I should have skipped the Bell to skip the uhh

After spending two days on the couch after an encounter with a Taco Bell cheesy beefy melt that went astray, I decided to take a look at the leading causes of food poisoning.

Right there at the top of the list was everything that organic food supporters have been telling me all semester. Regular grains and vegetables, like the ones in Taco Bell kitchens across the country, come with a ton of hazards from the moment they are farmed with pesticides.

But it could have been the ground beef.

Maybe it was even the cheese.

Or there was something about that rice.

Whatever it was, it knocked me down long enough that I did some serious thinking about what I put in my mouth. Could I have gone organic with that burrito instead of opting for the cheap convenience of fast food? The answer is of course, yes.

For about $1.99, I received attitude from a teenager along with a 570 calorie (I know!) tortilla stuffed with cheese, ground beef, seasoned rice and sour cream with lots of hot sauce. All are ingredients I could find in all-natural or organic packaging from local grocery stores.

Trader Joe's sells reduced fat organic cheese in the block, shredded and string format with about 100 calories per-serving.

Wild Oats sells organic whole wheat tortillas with 130 calories per-serving.

Trader Joe's sells ground beef from grass fed cows with 270 calories per-serving.

Whole Foods sells organic rice with 178 per-serving.

Safeway sells Horizon Organics sour cream with 60 calories per-serving.

And organic salsa is everywhere including Target.

Organic foods are "without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives," according to Wikipedia. That means less is left to chance.

And organic beef comes without antibiotics and growth hormones.

It may have cost a little bit more but having back the weekend that my nephew, Callahan James, was born would be priceless. So the next time I stop for fast food, I'll be thinking about what healthy choices I could be making for myself on both the short and long-term.

And maybe, like the following YouTube poster, I could just grow it on my own once I'm through with the college lifestyle.



Fast food is no stranger to food poisoning by the way. And unfortunately, it's a much more serious kind than what I experienced on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.



Until next time, happy eating.