Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

A very large heap of Couscous

All this coming from a guy who thought frozen custard was fat free. Hah! Nate actually made Jules laugh out lout; those who know us know what an accomplishment that is.

Here's the cliff's notes version of Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. In the last section of the book, he suggests several things to think about when we eat.

"Food" defined:

1. "Don't eat anything your great grandmohter wouldn't recognize as food" (i.e. the "grapple.")

2. "Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high-fructose corn syrup." My loaf of bread actually contains high-fructose corn syrup.

3. "Avoid food products that make health claims." Apples don't need labels.

4. "Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle." It's a better chance to eat whole foods.

5. "Get out of the Supermarket whenever possible." He supports farmer's markets.

Pollan also argues that American food culture has nothing to do with health or community. We want fast, cheap food with health claims. He suggests that we take the time to cook our own meals, eat them with other people (at tables, not desks), eat slowly, and pay attention to when our gut tells us we are full. Growing our own food is a plus, too. Talk about counter-cultural.

I'm not suggesting that we memorize every nutritional label on everything that we buy: counting calories, watching fat grams, reading ingredients, and comparing products. Our food culture has already taught us to do that. What Pollan suggests is that we just try to enjoy food . . . . real food. What I want to try to do is to spend more time buying (growing) foods that don't have labels. This is just the beginning of the journey for me, but I'm now willing to pay a little more attention to how my eating plays into my faith walk.

Couscous is Good,

the elder