After watching Food, Inc. the other night, I decided to pick up Food Rules by Michael Pollan for a Season Reading Challenge task that required us to read a nonfiction, non-cookbook, food-related book.
From the Publisher:
A pocket compendium of food wisdom-from the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food
Michael Pollan, our nation's most trusted resource for food-related issues, offers this indispensible guide for anyone concerned about health and food. Simple, sensible, and easy to use, Food Rules is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat-buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect guide for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat.
My Thoughts:
This is a great book to pick up if you're interested in staying away from processed food and you just want to know the best ways to pick what you eat. Each of the 64 "chapters," or rules is about a page to a page-and-a-half long and includes tips like
Avoid foods you see advertised on television.and
Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
Some may seem a bit simplistic, such as don't eat anything with ingredients a fourth grader can't pronounce or eat when you're hungry not when you're bored, but, in general, it's a good guide to help you eat better. From what I understand, many of these tips are taken from his In Defense of Food. I haven't read that one yet, but I plan to. I like to read about the research behind the rules, but if you just want the lowdown on how to choose your food for a healthier diet Food Rules might be your best bet. It's short, at times funny, and always to the point.
4 comments:
I've enjoyed and learned from all the Michael Pollan books on food read so far. This is one I hadn't heard of. Is it newer?
Jeane -- It was published at the end of last year. From the reviews on Amazon, it sounds like most of it's a repeat of the information he puts forth in his other books. Having picked this one up first, though, I'm even more interested in reading his others (the only other Pollan book I've read is Botany of Desire).
"Food Rules" is a great book to pass on to those folks who you want to get the big idea of how important their food choices are. I devoured "Omnivore's Dilemma"...it is brilliant!
I've been wanting to read this one for awhile now. I need to get myself over to the bookstore and get it.
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