Michael Pollan vs Big Food

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:42 pm

This is interesting and kind of goes along with what Thalia wrote in the snacking post:

http://food.change.org/blog/view/michae ... s_big_food

So, Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. AND

1. Don't eat anything that's advertised.
2. Don't eat anything that claims to be healthy.

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:16 am

I like those additions. I'm putting those on my guidelines list, which are different than rules.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:01 am

I love Michael Pollen.

At one point, I told my son that he couldn't have any cereal that had a character he recognized on the front, because that was the "this isn't healthy" warning.

He was three or four, and it worked for quite a while.

When he got older, and would ask for sugary cereal, I would read the labels in front of him, then tell him if he really wanted it, we would buy it for him, BUT there was so much sugar in it he would have to eat it as a dessert or sweet rather than as a meal. Since he'd rather have REAL sweets, he quickly lost interest.

And I agree about cranberries and such... I've always wished that the power of Madison Avenue would be bent to good, as in promoting broccoli, but I never envisioned it playing out as it is.

Kodama · Post by **Kodama** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:36 am

oooh, thanks for the link! I'm a big Pollan fan.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:53 am

I like Mark Bittman, too.

Kodama · Post by **Kodama** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:05 am

wosnes wrote:I like Mark Bittman, too.

I've never heard of Bittman so I looked him up. I see he has some cookbooks, and 'Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating". Is that the one you like?

winnie96 · Post by **winnie96** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:37 am

Blithe Morning wrote:... my guidelines list, which are different than rules.

Sometimes, advertised food that claims to be healthy saves me from jumping off a cliff into a Double Cheese Bacon Whopper with Large Fries, Onion Rings, and a Chocolate Shake ...

So I have to give, say, WW Lasagna Florentine some credit -- a meal I really enjoy (with a side of spinach no less!) -- but clearly a food advertised, and advertised as a healthy food.

Blithe, I like your idea of "guidelines" supplementing the "rules". I strive to eat whole foods, cooked at home by me -- but it's also important to me to have a "less bad" alternative for the occasional time when I'm not 100% "on".

Your idea of "guidelines" is so helpful to me ... I've always struggled with an all-or-nothing attitude. I have no problem thinking of "No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds" as The Rules, but fine-tuning what goes on within those boundaries on a long term basis requires an approach which has some flexibility, some fall-back positions, some compromises that allow you to stay true to the No-S rules.

"Guidelines" -- love it! Thanks for the concept! Winnie

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:02 am

Health Food vs Healthy Food:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd9XnyNGXGs

That's not the complete video, the beginning is omitted and I can't find it online, but very interesting.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:29 pm

Pollan didn't say this, but it's good advice:

http://www.blogher.com/how-save-money-g ... s#comments

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:16 pm

I really like this. It makes so much sense! I look at labels all the time! Firstly I look at how much sugar, carb and salt. Then the ingredients to make sure there is no high fructose corn syrup and a long list of crazy sounding stuff. It is so difficult though. Twice yesterday I had ketchup know ing it had this in... but I still ate it anyway. Granted I know I little is not going to hurt. I've bought my own Heinz organic ketchup but didn't have it with me at the time. This morning I put a little syrup on my pancakes and that had hfcs. It is a constant battle because it's in most every name brand advertised item.

It's funny how there's all this advertising and then I look at the box and I never buy the stuff because it's so bad. I've been going to Trader Joe's a lot. Lots of organic stuff at reasonable prices.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:10 pm

oliviamanda wrote:I really like this. It makes so much sense! I look at labels all the time! Firstly I look at how much sugar, carb and salt. Then the ingredients to make sure there is no high fructose corn syrup and a long list of crazy sounding stuff. It is so difficult though. Twice yesterday I had ketchup know ing it had this in... but I still ate it anyway. Granted I know I little is not going to hurt. I've bought my own Heinz organic ketchup but didn't have it with me at the time. This morning I put a little syrup on my pancakes and that had hfcs. It is a constant battle because it's in most every name brand advertised item.

It's funny how there's all this advertising and then I look at the box and I never buy the stuff because it's so bad. I've been going to Trader Joe's a lot. Lots of organic stuff at reasonable prices.

In general I try to avoid foods that have ingredients lists, but I'm not perfect. If a recipe has ingredients I don't want to use, like a mix of some kind, I either don't make it or or try to make it with real ingredients. I aim for 80%-90% real food and let the rest take care of itself -- like this writer suggests.

http://blog.cooklikeyourgrandmother.com ... nneen.html

Mavilu · Post by **Mavilu** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:04 pm

oliviamanda wrote: I've been going to Trader Joe's a lot. Lots of organic stuff at reasonable prices.

Try their ketchup, it's really good.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:13 pm

It is a constant battle because it's in most every name brand advertised item.

Yep. Which is why any food item with an advertising budget should in itself be a big red flag.

You can buy 100% real maple syrup, btw -- no HFCS in that!