Some Assembly Required.




Spicy Rice Noodle Bowl.

Originally uploaded by DJSuperCub.

I have decided that I’m going to live healthier in 2007. In preparation for this task, I’ve started finishing up the chemically based detergents and soaps and I’ve been paying closer attention to food labels, looking to avoid modern miracles such as Splenda and whatnot.

Our market choices for healthy living is rather limited. We are graced with FOUR Wal*Mart Supercenters (Always Chaos, Always) within 25 miles of our home. We also have some regular grocery stores that have a small “Nature’s Cubbyhole” section and one larger market that has a full blown “Nature’s Way” area. There’s also a natural food store called Peter’s Cornucopia.

Anyways, last night I went to Peter’s for the first time, with the hopes of finding all I needed to make this transition easier. The first thing I noticed was that everything was more expensive, as I expected it to be, but I really didn’t anticipate a half gallon of organic orange juice clocking in at $6.99. No thanks, I’ll juice the oranges myself.

I browsed through the soup section, where some quick-type rice noodle bowls caught my eye. Moderately priced (no second mortgage required) with relatively healthy nutrition information on the side, I tossed them in my little basket and moved on.

Today I’m having my first of these lunch delights. The first thing I noticed is that some assembly is required. I expected to add water, but I was also asked to add the contents of three packets, including some dehydrated vegetables, something that suspiciously looked like ramen noodle powder and a small packet of oil. I punched up the required time on the radarange microwave and voila! Lunch, three minutes later.

It is VERY spicy. Much spicier than I anticipated. Much spicier than anything we had with Karl and Randy back in Boston last month. I’m thinking the spicyness is in the oil. It’s rather tasty though. I’m looking forward to my next lunch.