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!