Today I will complete the Food Rules project; picking and choosing select rules from Michael Pollan's book that specifically 'spoke' to me. I hope you have enjoyed this review and commentary!
Part III: How should I eat?
Pay more, eat less.
I have a tendency to do the exact opposite. I get all giddy when I shop at Aldi because I save lots of money, however, most of the food I purchase there is highly processed and nutrient light. AND, as a family we seem to consume these cheap foods much faster ......... coincidence? Me thinks so.
Since I have been spending more on higher quality, less processed, nutrient dense foods, my food budget has increased. BUT, we are savoring the food because we know it cost more and don't want to just 'gorge' on it. We are also getting fuller faster with the healthier choices.
The banquet is in the first bite.
The law of diminishing returns factors in this rule. That first bite will be the absolute best! Taker a moment, put the utensils down and appreciate the moment of satisfaction. If you don't, you will find yourself chasing the sensation by shoveling forkfuls of food into your mouth trying to replicate that first bite. (not that I would know anything about that, of course)
Don't get your food from the same place your car does.
This rule rocks. Totally makes sense! Do YOU grab lunch or a snack at the Quicky Mart when you purchase gasoline? I have a friend (with the initials KM) who should pay close attention to this piece of advice.
Treat treats as treats.
Hand in the air! Hand in the air! putting hand down so I can file this one away.
Finally, rule # 64, Break the rules once in awhile.
Pheeeeewwwwww. I thought I would never be able to eat McD's french fries again without a MAJOR self-induced guilt trip. I just need to concentrate on the 'once in awhile' portion of the rule and I will be golden.
Now, let's EAT!!!!!!!!!
On the menu for tonight: Chicken Fajita's! healthy, colorful and yummy.
Part II: What kind of food should I eat? From the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan
Every day I am feeling better and better about making healthier food choices for my family. As the one who purchases and puts together most of our meals, I feel responsible to make good choices when I prepare for our meals. I am not one who loves to sit down and plan out menus (too tedious and requires a list), however, since reading Michael's book I have found myself thinking about new foods to introduce and new recipes to put together. It is just happening naturally and I LOVE it when a new idea just settles in to your life and nestles right in.
Here are some more tips from Food Rules that are making their way into my permanent file system.
Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
Ha! I always loved having Cocoa Pebbles for breakfast when I was a kid because of the 'magic' change from white milk to chocolate while I chomped away. And, if you really wanted a show, Fruity Pebbles were fantastic for cool psychedelic color changes.
The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead.
I knew it couldn't be good for you since it tastes so darn good. Something about the refined flour being stripped of all nutrients and acting like a spoon full of sugar once it enters the body. Shoot.
When I purchase bread this rule isn't so hard to follow. My family will eat wheat bread and heartier grain breads just fine, as long as it comes in a plastic wrapped bag from the grocery store. If I make whole wheat bread, it doesn't turn out like the fluffy sandwich bread ........ maybe because I don't have a pantry full of chemicals to make it taste like store bought. Still working on this one.
Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
Want some french fries? Make 'em. How about a nice chocolate cream pie ...... hhhmmm. Bake one up. Need ice cream? They have a machine you can buy to make your own!
But, these foods aren't healthy! That's okay, according to Michael. The thing is, junk food is cheap and plentiful in the marketplace so we eat it much more than we should. What if we had to make our OWN junk food when we had a craving? Aha! Maybe you would go to the trouble of making it, but probably not as often as you would get in your car to go buy it.
I feel my waistline shrinking as I place this little snippet in my permanent memory file.
Finally, Be the kind of person who takes supplements - then skip the supplements.
Huh? Yeah, I didn't get that one at first. Further reading discovered the math-like explanation: People who take supplements are generally healthier than the rest of us, even though supplements don't appear to be very effective. (studies show) So, why are they healthier? Because if they are concerned enough about their health to be taking supplements in the first place, they are also likely to be eating healthier and are better educated about nutrition. They are more likely to be people who exercise regularly and are concerned about their overall health. Since eating more nutrient dense food will provide all the vitamins and minerals we need, you can SKIP the supplements. Oooooohhhhhhhh.
Next time I will close up my discussion with Part III, How should I eat. Here is a hint: not too much.
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Part II: What kind of foods should I eat?
According to Michael Pollan in Food Rules, Mostly Plants.
Wow. Plants. Yummo. Can't wait until my next meal!
Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.
Born and raised in the Midwest, I have been eating meat since my first set of molars barely broke through. Our meals are built on the foundation of having meat, a starch, a vegetable and bread/butter on our plate. We would really be a pleased bunch if we could work that formula into every meal.
So, when I first spied rule # 23 listed above, I snorted and giggled. Meat as a FLAVORING? Ha! Special occasion? As in 'time to eat'? Oh, my. This one will be a challenge. Maybe I will remove meat from 1 meal a day ...... baby steps, right?!
"Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant foods] is better than eating what stands on two legs [fowl], which is better than eating what stands on four legs [cows, pigs, and other mammals]."
Michael references this Chinese proverb as a good rule, but it leaves out the uber healthy no-legged fish. Don't forget the fish people! And, under no uncertain circumstances should you ever eat a millipede.
Seriously, though, this is a good one. I think I'll stick it in my back pocket as a reminder.
Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
You are what you eat!
Now I can work in my emotions and apply them to all of these new food rules. If the beef you eat only ate corn, then you are missing out on all of the nutrients of the beef from a cow who grazed on grass AND corn AND was happy while chewing their cud. If I eat a happy cow, I will be happy.
Okay, not so literal, but I DO believe in spending more for quality meats which have been raised in kind. Do I ONLY purchase meat from small, local farms? No, because I have yet to make it a priority. This book is helping me to get there, though.
Small shifts in behavior will produce dramatic results. I really do believe that statement. As I change the way I think about how I want my family to eat I will purchase our foods differently and prepare our foods differently.
When Michael was on Oprah talking about his book, he said something that really struck a chord with me. And, forgive me as I try to recall and paraphrase:
Families of the 1950's spent, on average, 18% of their income on food and 9% on health care costs. Today families spend 9% of their income on food and 19% on health care costs.
Hhhhhhhmmmmmm. Sure, statisticians can throw numbers together and draw lines and correlations where previously there were none, but I have a feeling this one is relational.
We will end this lesson tonight with this pondering: What is the worst that can happen if I increase our food budget? We ........ eat better foods? ........ try new things? ........support our local farms? ........ get healthier?
Continuing with Part I of Food Rules, here are a couple of more notes of wisdom about how to choose healthy foods:
Avoid food products with the wordoid "lite" or the terms "low-fat" or "nonfat" in their names.
Okay ...... but I thought these products were better choices than their full fat version! Apparently when fat is removed from a food product, all flavor takes heed as well. So in order to add taste back in, the manufacturers add healthy fat-free things like sugar. Oh, and they say we eat more of a product labeled 'lite', ergo we eat more calories, ergo we gain weight. Guiltily raises hand. I say go for the good stuff, just less of it.
Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
Eeeeewwwwwww.
It is, however, a very good rule. If it never rots then the level of chemicals and preservatives it contains are through the roof and therefor should not be ingested. 30 year old Twinkie anyone?
If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
simple enough.
It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
It may not be food, but it's my excuse for: not planning ahead, giving in to the whims of my children, giving in to the whims of my inner child, having a break from cooking, heading out of town, cheaper than what I would cook at home ($1.69 Happy Meals anyone?), feeding my PMS cravings, on and on and on ....
Try to do better.
On that note, we have made our way through Part I: What should I eat. Or, at least the parts I found particularly fabulous.
Comments anyone?
Today I will share a couple of food rules from Food Rules. And, add my commentary, of course!
From Part I: What Should I Eat?
Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
Ha! This rule is so good for me. I am a sucker for product packaging and am always drawn to the newest and greatest fad. If it says "New and Improved!" it is in my basket. Until now.
Why do we need to try and improve on what is already available? Would a banana ever have a sticker saying "on-the-go packaging!"? or "Now with more potassium!"?
Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in their pantry.
Wow. This one really hit home. If the product I am feeding my children contains ingredients I couldn't or wouldn't purchase at my neighborhood grocers, then get rid of it. I know it may be convenient and tasty, but when I look at it from the statement above, it doesn't feel so good anymore.
Scratch Mono- and Di-glyceridesc off my list.
Avoid food products that make health claims.
At first I was like, duh, but then I was like, I totally do that! I fall hook, line and sinker for the cereals that claim "Made with Whole Grains" and get all excited about feeding my kids the healthy fruit loopies.
If the food processor has to go out of their way to make a health claim about their product, it isn't healthy or good for you to begin with.
Avoid foods you see advertised on TV.
Enjoy the commercial for the entertainment value, but skip buying the product. Other than beef and pork commercials, I have never seen a farmer advertising his new and improved crop of sweet corn.
As simple headed as this all seems, it is going to take some major shifts in my household to follow these food rules. The bad habit of filling up my pantry with highly processed food has got to change. Not going to be easy and my kids will not like me for awhile, but this has to be done.
I must call to attention how I simply leaped onto the FOOD RULES bandwagon without so much as an introduction. If you know me well, you were not surprised. As for everyone else, please accept my apologies and allow me to back it up a little.
As I get older I become wiser. Not in an academic sense, but in a 'smarter human being' sense. I find myself reacting less and reflecting more. Asking myself those existential questions. Questioning my purpose. Mapping out how to fulfill my passions. One single theme is prominent in my findings ........ simplicity.
For me, simplicity is:
slowing down, paring back, paying attention, questioning processes, praying, giving thanks, doing something for no personal gain, earning by working, staying in the moment, pointing out the fantastic, taking photos of spontaneity, bartering, making a connection, hanging clothes to dry, making what I could easily purchase, teaching my children how to laugh at themselves, asking why, saying no, accepting a compliment, giving my time, days with no schedule, carrying cash, sharing my ways, listening to the quiet, observing without an opinion, reading body language, laughing out loud ..........
These are just a few of my favorite simple things. So, back to the turnip truck. Why am I reading about food? Where does food fit into the equation? Why has eating and making healthy food choices become complicated? And, because I have a twisted relationship with food, how can I straighten it all out by applying my mantra of simplicity?
The US Government makes it simple here I think ..... maybe ....... kind of sorta
Further research brings us this:
Looks complicated to me
Michael Pollan has a simple answer. A simple book about simple food rules you can follow. He even summed up the book in seven simple words I would like to share for today's lesson:
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
simply genius.
I am embarking on a new topic here on 333. For as long as it takes to get through the subject matter, I am going to be sharing the words and wisdoms of Michael Pollan, author of the recently released book: FOOD RULES: An Eater's Manual.
I giggle and laugh as I read through the pages because it is all so simple and really just boils down to good old fashioned common sense. So, why do I feel the need to spend money on information I already know? Because, as a parent, I know all too well you need to 'say it once .... say it twice ..... say it three times', and then be prepared to start all over again. In order for a habit to form and take hold the behavior must be repeated over and over.
Join me as I tell myself, once again, to eat good foods. Oh, and feel free to jump in and add any words of wisdom along the way.
I will direct quote (always in bold) when referencing the book and make it crystal clear when I am offering up my opinion.
Part I "What should I eat?"
Eat Food
(my definition) As in real food and not the processed crap filling up most of the grocer's shelves. I grew up in the era of TV dinners, meals in a box and snack foods with a shelf life longer than my own life expectancy. I remember begging to tag along to the grocery store so I could walk down the cereal aisle and be the one to choose the cereal of the week. The artificial colors and shapes drew me in and I found myself explaining to my mother that eating marshmallows for breakfast was acceptable as long as it came in a cereal box.
My mind tells me all of the process foods I grew up on was bad for my health and I shouldn't feed those things to MY family, but my sense of habit and desire for ease direct my shopping cart to the middle aisles every time.
Taking your children on a shopping trip only supports the theory that holding up a bunch of kale will yield a frown, but wander down the potato chip aisle and the kids are jumping up and down with glee.
Yes, this will be a battle of habits. Both mine as an adult raised on all of the fake food as well as re-wiring my children to recognize a beet from a radish.
