On our 2007 Road Trip Hubby brought along Michael Pollan’s dictionary-sized book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” which shattered the illusion that grocery stores carry food–they carry processed food-like items that are mostly just corn fillers. Now hitting the best seller list is Pollan’s new, very practical “In Defense of Food” which answers the question “So if everything is full of corn, what should I eat?” The answer, for Pollan, is simple: “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.”
But you already eat food, right? And you already know that you should eat fruits and veggies. Food, Pollan explains, would be something your great (or even great great) grandmother would recognize. So food is a baked potato, not Betty Crocker Creamy Butter Mashed Potatoes, food is bread made from salt, flour, yeast and water, not Sara Lee Whole Grain White Bread (talk about illogical). This book finally shines a light on the question I have long been asking: if the American public is eating less fat and less calories than ever before, why are our lovehandles getting much much bigger and diabetes becoming the norm, rather than a rarity?
Based on Pollan’s commercially-void research and my own personal experience that a calorie is not just a calorie, we’ve made the switch. What remained in our home of products like Sweet N Low, Diet Sodas, non-fat yogurt and milk have all been replaced with unrefined sugar, water or tea, and whole fat milk and yogurt (from grass fed cows whenever possible).Â
And while we moved to all organic veggies some time ago, we’re sharing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box of locally grown organic vegetables each week and I’m happily growing the tomatoes (see my previous post), Swiss chard and mixed lettuce right on our deck.
What ways can you think of to eat more food?
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