us sick. Good yellow and orange foods to try: grapefruit, peaches, butternut squash or cantaloupe.
“I don’t eat like any green foods, except for salad,” Margaret said. “And I don’t really like vegetables, especially cooked carrots.”
However, green foods like broccoli, kiwi, green beans and peas will help keep your eyesight strong and prevent you from going blind as you age.
“I hate eating peas,” Marion said. “Mom will make, like, mixed veggies and I never eat the peasbut that’s okay with her, because I’ve never eaten them.”
Both agree that the grossest food their mom ever tried to convert them to was organic Oreos.
“Those just don’t taste the same. Eventually even mom realized that the real Oreos tasted better than the organic ones,” Marion said.

Harrisonburg, VA