Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Some of the Rules I try to Live By

Back to Basics. Whole Foods. As little processed food as possible. I thought I would list a few of the Food Rules I try to live by. Here are 7 of Michael Pollan's rules. They are not rocket science. That is the point. We have made "food" too complicated! Here we go:

  1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. "When you pick up that box of portable yogurt tubes, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can't pronounce, ask yourself, "What are those things doing there?" Pollan says.
  2. Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.
  3. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.
  4. Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot. "There are exceptions -- honey -- but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren't food," Pollan says.
  5. It is not just what you eat but how you eat. "Always leave the table a little hungry," Pollan says. "Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, 'Tie off the sack before it's full.'"
  6. Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It's a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. "Remember when eating between meals felt wrong?" Pollan asks.
  7. Don't buy food where you buy your gasoline. In the U.S., 20% of food is eaten in the car.

There are more. He has a great book called Food Rules that will give you even more ideas.

What rules do you live by?

3 comments:

  1. Good rules and a good reminder, too. Thanks for posting, Kelly! BTW, did you catch Michael Pollan on OPRAH yesterday? She and her staff did a one week vegan experiment.

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  2. http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/

    Hi Kelly! Here is a new blog I started reading. You will love it!

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  3. Cherl- I just found the Oprah. I will watch it later this week. Also, I believe Michael Pollan is coming to Portland in APril and I am going to see if I can get tickets!
    M- I love the blog you pointed me to!! This is exactly my nutrition philosophy and I love that he doesn't do any adds. :-) How are you?!

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