Processed Foods Line the Grocery Aisles
Pam and I struggle with the whole -”what is ok to eat” syndrome. We are sure most of you do too! Why? Because there are so many diets and information being released about the latest food craze and what was once considered health law, for example, “eat low fat” is now in question.
I recently read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen, journalist and Knight Professor of Journalism at Berkeley in my own search to find out what I should be eating. And I really like what I read. Maybe because it is not so complicated, maybe because it was logical and possibly because it finally answered “what can I make for dinner tonight?”
So I wanted to share with you Pollen’s discovery in researching what we could all have for dinner tonight. And the first and foremost point is… run from the current Western diet! Much of what we consume in the United States is processed. And so one of the first things you want to avoid is processed foods. But it is more than just boxed, canned, bagged stuff taking over your grocery store….. it is in the meat and fish you purchase. How? Simply by the fact that ranching has become industrialized and our steer are fed the Western diet, waste products, antibiotics and hormones. Yuck!
So this is going to take a bit of time and effort on our parts to choose a quality meal for our families. And this is going to be a culture shock to most of us who are used to zapping packaged foods in the microwave, grilling up cheap cuts of industrialized meats or “god forbid” eating from a fast food chain in the car on our way to our next appointment.
But back to basics here. Step number one: Eat real food. That’s it. Simple right? Well, not when we are being bombarded with 17,000 new foodlike substitutes a year at our grocer. But, real food can still be found! It may feel like a treasure hunt, but I always them really fun!
What is real food? If your grandmother or great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize it… don’t eat it!
Think about that one today. Open your refrigerator, cupboard, pantry…. do you see things granny wouldn’t know what to do with? Hmmm…. more tomorrow!
