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!