Food Rules!

I just finished the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I have read a lot of books about the food industry, starting with the well-known Fast Food Nation way back in the day when I was going to BSC.Most of the books I've read have pretty enlightening (and frightening) exposes regarding the American food industry, but can be slightly overwhelming. After you find out all the bad stuff, how are you supposed to know what to do with that information? Food Rules breaks it down into 64 items of advice that are easy to adhere to with some will power and planning. (Will power because the book says in a round about way to not buy and eat Cheetos, but we all know that can be easier said than done during moments of weakness.)


Here are some of my favorite rules:

• #2: Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
• #5: Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top 3 ingredients. (I like this rule because the book lists the clever terminology the food manufacturers use to disguise sugar in their products!)
• #11: Avoid foods you see advertised on television. (If you think about it, broccoli doesn't buy air time.)
• #39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
• #46: Stop eating before you're full. (As opposed to eating until you're full, which is what I currently do! Pollan suggests asking yourself "Is my hunger gone?" rather than "Am I full?")
• #54: Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
• #63: Cook.

Posts that are coming soon: How to make naan bread and lentil tikka masala; my first attempt at making a peach pie; why I am a vegetarian; photos from Tubb's Hill hike round 2 (photos that will make you want to move to CDA are promised weather permitting)


Stay tuned!