Ginger Always Said, “You Are What You Eat”

We had a reasonable week on the FOB this week so I decided to blog about something enjoyable...food! My memories of growing up and the importance of food as it related to my family are not the same as Judi’s. Don’t get me wrong, I have some very fond memories of food as a kid. My favorite is probably my family’s Friday night tradition of my Dad treating his 8 kids to 5 large Delrose pizzas. I have eaten pizza all over the country and to this day the best pizza I remember eating came from Delrose or “Momma Delrosa” as we referred to her. The Moon Hotel is a close second by the way. I also don’t recall eating out much as a kid, maybe that’s because my parents were raising 8 kids, but Judi showed me just how much fun food, and eating out, can be. I only think about the meal I’m eating at the time. Judi, not so much. We’ll be eating breakfast and she’ll be excitedly thinking about, and planning, her lunch and dinner – sometimes even the following day’s meals. Almost everything we do revolves around food. And Cowher is no different. I think if he’s not eating he’s thinking about food and he goes to bed dreaming about what he’s going to eat as soon as he wakes up. I may get credit for picking him out at the Humane Society and for training him, but he is his mommy's boy.

When the FST is not busy with patients it can get pretty dull. So, all you think about is the next meal and you plan your days around them. This is one of the areas where Judi and deployment would actually be simpatico. My non-busy days go something like this:

0530 wake up

0545 gym for 40 minutes of cardio (20 treadmill, 10 elliptical, 10 stairmaster)

0630 back to the FST and check e-mail while I cool down

0700 shower

0720 breakfast – 3 egg omelet with ham, mushrooms and peppers, 3 hard-boiled egg whites, oatmeal, a variety of the fresh fruit pictured below, bottle of water mixed with crystal light raspberry green tea and a cup of coffee

0800 muster at the FST

0815 trauma drill – we do one every day just to stay proficient

0930 go to MWR to check Facebook and yahoo e-mail – 30 minute time limit - sucks, though we are very close to having internets in our rooms

1000 back to FST – eat a South Beat Diet bar, sit around and bullshit, read gossip magazines (thanks Nancy!) wait for 1100 for lunch

1100 lunch – turkey, ham and provolone on wheat bread with pickles put into a Panini maker (rules), a fresh red, orange, yellow, green pepper and tomato salad with honey mustard dressing, broccoli, green beans (no garlic), or corn depending on what they have that day

1130 back to the FST and do the same thing as 1000 wait for workout time

1330 gym to lift, current schedule is one body part per week starting Monday with Chest, Tuesday Back, Wednesday Arms, Thursday Shoulders, Friday Legs

1415 back to FST for another South Beach Diet bar, cashews or almonds, and beef jerky

1430 check work e-mail again, read more gossip mags, turn on TV to watch a repeat of whatever sporting event is being televised on Armed Forces Network (AFN)

1630 MWR again for my 15 minute call to Judi - God I miss her!!!

1700 dinner – depending on the day I usually load up on whatever protein they have (roast turkey, pork, chicken, grilled fish – they serve tons of fish and there is not water anywhere near Afghanistan). Fridays are surf ‘n turf with steak and either lobster tails or king crab legs (yes, I wrote lobster and crab legs and can you believe some people complain about them being overcooked? Really!?!?!). Saturday is my cheat day where I devour whatever cake they make for dessert (pineapple upside down cake is my favorite) with a huge scoop of praline and caramel ice cream that I smother with even more caramel and chopped nuts. I figure my Saturday dinner has about 2,000 calories

1800 shower

1830 back to room to watch a movie or something on the computer

2100 lights out and hope I’m not awakened by a helicopter crash or IED blast

The word around Afghanistan is that the food at FOB Lagman is some of the best in the country. I certainly don’t take full advantage of it. They have a fast food line where they serve cheese steaks, hamburgers, hot sausage, chicken tenders, corn dogs, onion rings, mini pizzas, and stuff like that. Then they have a main course line that serves proteins that I mentioned above plus side dishes like stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, steamed veggies. Then you walk up a ramp to another level where they usually have a “theme” night with Mexican, Chinese, or Italian. Sometimes they have a wing night or a curry night; you get the idea. Then they have about 5 or 6 different desserts (not including the ice cream bar and cookie trays). They say, you know “them”, when you return from deployment you either bench 300 pounds or weigh 300pounds – now you can see why. I’m shooting for the 300 pound bench.

Take care,

John

p.s. I would like to go on record as being on board with the Steelers trading 7 to get Sam Bradford. Also, I already have plans to get up on Friday at 0400 to watch the first round of the draft on AFN

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