Book to read: Food Rules

I'm looking forward to reading Micheal Pollan's new book Food Rules. I saw him on John Stewart the other night and he was so smart and charming. I read his book, "the omnivores dilemma" and came away feeling like my hands were tied behind my back, short of growing all my own food.
His new book looks concise and seems to be filled with smart, easy to follow advice. He told John Stewart that his first rule is "Eat Food." As opposed to eating "foodlike edible substances." That really hit home for me. I should work harder to make good whole foods for my family, skipping the conveniances that in the end carry a hefty price for our health and for the environment. ( How's that for a resolution?!)

I'm actually 4 days deep into an allergy diet. I was prescribed the diet by a naturopath. He felt it was impossible to treat me until I identified what, if any,food allergies I have. So smart! Instead of treating me with claritin and other drugs we are starting from scratch so to speak. While the diet is not even neccesarily healthy, it will reveal what my body is sensitive to. No meat, no dairy, no corn, no citrus, no peanut, no wheat. It's been hard. Lots of fruit, a ton of salad, tempeh for days, brown rice, and pure rye crackers. It's been full of revelations too: #1) I put alot of stuff into my mouth without thinking. I keep catching myself popping cheerios or anything really that I give to Nico. #2) I've been living a slightly Bloated existence. I feel so much less strain in my belly. God, please don't let it be the cheese! #3) I thought I read food labels. Turns out I've been too trusting of some labels. I need to read ALL labels carefully, and not assume it's ok. We recently came into some Oscar Meyer "deli thin" turkey. This is not something I would normally buy, but our family had some and Nico liked it so we took it home with us. Turkey is allowed on my diet, so I pulled some out and added it into a salad. Then before eating it I read the label: high fructose corn, caramel coloring, and a ton of other crazy additives. Really? It's that hard to sell just plain old turkey? Nico won't be eating that again. I mean I knew it wasnt the best turkey. I knew it wasn't free range or antibiotic free, but I truly thought it was at least plain meat. I feel so guilty about giving that to Nico! You can buy a cleaner grade via S.F.'s Columbo meats, available at trader joes by the way, for cheaper.
I'll keep you posted on my allergy diet, 10 days to go.


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