Book it! Food Rules by Michael Pollan

Reading wasn’t on my things I want to accomplish in 2011 list, but I’ve been thinking…  I watch a lot of tv.  Which is made worse by the fact that we don’t have cable.  So, I have become addicted to shows like The Biggest Loser and America’s Got Talent.  Which is only marginally better than watching Law & Order reruns on TNT all night.  (Oh, Jerry, I miss you.)

An honestly, I’ve been kinda okay with my routine.  After 6:30p, I’m pretty worthless, so television is a relatively low impact way to pass the evening.  But I recently started following Life as MOM and Jessica is doing a repeat of her Booking It series from last year.  And I thought, eh, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing for me to do. 

Because I think the biggest reason I don’t read more often is that I don’t know what to read.  I’ve never been a huge follower of fiction, so most of the books I read are about geeky stuff, like child care, organic living, or digestive diseases.  Riviting, I know.  But if it’s not a relevant topic to my season of life…  I’m not particularly motivated to delve into further research.

So, that’s where I can see Booking It being a good fit for me.  There is a recommended reading list, but it’s not like school where you have to read The Grapes of Wrath in 10 days and then write a 5 page paper on it.  (Please forgive me.  I have no idea how long it took me to read The Grapes of Wrath cliffnotes or what the required paper length was.  Sorry.  I had to add that disclaimer.  It was bugging me.)  You pick the books off the list that interest you, or make your own choices, and once a month you can link up to discuss.  Or not.  I doubt she’s going to send my high school English teacher, Mrs. Harris, after me if I don’t report in.

To kick off my reading extravaganza, I picked up a few books at the library on my way home from work.  What to Expect: The Toddler Years, The Toddler Whisperer (Can you tell I’m having difficulties with my almost 2 year old?), and Food Rules by Michael Pollan.  (You know that guy that wrote Omnivore’s Dilemma and was featured in the movie Food, Inc?)  Which I read today.  At work.  In about 2 hours.  Between phone calls.  Don’t rat me out to my boss, please.

In saying that, I’m telling you to find this book.  And read it.  It’s a fast read and interesting in it’s simplicity.  Who can’t benefit from some nutritional words of wisdom?  And you don’t have to be a die hard foodie to enjoy it’s content. 

Matter of fact, much of it is pure common sense.  May I introduce you to Rule #2: “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmonther wouldn’t recognize as food.”  For example, Go-gurt.  While yogurt is a wonderfully healthy food, once you add in lots of artificial colors and sweeteners, you’re left with a tube of freakishly colored goop…  Kinda gross.

However, I felt a little shame upon reading Rule #20: “It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.”  Egad!  You mean McDonald’s is not an appropriate food source?  I mean, seriously…  Even healthy people shouldn’t eat McDonald’s.  However, knowing better and doing better are not always the same thing.  Along those same lines is Rule #57: “Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.”  I live behind a QT.  32oz Dr. Peppers for $0.69?  Hellz yeah.  I know it’s not good for me.  But.  I.  Need.  It.

Reading this book may not instantaneously revolutionize your eating habits.  But it can be the beginning of change.    A change that we desperately need as a society.  Because we are killing ourselves with this crap.