Food Rules

I've been watching what my thin friends are eating and doing. I met my friend Tori on Monday at West Towne to walk. I've been preparing snacks to carry in my car like Sue and Traci do. I've been trying to eat smaller meals like Karen and Patti do. And I'm trying to figure out which foods I really like, like Sue R. does (I always call Sue R. by her first and last name, never just "Sue").

Today, my shipment of Michael Pollan books arrived and one of them is "Food Rules," a relatively thin book listing 64 rules on how to eat healthier. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Eat food (not edible foodlike substances). By this he means eat real foods like plants, meats, fungi and whole grains.

9. Avoid food products with the wordoid "lit" or the terms "low-fat" or "nonfat" in their names. These foods have added something else to make them have less fat such as sugar, carbohydrate fillers and refined carbs.

18. Don't eat foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap.

24. Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plants) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl) which is better than eating what stands on four legs.

31. Eat wild foods when you can (wild greens, animals, fish, etc.)


37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead.

38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground (olive, sesame, coconut, and peanut oils).

39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

48. Consult your gut (e.g., eat when your stomach tells you to and stop when it says you are full.)

50. The banquet is in the first bite (in my words, all bites after the first are never as good, so just take one bite of the tempting foods).
51. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it. (Wow, I'm going to have some 3-hour-long meals!)

62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space and a window box if you don't. My friend Tori grew a whole salad garden in her planter on her back patio.

I've been really proud of my progress. Although I've not eaten strictly by the plan, I've done a good job of coming close. Last night, Tim made me venison steak (something wild) and salad for dinner. Really yummy, and tonight I'm having salmon, frozen beets from our garden and a salad. Yay!