I have found myself being more conscious of food lately. I am becoming more aware of how I feel after eating: do I feel nourished or just full? I have always thought I ate fairly healthy, but have found there is always room for improvement. It all started with instant potatoes. They used to be a quick, go-to side at dinnertime. Then, one day as I was washing dishes after supper, there were bits of instant potatoes left on a plate. As the hot water washed over these potatoes, they turned into a thin liquid almost instantaneously. After witnessing this transformation, I began to question why do I eat these in the first place? I thought it was for the convenience--the name says it all. It's much easier to tear open a packet and add water than peeling and mashing real potatoes. I couldn't shake the sickening image of the instant potatoes turning this watery slime running down the drain. My mind was littered with questions: What was it doing in my digestive track? ...