Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule # 29: "Eat like an omnivore."

"Whether or not you eat any animal foods, it's a good idea to try to add some new species, and not just new foods, to your diet- that is, new kinds of plants, animals, and fungi."

I really enjoy finding new foods, especially from plants.  The message is that variety is good!  Personally, I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan.  I don't eat meat, but I eat some animal products such as cheese, yogurt, and a few eggs.  The principle applies, whether you're vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or omnivore.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule # 28: "If you have the space, buy a freezer."

A freezer dedicated to longer storage than the kitchen refrigerator/freezer may allow the consumer to prolong use of the good natural foods purchased at farmers markets.  It also provides storage space if one finds a good source of natural, pastured meat that may be more economical to buy in larger quantitiy.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule # 27: "Eat animals that have themselves eaten well"

"We feed animals a high-energy diet of grain to make them grow quickly, even in the case of ruminants that have evolved to eat grass.  But even animals that can tolerate grain are healthier when they have access to green plants-- and so, it turns out, are their meat and eggs."

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule #26: "Drink the Spinach Water."


"Another bit of traditional wisdom with good science behind it.  The water in which vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other plant chemicals. Save it for the soup or add it to the sauces."

Of course, in other methods of cooking vegetables, such as roasting or sauteeing, the vitamins are not leached into water.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #25: "Eat your colors."

"The colors of many vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain... so the best protection comes from a diet containing as many different phytochemicals as possible."

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule #23: "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)."

"This Chinese proverb offers a good summary of traditional wisdom regarding the relative healthfulness of different kinds of food, though it inexplicably leaves out the very healthful and very legless fish."

A good point on the relative healthfulness of fish.  Perhaps it isn't in the proverb because fish would presumably be inserted between plants and fowl, putting a zero between one and two, and disrupting the illustrative numerical progression.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."



Rule #22: "Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food."

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."



Rule #21: "Eat mostly plants, especially leaves"

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule #21: "It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.)" 




Personally, I can think of exceptions.  Pasta.  Sushi.  I'm sure there are others, but I'm not going to nit-pick him.  It seems clear to me that Pollan's trying to convey a message about mass-produced "foods," typically American, that appear everywhere in the world.  They keep the same names because they are brand names. Things that are made in big factories receive brand names.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."



Rule #20: "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car." 
 
That's an easy one for me to follow, for several reasons.  First, I don't like to use drive-through lanes.  I park and go inside.  Bad enough that I have to contribute to global pollution to drive my car to go places.  I'm not going to sit with my car running waiting in a line, burning fuel and not even moving.  It's also easy to follow this rule because I never ate fast food but very occasionally, because it's clearly not very healthy.  And since going vegetarian a year ago, I don't buy fast food at all.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."




Rule #19: "If it came from a plant, eat it.  If it was made in a plant, don't."

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."



Rule #18: "Don't ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap."

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule #17: "Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans."

In general, humans cook with healthier ingredients than corporations do.  Pollan calls his next rules, 18 through 21, "useful variants of the human-cooked-food rule."  Stay tuned!

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule #16: "Buy your snacks at the farmers' market."
 
"You'll find yourself snacking on fresh or dried fruits and nuts-- real food-- rather than chips and sweets."

Food Rules Friday

Today's feature is Rule 15 from Michael Pollan's book, "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual ."


Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."



Rule #15:  "Get out of the supermarket whenever you can."


"You won't find any high fructose corn syrup at the farmers' market."

Food Rules Friday

Today's feature is Rule 14 from Michael Pollan's book, "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual ."

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #14: "Eat foods made from ingredients you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature."

You won't be able to picture most of the ingredients on the label of typical processed foods in a raw state or growing anywhere.  This rule helps us avoid products with chemical additives. 

Food Rules Friday

Today's feature is Rule 13 from Michael Pollan's book, "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual ."

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #13: "Eat only foods that will eventually rot."





Using this principle, we avoid overly processed foods that are loaded with chemical preservatives.  Often, these processed foods have certain important nutrients removed, nutrients that may allow the food to decay more quickly.  Fresh, whole food, eaten within a reasonable time, needs no alteration.

Food Rules Friday

Today's feature is Rule 12 from Michael Pollan's book, "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual ."



Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #12: "Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle."

Most supermakets fill the center of the store with more highly processed foods and keep the fresh foods on the outer aisles.  Staying mostly out of the middle will fill your shopping cart with real food!

Food Rules Friday

This week's feature is Rule 11 from Michael Pollan's newest book, "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual ."



Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #11: "Avoid foods you see advertised on television."

Highly advertised foods tend to be highly processed foods.  The large food processors are the companies that can afford large advertising budgets.  Often included are dubious claims of healthiness.  Don't buy into advertising.  Buy whole, fresh foods.

Food Rules Friday

This week's feature is Rule 10 from Michael Pollan's newest book, "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual ."


Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #10: "Avoid foods that are pretending to be something that they are not."


To make "imitation" or "artificial" anything requires a high degree of processing.  Enough said.