More Food Rules

As I said before I am in love with Michael Pollan's book Food Rules. Every page of this book was meaningful to me, but some of his rules stuck out more than others. I do not want to steal of of his ideas and get in trouble so I will just list his rule and then add in my own thoughts/opinions:

1. Eat food: Of all his rules this one is the simplest yet most complex. In a nutshell it means eat foods that are real foods like apples, bananas, beans, carrots, chicken and beef. If it is not found in nature is is not food in the true sense of the word.

2. Don't Eat Anything Your Grandmother (or great-grandmother) Wouldn't Recognize: I love this one! I picture my sweet grandma walking into Schnucks and being amazed by some of the items on the shelf. Granted she has been gone from this Earth for ten years, but even 11 or 15 years ago would she be able to pick up a tube of Go-Gurt and know it was portable yogurt?

3. Avoid Products That Contain Ingredients That Most People Wouldn't Keep In The Pantry: This makes so much sense!! Flip over a package of Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni and you will find a list of ingredients that I cannot even pronounce let alone keep stored in my pantry. Any idea what monoglycerides are? Do you have enzyme modified cheese or partially hydrogenated soy oil in your pantry? I know you have a nice stash of Yellow Lake 5&6 in your spice cabinet. Ugh, seriously this is advertised as FOOD?! Not to mention it is loaded with sodium and fats. Stay far away from processed items!

4. Avoid Foods You See Advertised on TV: True you are starting to see more commercial for real foods like the Real California Milk (Happy Cows Come From California! ads), but think about the last time you saw an advertisement from farmers about their carrots or from a local orchard for their apples. I can honestly admit that I have never seen a carrot farm ad! But an add for McDonald's or Coco Puffs or Coke, well I can pretty much guarantee you that I will see some type of non-food ad on my TV within the next five minutes.

5. Eat Only Foods Cooked By Humans: If it comes mass produced by a machine you can pretty much guarantee it is grossly over processed.

6. If It Came From a Plant Eat It, If It Was MADE In a Plant Don't Eat It: 'nuff said!

7. Eat Animals That They Themselves Have Eaten Well: Obviously this doesn't apply directly to me, but it does apply to my family. If the cows have been forced to eat GMO grains, have been injected with antibiotics and growth hormones it is not a good idea to nosh on it. If the chickens have been forced to live in small, dark houses with no ventilation and are fed a bunch of GMO grains, don't eat them! Stick with animals who are allowed to roam free and are fed foods that are made for their unique systems, like grass fed beef.

8. Eat All The Junk Food You Want As Long As You Make It Yourself: Would you REALLY eat all of those fries and ice cream bars if you had to physically make it all yourself at home? Probably not. It is so easy to pop open a box of ice cream or drive through the window to grab some fries. But if you had to churn the milk and sugar in your kitchen, make your own chocolate syrup, freeze it & insert the sticks you probably wouldn't eat it as frequently.

9. Don't Get Your Fuel From The Same Place Your Car Does: Where else can you go to fill up the tank, buy a 32oz soda, a pack of cigarettes, grab a doughnut and container of nachos & cheese?!

10. Cook: I used to hate cooking! I usually burned things, sauces boiled over and the kitchen was a cleaning nightmare. I started making easy dishes and slowly moved up. While I am still not the best cook, I am definitely improving in my skills.

I could go on and on about this book, but I'll save the rest for you to decide!

Food Rules

In my last posting I talked about this great little book I had just finished reading called "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. I love this book! Michael lists about 65 food rules that all humans should follow in their lives. Some of these rules seem so very common sense to me yet I can truly imagine how many people would read his list and say, "huh?!"

I am genuinely amazed at how uneducated folks are about food, health, choices and lifestyle in general. I had to go grocery shopping today. Prior to walking out the door I planned a week's worth of dinners, checked the kitchen for foods we were in need of and made a list. Upon arriving to the store I started shopping. In the first 15 minutes my cart was full of bananas, tomatoes, kiwi, apples, red onions, ginger root, romaine lettuce, avocados, cucumbers, zucchini, blood oranges, grapefruit and strawberries. Yes, we eat that much produce! I try my best to shop the perimeter of the store and I strive to steer clear of processed foods. If you had looked in my cart you would have also found skim milk, yogurt, chicken breast, ground turkey, canned beans, unsweetened applesauce, canned mandarin oranges and tuna (not bad choices, in my opinion). The processed foods were Kashi cereal bars, organic oat o's (like Cheerios), provel cheese, cream cheese, bagels and multi-grain rice cakes (not the best, but really not the worst). I walked out of the store feeling like I had made conscious food choices, foods that would truly feed my family. I don't know about you, but I always look at other peoples carts and wonder about their food habits. Yes, I know that sounds kinda weird and stalker-like in nature, but I promise I never actually talk to these people!! Anyway, I noticed one man with probably 20 packets of Ramen Noodles. I couldn't help but think about how much sodium and artificial crap he was ingesting. He could easily buy whole wheat noodles and jarred sauce for the same amount of money and the nutritional benefits would be so much greater. Another man was buying Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles and Pop-Tarts like they were going out of style. I couldn't help but wonder if he actually fed that sugary "food" to his children before school each day. Instead of Lucky Charms or icing coated Pop-Tarts, he could buy a big container of oats and jazz them up with a little peanut butter and sliced fruit or even but a big box of Cheerios.  The kicker was the lady in line in front of me at the check out; she had 10 frozen pizzas, 10 frozen dinners, 10 frozen orange juice concentrates, two cases of soda and a big container of rum. I'd like to think she was hosting some type of party, but I bet money that was lunch and dinner for the next several days. I am sure she was able to buy all of the items for fairly cheap, but I venture to say that she could also buy noodles, rice, beans, canned/frozen vegetables and select cuts of meat for about the same amount of money. Maybe cost wasn't even an issue, maybe it was the convenience of the prepared foods that appealed to her? Again, I bet she could spend a few hours cooking and baking one afternoon and freeze/prep enough healthy foods for the week. I try very hard not to judge others when I am out, but sometimes I just cannot help it. How can people eat so unhealthy and not realize the effects of their choices? Do they truly not know the risks? Do they not care at this point (that would so be my mom!)? Is money a factor? There are so many possibilities.

I am so interested in food and seeing how much I adore this handy little book, I have decided to delve a little farther into it all. Look for my next post!

My Plan

I just finished reading a fabulous book! If you are interested in reading about food, please get your hands on Micheal Pollan's book, Food Rules. It is a very short, fast, easy read and best of all it is page after page of simple rules to follow when selecting what you eat. I don't know how to make the picture bigger otherwise I would. I borrowed a copy from the library, but it wouldn't be that expensive to purchase if you are truly interested.

I feel like a live a fairly healthy lifestyle, but I'll be the first to admit that I need to make some major improvements. I do not exercise (unless you count running after kids all day as exercise). I have a sweet tooth. I must have a daily soda. So while not criminal in nature, I can and should make improvements. As I lay in bed last night, exhausted from a week of intense teaching moments and countless patent/teacher conferences, I thought about my health over the past seven days. I had declared Monday as Margarita Monday so I indulged in empty calories of alcohol. Wednesday was Principal's Day at school and we all brought in pies for "Pies with the Principals" and I ate slivers of key lime and cherry pie. Wednesday and Thursday night were conferences so I ate snacky type foods all evening long (the parents provides all of the food). I ate soup, chips and dip, veggies and fruit with dip, a cupcake and yes more pie. Thursday night after conferences I stay up way too late visiting with a co-worker over a Starbucks at 9pm. I was wired and didn't get enough sleep. On Friday we ordered a cheese pizza for dinner (our Friday night Lent dinner since we cannot eat fish due to allergies). My 10pm last night I was bloated, full of trapped gas, sleepy, had another headache and disgusted with myself. I decided right then and there to take back my health and lifestyle.

Today I am going to plan 100% healthy meals for the next seven days. Then I'm headed to the store to buy everything we need. I cannot wait for the farmer's markets to open! For the next seven days I am going to make it a promise to my body to walk at least one mile every day, to juice 2x a day and to eat only fruits and veggies for snacks and meals. No more soda, dairy or grains for the next seven days. I will drink water, juice from my juicer and green tea. I will go to bed no later than 11pm each night and I will make for certain that I read at least one chapter from a book before bed. I can do anything for seven days. I'm on spring break so what better time to get my life back in order? Here is to health!

Lunch?!

I read this article and just about gagged. The thought of my child, any child, eating this so called food product just turns my stomach. How in the world can the US Department of Education think this is a good idea? Please do your child(ren) a very big favor and DO NOT let him/her buy school lunch! I pack Brennan's lunch every single day (expect for pancake day), it is not hard or time consuming. I know what he is eating and where it came from. Ugh, this is just disturbing..........

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/pink-slime-for-school-lun_n_1322325.html