Michael Pollan book giveaway
Thank. God. For. Michael Pollan. The gospel of common sense is here and, yes, I’m singing (along with everyone else.)
So, maybe you’ve been meaning to pick up the Omnivore’s Dilemma again and finally slog through the rest of the Corn section (and you will be rewarded for that, trust me). Or maybe you’ve seen Food, Inc. or Netflix’ed the PBS version of The Botany of Desire.
Whatever your relationship with the prolific ‘real food’ proponent, here’s an opportunity to snag his newest, shortest book to date: Food Rules: an eater’s manual.
You do have time to read it; I owe three chapters in four days, yet I read the book in its entirety while waiting for the bus and subway in one afternoon’s journey to Park Slope. [Brooklyn wasn’t designed for inter-borough travel.]
My mom read the opening pages after a long travel day, just intending to scope it out, and accidentally read the whole thing that night. She called me the next day and let me know she’s on board with the real food movement, and that she ordered The Omnivore’s Dilemma (a book I’d been chirping about for months, hoping to convince her to read) that morning.
I know what the other half of you are thinking; it’s probably similar to why I didn’t rush out to buy this book when it came out. Go ahead and enter. Even if you’re already “the choir” and you win, nonchalantly pass it along to your most skeptical (or busy) friend or relative. Who knows, you might just end up with a whole lot more to talk about.
He’s funny:
Rule #8: Avoid food products that make health claims. […] Don’t take the silence of the yams as a sign they have nothing valuable to say about your health.
He’s right:
Taken together, these rules comprise a kind of choral voice of popular food wisdom. My job has been not to create that wisdom so much as to curate it and vet it. My wager is that that voice has much or more to teach us, and to help us right our relationship to food, than the voices of science and industry and government.
You can’t not stop to think after blazing through this book. To see more about this book, check out the interview with Pollan on the NYT Well blog.
Enter by leaving a comment below by midnight on Sun, August 1 answering this question: What’s a rule of food that you swear by (learned from moms, grandmas, Italians, whomever)? **Don’t forget to leave your email address in the appropriate box on the comment form (or you can’t win because I can’t reach you.)
I’ll start: Salad after the meal means you can eat whatever you please.
Kate
AAAAAaaand the winner is: Lucky number 6.
Congratulations Jennelle! Thanks everyone for all the food wisdom. You all are so smart.
Giveaways, Healthy Living
Reader Comments (50)
My mosted used rule...don't cross contaminate your food, hands or kitchen!
My most relied upon food rule, and one that I HATED as a kid - you can't claim you don't like something until you try it. So try it!
My Mom always told me to make a "pretty" plate with lots of color - if you do that it will always be healthy and delicious!
BE HAPPY WHEN YOU ARE EATING!
:)
Big family dinners at 2:00 PM on Sundays - it's an Italian thing!
Avoid artificial sweeteners whenever possible. There's nothing wrong with good, old-fashioned sugar--in moderation.
Eat only the things you like. I love ice cream, so I'll indulge in that, but I don't like to waste my calories on donuts or snickers, which I don't really like. Same idea for healthy things: I don't like kidney beans, so I don't bother eating them--but I'll get my fill of beans with chickpeas!
The more rainbow-esque the plate, the better!
as much as is possible and reasonable, i make all of meals from whole foods - nothing from a package! cake, hummus, salad, yogurt - whatever. make it yourself - it will taste better, be healthier, cost less, and taste rewarding!
{akin m. pollan's rule: eat all the junk food you want, as long as you make it yourself}. thanks!
My mom always insisted that we eat sitting at the table with the whole family. Rarely did we eat alone and we never ate in front of the tv! I feel blessed that she instilled this practice in my brother and I at such a young age.
Always make sure your children are VERY hungry before asking them to try tasting something new to them. Works like a charm in most cases.
Great Grandma Shirley
We always ate together as a family, always. Each meal had at least one vegetable in it. Life was a bit hectic in our house, but eating healthy meals together was a constant. I am so glad to bring this tradition into my adult life.
Eat fruit on an empty stomach.
Thanks for this giveaway!
If it's good for the soul, it's good for me.
My grandmother advised my mother and my mother advised me to never eat dairy with fish. I'm not sure if there's any real reason for it, but it stuck with me.
Never microwave plastic anything! I come from a paranoid stock.
Eat things that are real, as close to their natural state, as often as possible.
I grew up eating in front of the TV and I don't even like TV - we NEVER used the table except at holidays- I am so glad my kids have grown up eating all meals at the table. It makes meal time family time.
My motto is: Equal parts healthy food and treats. I love ice cream, cookies, cakes, you name it! I never feel quility about indulging because I always make sure to balance out my sugar/fat food intake with fresh fruits, veggies, and whole foods. For every mouthful of sugar or fat, I have a mouthful of raw veggies, lean portien, or fresh fruit. My body always feels satisfied and my mouth gets what it wants.
Always use your manners, even when eating alone...you never know when you might need them and if they aren't well practiced you might pay for it! (now if only I could convince the roommate's kid!)
Wash your hands and sharpen your knives.
Better safe than sorry is my mom's favorite mantra and I couldn't agree more!
meals are family time, not to be rushed. eat together and eat slowly. when i was a kid, you were not allowed to answer the phone during dinner time. we try to invoke this rule unless someone is on call and must answer a page. similarly, no tv, radio, etc. on during supper. focus is on one another.
My mom taught me that cookies should always be made from scratch, and I still do that to this day.
Don't eat anything you can't recognize. And make sure to try the foods that you "don't like" again. You'll never know what food may surprise you. I always thought I didn't like bananas until I tried them again a few months ago.