7 Words and 7 Rules for Eating

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I'm kind of interested in food, if you haven't gathered that already.  After all, the name of my blog is "What's Cooking at Jen's House!"  So I read a couple of food blogs every day.  I am on the constant lookout for new recipes.  I cook daily for my family.  But I'm picky about the food we eat.  I read labels.  I make my own bread instead of buying it (have you seen all of the ingredients that are in your average loaf of bread??)  I avoid buying foods that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I try to dodge processed foods (although Velveeta "cheese" makes the best hot cheese dip.)  I also make JP's lunch most days.  Have you seen school hot lunches lately??  School lunch is a whole 'nother post for another day.  Don't get me started on school lunch....grrrr!  

A while ago, I found the 100 Days of Real Food Blog.  It's a pretty interesting blog and I do follow most of the rules.  I try to find items with 5 or less ingredients.  You'd be surprised at how many foods have more than 5 ingredients!  

While looking at Real Food, I came across Michael Pollan's 7 Rules for Eating.  Micheal Pollan is a food author.  He has 7 Words and 7 Rules.  The words and rules make sense and I really do try to follow them. 

7 Words & 7 Rules for Eating

Pollan says everything he's learned about food and health can be summed up in seven words: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."  Probably the first two words are most important. "Eat food" means to eat real food -- vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and, yes, fish and meat -- and to avoid what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances."
Here's how:

1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. "When you pick up that box of portable yogurt tubes, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can't pronounce, ask yourself, "What are those things doing there?" Pollan says.
2. Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.
3. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.
4.  Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot. "There are exceptions -- honey -- but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren't food," Pollan says.
5. It is not just what you eat but how you eat. "Always leave the table a little hungry," Pollan says. "Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, 'Tie off the sack before it's full.'"
6. Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It's a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. "Remember when eating between meals felt wrong?" Pollan asks.
7. Don't buy food where you buy your gasoline. In the U.S., 20% of food is eaten in the car.

Interesting, huh?  They make sense, right?  Why not try them?