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A review by nina_rod
Food Rules an eaters manual, illustrations by Maira Kalman by Michael Pollan
5.0
I’ve read a few of Michael Pollan’s books. Most recent, I read the Omnivore’s Dilemma. While not a vegetarian, I’m sympathetic to the cause. But I don’t want to be an asshole vegan, hence the dilemma. Michael Pollan was great in navigating such modern food politics, but I came out of the book thinking, well, what the heck do I eat? He had to add on an afterword to do that with the simple instructions, Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants.
I’ve taken that to heart over the years, joining a CSA and actually cooking nightly. So, when I found the Food Rules on the shelf at the Goodwill, I thought I might get more answers to the very basic three rules outlined in the afterward of The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
And that he did. He elaborates on the three basic rules in three parts with sub rules in each corresponding part.
For example.. Eat food (Not foodlike substances) Rule #10 Avoid Foods that are pretending to be something that they are not. Plant based people can fall into a rabbit hole on this. For example, replacing meat with fake meats. I’ve never found any valuing in replacing a chicken breast with a slab of mock chicken. Or a roast with a field “roast.” Some of the fake meats have nasty ingredients in them. Granted, my vegetarian daughter appreciates some fake chicken patties every once in a while, but we aren’t replacing a meat eating diet with a mock meat diet.
But where I fail on this rule is replacing the sugar in my coffee with “Skinny Syrups” full of chemicals that are zero calorie sweeteners. He really hammers this home: Rule #7 Avoid foods with ingredients a third grader can’t pronounce. #2 Avoid food like substances your grandmother wouldn’t recognize. Rule #5 Avoid foods with ingredients no human would ordinarily have in their pantry. Rule #6: Avoid foods with more than five ingredients. Rule #50 Avoid ingredients that lie to your body. Geez. I get it.
So while there are a lot of rules, it’s just hammering home the three basic rules. For example, Rule #13 Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and avoid the middle. This is just a rule that helps you eat real food as the meats, produce and bakery tend to be at the edges of stores while the foods with lots of ingredients and a longer shelf life are in the middle. So basically Rule #24 If you are eating real food, you don’t need rules.
I’ve taken that to heart over the years, joining a CSA and actually cooking nightly. So, when I found the Food Rules on the shelf at the Goodwill, I thought I might get more answers to the very basic three rules outlined in the afterward of The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
And that he did. He elaborates on the three basic rules in three parts with sub rules in each corresponding part.
For example.. Eat food (Not foodlike substances) Rule #10 Avoid Foods that are pretending to be something that they are not. Plant based people can fall into a rabbit hole on this. For example, replacing meat with fake meats. I’ve never found any valuing in replacing a chicken breast with a slab of mock chicken. Or a roast with a field “roast.” Some of the fake meats have nasty ingredients in them. Granted, my vegetarian daughter appreciates some fake chicken patties every once in a while, but we aren’t replacing a meat eating diet with a mock meat diet.
But where I fail on this rule is replacing the sugar in my coffee with “Skinny Syrups” full of chemicals that are zero calorie sweeteners. He really hammers this home: Rule #7 Avoid foods with ingredients a third grader can’t pronounce. #2 Avoid food like substances your grandmother wouldn’t recognize. Rule #5 Avoid foods with ingredients no human would ordinarily have in their pantry. Rule #6: Avoid foods with more than five ingredients. Rule #50 Avoid ingredients that lie to your body. Geez. I get it.
So while there are a lot of rules, it’s just hammering home the three basic rules. For example, Rule #13 Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and avoid the middle. This is just a rule that helps you eat real food as the meats, produce and bakery tend to be at the edges of stores while the foods with lots of ingredients and a longer shelf life are in the middle. So basically Rule #24 If you are eating real food, you don’t need rules.