Food Rules

Last weekend I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan. It's a quick read, deliberately avoiding the language of biochemistry. I've seen Michael Pollan on "Oprah" a couple of times and I really like what he has to say about food. He puts things in simple terms that make it less confusing to make healthy decisions. Instead of memorizing nutrients, ratios, etc., he gives 64 general rules for selecting and eating food.

I've chosen a few of my favorites:

2. "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." Example: GoGurt portable yogurt tubes

7. "Avoid food products containing ingredients that a 3rd-grader cannot pronounce."

11. "Avoid foods you see advertised on TV." Farmers don't have the money or packaging to advertise; major food companies do.

13. "Eat only foods that will eventually rot."

19. "If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't."

20. "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car."

27. "Eat animals that have themselves eaten well." Most animals today are on a high-energy diet filled with grain and corn products when their bodies were made for grass and plants.

36. "Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of your milk." :)

39. "Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself." Most of us would eat fries and cookies much less often if we took the time to prepare them at home.

44. "Pay more, eat less." As our food becomes cheaper, we spend much more on health care. "Better to pay the grocer than the doctor."

57. "Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does." Gas stations are full of highly processed foods.

60. "Treat treats as a treat." At our house, we are really good at turning any ordinary day into a cause for celebration : /

63. "Cook." This allows you to have control of your ingredients, provided you bought healthy food to cook with.

And my very favorite:

64. "Break the rules once in a while." :)

I'm working on a list of foods in our home that do not fit into the rules. I'm also trying to find better alternatives to some of those things, like making cream of mushroom soup for recipes instead of canned soup. I read the ingredients on the can of cream of chicken and was grossed out. These rules are contrary to the "Western diet" of highly processed food. It doesn't seem realistic to attempt all 64 at once, but it seems doable to adopt 1-2 per week and make a lifestyle adjustment.