Food Rules

Michael Pollan is a voice of reason when it comes to eating green. In his book "Food Rules." he has compiled a list of 86 simple rules that are beneficial to better health. The idea for the book started when a cardiologist asked him for something simple and easy to read that the doctor could hand to his patients.

Here are 10 favorites from the book. 
I hope to adopt some of these rules and see if I notice a difference. I know junk food is my worst enemy and it's anything but green!  

1- Eat food. This has been Michael’s mantra for years: avoid chemicals, preservatives and flavorings.  Steer towards fruits, vegetables and proteins.  If you can recognize it as food, example, an apple as opposed to a Pop Tart, you’re choosing well.

2- Cook your own food. It takes as much time to cook at home as it does to eat out.  Really.  Stop whining about it, pick up a spatula, and peruse some recipes.  It’s easy and rewarding.  You’ll save money and consume less calories.  

3- Eat at a table. Our “rush, rush society” has led us to shove food down our throats as an afterthought to our schedules.  Eating at a table allows your brain some real down-time and usually results in fewer calories consumed.  And, no you can’t bring reading material or check your email!  

4- Pay more, eat less. Here’s what I’ve found: high-quality food tastes better and you don’t need to eat as much of it to feel sated!  At my house, we slightly decreased our protein portions, threw in some extra veggies here and there, and wound up with healthier, lower calorie meals without even thinking about it.  And it tastes good.  

5- Eat your colors. Food was not meant to be beige.  Try red bell peppers, blueberries, green apples, or vibrant carrots.  Diets with a lot of color automatically have a broad spectrum of nutrients that protect us in so many ways, from fighting the common cold to preventing cancer.

6- Eat animals that have eaten well themselves. Just like #4 above, by eating higher quality cuts of meat, smaller portions make me feel full and I get to save some extra calories.

7- Avoid foods that have sugar as the first three ingredients. Check your cereal boxes!  You’ll be surprised how much sugar is in even “healthy” options.  Once you start reading labels on all your foods, you’ll start making smarter choices.

8- Avoid food products that make health claims. If the food is claiming to be healthy, it probably isn’t!  Have you ever seen a cucumber with a “lite” food label on it? (See rule #1 above)

9- The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead. White bread is highly processed, low in nutritional value (unless the manufacturer adds it back in), and doesn’t even have that much flavor.  Look for breads with whole wheats and blended grains.  Read your labels though; many manufacturers will have only a small percentage of whole grains while the rest is still just white, processed flour. (I've conquered this step, I now make Emy's wheat bread every week!)

10- Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself. It takes some effort to cook cupcakes and then scarf them down.  If you stick to this rule, you eliminate mindless snacking, which is one of the biggest reasons our waist lines have expanded.  (I can't wait to try this rule, but it looks like I'm going to have to find a good recipe for Swedish fish and potato chips : /