I have been most excited to read this little handbook that came out recently, written by Michael Pollan. He wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma (which I read for a class during the fall...highly recommend it) as well as In Defense of Food (which i am currently reading). When I was in the Drexel bookstore between classes last Monday, I saw this on the table and decided to flip through it, since I had some time between classes. Well, I ended up sitting down on a comfy chair and reading the whole thing! I think it is funny how he calls food that many people eat nowadays (particularly in this country) not food, but "edible foodlike substances." hah! so sad, but oh so true. While I have not finished reading In Defense of Food quite yet, this book seems to be a brief summary of that book. So I would recommend it if you just want an interesting quick read with highlights from his other book. I believe there were a 64 "rules" and for each rule, he gives very interesting and often humorous support to back it up.
The book was divided up into three sections and I took notes of my favorite "rules" from each part:
I. What Should I Eat?
Rule #7: Avoid food products containing ingredients that a 3rd grader cannot pronounce.
#8: Avoid food products that make health claims.
#13: Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
#19: If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
II. What Kind of Food Should I Eat?
Rule #23: Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.
#36: Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
#37: The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead.
#39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
#40: Be the kind of person who takes supplements--then skip the supplements.
#41: Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
III. How Should I Eat?
Rule #46: Stop eating before you're full.
#51: Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.
#54: Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
#57: Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
#63: Cook.
#64: Break the rules once in a while.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Food Rules
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5 comments:
all those rules seem pretty reasonable. they make sense. youll have to tell us what you think of in defense of food when youre all done with it.
and yea, when we were done with omnivore's dilemma, it left us wondering: well then what SHOULD we eat?
Since Blue Diamond is a food company-in a nutty sort of way, a few of us went to see Food Inc which you might enjoy also. Great rules. The one about spending as much time eating a meal as it took to prepare would take all night on Thanksgiving. We will try to use some of your rules. You RULE !!
those rules were so funny! i liked them all.
I liked the one on breaking the rules sometimes. Actually one of the best ways to reduce snoring is to lose weight, which is another incentive for me.
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