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Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
A definitive compendium of food wisdom
Eating doesn't have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision and wit that has become bestselling author Michael Pollan's trademark, this indispensable handbook lays out a set of straightforward, memorable rules for eating wisely, one per page, accompanied by a concise explanation. It's an easy-to-use guide that draws from a variety of traditions, suggesting how different cultures through the ages have arrived at the same enduring wisdom about food. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this is the perfect guide for anyone who ever wondered, "What should I eat?"
Eating doesn't have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision and wit that has become bestselling author Michael Pollan's trademark, this indispensable handbook lays out a set of straightforward, memorable rules for eating wisely, one per page, accompanied by a concise explanation. It's an easy-to-use guide that draws from a variety of traditions, suggesting how different cultures through the ages have arrived at the same enduring wisdom about food. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this is the perfect guide for anyone who ever wondered, "What should I eat?"
152 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2008
1,754 people are currently reading
36.7k people want to read
About the author
Michael Pollan
77 books14.5k followersMichael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is also the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,288 reviews
March 2, 2010
A tiny book—I read it in the span of the bus ride downtown to my mother’s house. I wouldn’t pay the $11.00 price for this book, but it was fun to get from the library and read.
Some of my favorite rules:
Avoid foods you see advertised on television
Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans
It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car
It’s not food if it’s called the same thing in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles.)
Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead.
Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
Be the kind of person who takes supplements—then skip the supplements.
Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
Have a glass of wine with dinner
Pay more, eat less.
…Eat less
Stop eating before you are full.
Eat when you are hungry, not when you are board.
If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you are not hungry.
Eat slowly
Drink your food and chew your drink.
Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.
Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper
After lunch, sleep awhile, after dinner, walk a mile.
Eat meals
Limit your snacks to unprocessed snack food.
Do all your eating at a table.
Try not to eat alone
Treat treats as treats.
No snacks, no seconds, no sweets, except on days that begin with S.
Leave something on your plate
Cook.
Some of my favorite rules:
Avoid foods you see advertised on television
Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans
It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car
It’s not food if it’s called the same thing in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles.)
Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead.
Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
Be the kind of person who takes supplements—then skip the supplements.
Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
Have a glass of wine with dinner
Pay more, eat less.
…Eat less
Stop eating before you are full.
Eat when you are hungry, not when you are board.
If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you are not hungry.
Eat slowly
Drink your food and chew your drink.
Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.
Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper
After lunch, sleep awhile, after dinner, walk a mile.
Eat meals
Limit your snacks to unprocessed snack food.
Do all your eating at a table.
Try not to eat alone
Treat treats as treats.
No snacks, no seconds, no sweets, except on days that begin with S.
Leave something on your plate
Cook.
May 27, 2023
More an article than a review, but thanks for reading it.
APERITIF to the book
Did you know about the neurons in your stomach? Have you gotten over your incommoded phobia of death: defying, defeating, and fighting it? Then get back to learning and observe the reason why your brain is actually in your stomach.
Get reacquainted with oxidation in the greater scheme of things. What is born must die. So determine the rules of creation. Constant renewal to sustain balance in nature, cannot be sidestepped by man in his infinite self-absorbed thanatophobia, but by golly, do we TRY!
So yes, diet and nutrition fascinate us. Our lives center around the theory and practice of culinary mastery.
In our quest for eternal life and happiness, we made food a science, and we introduced concepts such as antioxidants, saturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, polyphenols, folic acid, gluten, and probiotics. (Don't you just love Mark Twain's expression: "Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." )
Long gone are the days when chicken sparerib, apple butter, clam chowder, bacon, or salt pork, and the gazillion of international culinary delights, either fried, fresh, or frozen, could, innocently, light up a family dinner table. Remember those days when the margarine advocates swore death and damnation on butter and the world went ballistic, only to discover that it was a marketing strategy by the margarine camp and all food connoisseurs were caught red-faced and red-handed with the cookie jar stripped of all decency.
Nowadays, in our pre-apocalyptic world, there's still hope that the warmth and love of traditional foods might survive the onslaught, depending on the dedicated gatekeepers of family bonding to hide our food-laden festivities away from the neurotic scientists, pseudo-scientists, wannabe- and almost-scientists, with their magnifying glasses and microscopes.
Is it really necessary to know that love is not fired up by chocolates, but the dopamine(feel-good) and serotonin (happy hormone) contained in the chocolate itself that does the trick?
Well, you haven't met my uncle Walter on my mother's side. Thick-lensed, nerdy, and way too intelligent for his own good, a well-respected professor in his own little laboratory, solemnly explained it more accurately: "Well actually, the neurotransmitter serotonin in chocolate also contains small amounts of a compound called phenylethylamine, which acts like an amphetamine, stimulating your brain cells to release dopamine." And we would happily smile with a mouthful of grandma's creamy chocolate pudding as the happy ending to a culinary sermon in honor of the gods of good living. He also once remarked that grass and weeds contained so many sugars and nutrition that they made animals fat. For humans to think that it won't have an impact on their diet was almost hilarious. He also believed that you should not eat food cooked that you cannot eat raw. And that the biggest addiction in the world, including all street and prescription drugs, is to salt.
Uncle Walter passed away at the age of 102, with one of his Gurkha Black Dragon cigars lying in the ashtray on his bedside table. His wife, dear aunt Wilhelmina, on her 100th birthday, happily blew out the candles on her birthday cake, with a Perillys Super Length of London clutched between her fingers.
In the pre-death-defying hysteria, humans have relied heavily on instinct. Just ask pregnant women!
My humble contribution to this particular tragicomedy was carrots. Cross-legged with my feet in the nearby stream, during bright moonlit nights, I was munching away in the nocturnal hours on the carrots which I pulled from the earth and washed in the stream. Happily feeding my instinct to eat as many carrots as I could possibly find. Those cravings raged through my entire pregnancy with my oldest son. I suspect his height of six feet seven today, was borne from genes and perhaps copious amounts of beta-carotene! But in our postmodern society that might be highly debatable ...
Nowadays though, we're so scared of our instincts that we rather ravage books and the ideas of dietary gurus. Well, we need someone or something to blame for our choices. Some of us do. You can simplify it. Make Dr. Freud happy and blame your mother.
Nutrition is a young science in which most of the knowledge, still delivered as hypotheses, the maybes, perhapses, likelies, we-think-it can-be kind of rhetoric, still abound. Yet there might be truth in the power of purslane if you bear in mind that excessive amounts can cause kidney stones, says the nay-sayers.
MAIN COURSE: THE BOOK REVIEW
Only 112 pages of wisdom.
BOOK BLURB:(or is it burp? :-))
A DEFINITIVE COMPENDIUM OF FOOD WISDOM
Eating doesn't have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision, and wit that has become bestselling author Michael Pollan's trademark, this indispensable handbook lays out a set of straightforward, memorable rules for eating wisely, one per page, accompanied by a concise explanation. It's an easy-to-use guide that draws from a variety of traditions, suggesting how different cultures through the ages have arrived at the same enduring wisdom about food. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this is the perfect guide for anyone who ever wondered, "What should I eat?"
You can either trust your instinct and eat what your body demands, or read a book like this and enjoy the thoughts on nutrition, as expressed by the author.
MICHAEL POLLAN is the author of five previous books, including In Defense of Food, a number one New York Times bestseller, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which was named one of the ten best books of the year by both the New York Times and the Washington Post. Both books won the James Beard Award. A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he is also the Knight Professor of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.
In this book, a wealth of information about food is shared.
The book is not only informative but also can provide conversation pointers at dinner tables. As a coffee table book, it can keep many people happy reading while our stomachs are thinking for us! Of course it can also help in choosing between the Neanderthal diet (yes, there is such a notion) or the vegan alternatives. The in-betweeners can understand why we are like we are, and enjoy life as it comes.
Charles Darwin might have insisted that it was all evolution, according to his now famous theory, or you can follow your instinct and believe it was the road via your stomach that made the difference. Mmm ... does the expression " the road to a man's heart goes through his stomach?" still stands? Well yes, we would know after this book that we think with our stomachs, right? :-))
A SIDE DISH
You can also indulge in the theories of Dr. Wallach - I find his ideas fascinating!
" Dr. Joel Wallach, who emphasizes the scientifically accepted view that the genetic potential for longevity in humans suggests we should live to around 120 to 140 years old.
Dr Wallach lists a few more cases to further support this, including Russian Georgians who commonly live to 120, and the Armenians and Ebkanians, where living to 140 is not uncommon.
He cites one Armenian who, from his military records, is thought to have lived to 167 years old, and the Titicaca Indians of south-east Peru who lived to between 120-140 years old. There’s also the case of the Niger chief who died at 126 with all his teeth and a Syrian in the Guinness Book of Records who fathered 9 children after 80 and went on to live to 133.
(What this article failed to mention, is that these fortunate people smoke cigars as thick as tree stumps, made from their tobacco, and drink coffee as thick as oil)
Put into context, the average age for Americans was 75.5 years old in 1994. For doctors, it was 58. Dr Wallach suggests that these figures suggest that there is great value in treating yourself (through nutritional and lifestyle changes), rather than putting your health in the hands of doctors." Source: http://www.eco-friendly-africa-travel...
(I strongly encourage you to read this above-mentioned article if you're interested in the theories about longevity. Fascinating! You can also find all the scientists mentioned in it on Youtube.)
Now bear in mind that it is the doctors who we so desperately want to believe, who have the most comfortable lifestyles, and the broadest choices of food and medicines, who don't make it to 60 - average!
GRAND FINALE: DESSERT
After reading Food Rules: An Eater's Manual you can dream of going back to your roots, or get on with modern living and change your image.
Between THEN and NOW, humans have become taller, live longer and become more attractive. Basically, the western diet was accused of foul play in the process, but the holistic results may prove the antioxidant-warriors wrong.
Bear in mind though, that diabetes have now become either the no. 1 or no. 2 killer in the world and people changing their diets, were also cured of all the diseases such as cancer, colon cancer, and coronary heart diseases.
Uh oh.... we still have to stop oxidation, but by golly, let's keep on trying. Well yes, there will one day be the perfect antidote for that, just ask the scientists :-))
(Whatever you do, DON'T ask doctors, you've been warned! )
It is the reader's choice what will be taken from the book.
There are really some helpful tips for everyone.
Here's a few:
Never eat alone - eating at a table, with good conversations, is not only healthier (eat less, and slower) but also happier.;
people who cook are more likely to eat a more healthful diet;
Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored. Food is a costly antidepressant;
The water in which vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other healthful plant chemicals. Save it for soup or add it to sauces;
"Eat food. These days this is easier said than done, especially when seventeen thousand new products show up in the supermarket each year, all vying for your food dollar. But most of these items don’t deserve to be called food—I call them edible foodlike substances."
Old adages: “Leave something for Mr. Manners,” some children once were told, or, “Better to go to waste than to waist.” ( I don't agree with this one. Rather eat smaller portions, than waste food - my opinion).
“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”
Follow the S-policy: “no snacks, no seconds, no sweets—except on days that begin with the letter S.” (Saturdays and Sundays)
Don't eat something that your grandmother won't regard as food.
If processed food contain unpronounceable ingredients, don't eat it.
It's an easy, and enjoyable read, packed with inspiration and a lots of information. Remember, confusion is always good for business. Fortunately you can still rely on the neurons in your stomach and common sense to save the meal. Bear in mind that the difference between natural food and processed food, is life.
Happily proceed with life! Bon appetite!
APERITIF to the book
Did you know about the neurons in your stomach? Have you gotten over your incommoded phobia of death: defying, defeating, and fighting it? Then get back to learning and observe the reason why your brain is actually in your stomach.
Get reacquainted with oxidation in the greater scheme of things. What is born must die. So determine the rules of creation. Constant renewal to sustain balance in nature, cannot be sidestepped by man in his infinite self-absorbed thanatophobia, but by golly, do we TRY!
So yes, diet and nutrition fascinate us. Our lives center around the theory and practice of culinary mastery.
In our quest for eternal life and happiness, we made food a science, and we introduced concepts such as antioxidants, saturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, polyphenols, folic acid, gluten, and probiotics. (Don't you just love Mark Twain's expression: "Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." )
Long gone are the days when chicken sparerib, apple butter, clam chowder, bacon, or salt pork, and the gazillion of international culinary delights, either fried, fresh, or frozen, could, innocently, light up a family dinner table. Remember those days when the margarine advocates swore death and damnation on butter and the world went ballistic, only to discover that it was a marketing strategy by the margarine camp and all food connoisseurs were caught red-faced and red-handed with the cookie jar stripped of all decency.
Nowadays, in our pre-apocalyptic world, there's still hope that the warmth and love of traditional foods might survive the onslaught, depending on the dedicated gatekeepers of family bonding to hide our food-laden festivities away from the neurotic scientists, pseudo-scientists, wannabe- and almost-scientists, with their magnifying glasses and microscopes.
Is it really necessary to know that love is not fired up by chocolates, but the dopamine(feel-good) and serotonin (happy hormone) contained in the chocolate itself that does the trick?
Well, you haven't met my uncle Walter on my mother's side. Thick-lensed, nerdy, and way too intelligent for his own good, a well-respected professor in his own little laboratory, solemnly explained it more accurately: "Well actually, the neurotransmitter serotonin in chocolate also contains small amounts of a compound called phenylethylamine, which acts like an amphetamine, stimulating your brain cells to release dopamine." And we would happily smile with a mouthful of grandma's creamy chocolate pudding as the happy ending to a culinary sermon in honor of the gods of good living. He also once remarked that grass and weeds contained so many sugars and nutrition that they made animals fat. For humans to think that it won't have an impact on their diet was almost hilarious. He also believed that you should not eat food cooked that you cannot eat raw. And that the biggest addiction in the world, including all street and prescription drugs, is to salt.
Uncle Walter passed away at the age of 102, with one of his Gurkha Black Dragon cigars lying in the ashtray on his bedside table. His wife, dear aunt Wilhelmina, on her 100th birthday, happily blew out the candles on her birthday cake, with a Perillys Super Length of London clutched between her fingers.
In the pre-death-defying hysteria, humans have relied heavily on instinct. Just ask pregnant women!
My humble contribution to this particular tragicomedy was carrots. Cross-legged with my feet in the nearby stream, during bright moonlit nights, I was munching away in the nocturnal hours on the carrots which I pulled from the earth and washed in the stream. Happily feeding my instinct to eat as many carrots as I could possibly find. Those cravings raged through my entire pregnancy with my oldest son. I suspect his height of six feet seven today, was borne from genes and perhaps copious amounts of beta-carotene! But in our postmodern society that might be highly debatable ...
Nowadays though, we're so scared of our instincts that we rather ravage books and the ideas of dietary gurus. Well, we need someone or something to blame for our choices. Some of us do. You can simplify it. Make Dr. Freud happy and blame your mother.
Nutrition is a young science in which most of the knowledge, still delivered as hypotheses, the maybes, perhapses, likelies, we-think-it can-be kind of rhetoric, still abound. Yet there might be truth in the power of purslane if you bear in mind that excessive amounts can cause kidney stones, says the nay-sayers.
MAIN COURSE: THE BOOK REVIEW
Only 112 pages of wisdom.
BOOK BLURB:(or is it burp? :-))
A DEFINITIVE COMPENDIUM OF FOOD WISDOM
Eating doesn't have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision, and wit that has become bestselling author Michael Pollan's trademark, this indispensable handbook lays out a set of straightforward, memorable rules for eating wisely, one per page, accompanied by a concise explanation. It's an easy-to-use guide that draws from a variety of traditions, suggesting how different cultures through the ages have arrived at the same enduring wisdom about food. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this is the perfect guide for anyone who ever wondered, "What should I eat?"
You can either trust your instinct and eat what your body demands, or read a book like this and enjoy the thoughts on nutrition, as expressed by the author.
Eating in our time has gotten complicated—needlessly so, in my opinion. I will get to the “needlessly” part in a moment but consider first the complexity that now attends this most basic of creaturely activities. Most of us have come to rely on experts of one kind or another to tell us how to eat—doctors and diet books, media accounts of the latest findings in nutritional science, government advisories, and food pyramids, the proliferating health claims on food packages. We may not always heed these experts’ advice, but their voices are in our heads every time we order from a menu or wheel down the aisle in the supermarket. Also in our heads today resides an astonishing amount of biochemistry.
MICHAEL POLLAN is the author of five previous books, including In Defense of Food, a number one New York Times bestseller, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which was named one of the ten best books of the year by both the New York Times and the Washington Post. Both books won the James Beard Award. A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he is also the Knight Professor of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.
In this book, a wealth of information about food is shared.
"Food Rules" distills this body of wisdom into sixty-four simple rules for eating healthily and happily. The rules are framed in terms of culture rather than science, though in many cases science has confirmed what culture has long known; not surprisingly, these two different vocabularies, or ways of knowing, often come to the same conclusion
The book is not only informative but also can provide conversation pointers at dinner tables. As a coffee table book, it can keep many people happy reading while our stomachs are thinking for us! Of course it can also help in choosing between the Neanderthal diet (yes, there is such a notion) or the vegan alternatives. The in-betweeners can understand why we are like we are, and enjoy life as it comes.
Charles Darwin might have insisted that it was all evolution, according to his now famous theory, or you can follow your instinct and believe it was the road via your stomach that made the difference. Mmm ... does the expression " the road to a man's heart goes through his stomach?" still stands? Well yes, we would know after this book that we think with our stomachs, right? :-))
A SIDE DISH
You can also indulge in the theories of Dr. Wallach - I find his ideas fascinating!
" Dr. Joel Wallach, who emphasizes the scientifically accepted view that the genetic potential for longevity in humans suggests we should live to around 120 to 140 years old.
Dr Wallach lists a few more cases to further support this, including Russian Georgians who commonly live to 120, and the Armenians and Ebkanians, where living to 140 is not uncommon.
He cites one Armenian who, from his military records, is thought to have lived to 167 years old, and the Titicaca Indians of south-east Peru who lived to between 120-140 years old. There’s also the case of the Niger chief who died at 126 with all his teeth and a Syrian in the Guinness Book of Records who fathered 9 children after 80 and went on to live to 133.
(What this article failed to mention, is that these fortunate people smoke cigars as thick as tree stumps, made from their tobacco, and drink coffee as thick as oil)
Put into context, the average age for Americans was 75.5 years old in 1994. For doctors, it was 58. Dr Wallach suggests that these figures suggest that there is great value in treating yourself (through nutritional and lifestyle changes), rather than putting your health in the hands of doctors." Source: http://www.eco-friendly-africa-travel...
(I strongly encourage you to read this above-mentioned article if you're interested in the theories about longevity. Fascinating! You can also find all the scientists mentioned in it on Youtube.)
Now bear in mind that it is the doctors who we so desperately want to believe, who have the most comfortable lifestyles, and the broadest choices of food and medicines, who don't make it to 60 - average!
GRAND FINALE: DESSERT
After reading Food Rules: An Eater's Manual you can dream of going back to your roots, or get on with modern living and change your image.
Between THEN and NOW, humans have become taller, live longer and become more attractive. Basically, the western diet was accused of foul play in the process, but the holistic results may prove the antioxidant-warriors wrong.
Bear in mind though, that diabetes have now become either the no. 1 or no. 2 killer in the world and people changing their diets, were also cured of all the diseases such as cancer, colon cancer, and coronary heart diseases.
Mark Pollan:This book is not antiscience. To the contrary, in researching it and vetting these rules I have made good use of science and scientists. But I am skeptical of a lot of what passes for nutritional science, and I believe that there are other sources of wisdom in the world and other vocabularies in which to talk intelligently about food. Human beings ate well and kept themselves healthy for millennia before nutritional science came along to tell us how to do it; it is entirely possible to eat healthily without knowing what an antioxidant is.
Uh oh.... we still have to stop oxidation, but by golly, let's keep on trying. Well yes, there will one day be the perfect antidote for that, just ask the scientists :-))
(Whatever you do, DON'T ask doctors, you've been warned! )
It is the reader's choice what will be taken from the book.
Mark Pollan: Most of these rules I wrote, but many of them have no single author. They are pieces of food culture, sometimes ancient, that deserve our attention, because they can help us. I’ve collected these adages about eating from a wide variety of sources. (The older sayings appear in quotes.) I consulted folklorists and anthropologists, doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and dietitians, as well as a large number of mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers.
There are really some helpful tips for everyone.
Here's a few:
Never eat alone - eating at a table, with good conversations, is not only healthier (eat less, and slower) but also happier.;
people who cook are more likely to eat a more healthful diet;
Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored. Food is a costly antidepressant;
The water in which vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other healthful plant chemicals. Save it for soup or add it to sauces;
"Eat food. These days this is easier said than done, especially when seventeen thousand new products show up in the supermarket each year, all vying for your food dollar. But most of these items don’t deserve to be called food—I call them edible foodlike substances."
Old adages: “Leave something for Mr. Manners,” some children once were told, or, “Better to go to waste than to waist.” ( I don't agree with this one. Rather eat smaller portions, than waste food - my opinion).
“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”
Follow the S-policy: “no snacks, no seconds, no sweets—except on days that begin with the letter S.” (Saturdays and Sundays)
Don't eat something that your grandmother won't regard as food.
If processed food contain unpronounceable ingredients, don't eat it.
It's an easy, and enjoyable read, packed with inspiration and a lots of information. Remember, confusion is always good for business. Fortunately you can still rely on the neurons in your stomach and common sense to save the meal. Bear in mind that the difference between natural food and processed food, is life.
Happily proceed with life! Bon appetite!
June 10, 2024
So I get the feeling everyone in the world that still reads newspapers in some form knows Michael Pollan's work in some form. He's a journalist who started to make food his thing, wrote the heady Omnivore's Dilemma (that I got for last birthday but since I had not read it and the wife had, she gave it to the used book store and that was okay then, but now I wish I had it to begin reading) and plenty of articles and versions of this book, the first of which came out in maybe 2009?
Anyway, I was at the library picking up some holds there and saw this on some table and I took it home, because this version is illustrated by Maira Kalman, whose work I love. Very inviting illustrations, that make a topic no one really wants to face directly really fun and lively.
Pollan is good in that he tries different registers for talking to mainly U.S. Americans that eat so infamously--processed food, meat, soda, fast food--and are now infamously the most obese country in history. I was a vegetarian for twenty years (and a vegan for about a year or so) and still eat pretty well so literally none of this book was news to me, but it and really all of his research can be summarized into these pithy Golden Rules:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”.
That's it! But almost no one in this country seems to do it, amazingly, except. . . people like me who read books by Michael Pollan, I suspect! Though maybe Maira Kalman will draw a few people in, who knows. She got me to pick it up, anyway. And even though I knew most of it, I decided to review it just to join him as an annoying food/health activist. :)
Some of my favorite rules:
Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans.
It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
It’s not food if it’s called the same thing in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles.)
Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead.
Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
Have a glass of wine with dinner.
If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you are not hungry.
Drink your food and chew your drink.
Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
Cook.
But the best thing about this edition is that it is illustrated by the wonderful Maira Kalman. Who says her family tradition is Cheetos, so deal with it. :) It's worth checking out of the old lib just for the art, and then, well, there's that advice. . . Shut up, Dave, and bring me another beer from the fridge! And that bag of chips with the dip!
Anyway, I was at the library picking up some holds there and saw this on some table and I took it home, because this version is illustrated by Maira Kalman, whose work I love. Very inviting illustrations, that make a topic no one really wants to face directly really fun and lively.
Pollan is good in that he tries different registers for talking to mainly U.S. Americans that eat so infamously--processed food, meat, soda, fast food--and are now infamously the most obese country in history. I was a vegetarian for twenty years (and a vegan for about a year or so) and still eat pretty well so literally none of this book was news to me, but it and really all of his research can be summarized into these pithy Golden Rules:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”.
That's it! But almost no one in this country seems to do it, amazingly, except. . . people like me who read books by Michael Pollan, I suspect! Though maybe Maira Kalman will draw a few people in, who knows. She got me to pick it up, anyway. And even though I knew most of it, I decided to review it just to join him as an annoying food/health activist. :)
Some of my favorite rules:
Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans.
It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
It’s not food if it’s called the same thing in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles.)
Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead.
Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
Have a glass of wine with dinner.
If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you are not hungry.
Drink your food and chew your drink.
Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
Cook.
But the best thing about this edition is that it is illustrated by the wonderful Maira Kalman. Who says her family tradition is Cheetos, so deal with it. :) It's worth checking out of the old lib just for the art, and then, well, there's that advice. . . Shut up, Dave, and bring me another beer from the fridge! And that bag of chips with the dip!
March 3, 2010
I read this super short book at lunch, upon the recommendation of a gorgeous 72 year old woman who claimed to be married to "the hottest 80 year old you've ever seen." Granted, I read it while eating ramen, but I <3 Michael Pollan and the IDEA of eating well.
January 14, 2022
Michael Pollan stuffed quite a lot of harmful and restrictive language into this seemingly quaint little guide to eating. He is an author and thinker that I have admired for some time but this rule book perpetuates fatphobic ideas that I have been actively retraining my brain against.
He doesn’t shy away from the crucial role that advertisers and corporations play in selling off “food-like substances” as real food and I do appreciate his reverence to the sanctity of food and communal experiences but they are consistently tinged with the ultimate goal of weight loss. He recommends eating with people for the social aspects but also as a distraction from eating too much.
Many of the rules don’t take privilege and access into account. Yes, someone may genuinely want to shop at a farmers market rather than stopping at a fast food joint, but who’s to say their decision didn’t take multiple factors into account including cost and time? Also if someone’s income is not stable and they may not know when their next paycheck is coming in, it makes sense that they would purchase food with a longer shelf life rather than fresh produce. Demonizing processed foods and labeling a food as “wrong” or “evil” perpetuates the restriction and relapse behavior that only makes someone feel worse about their body and their decisions.
I recognize many of these rules (use a smaller plate, treat treats as treats, don’t always eat when you’re hungry) from the times they have bounced and echoed in my own head. My personal food journey held a lot of space for restriction, demonization and “no” lists that made me either hate a specific food for making me gain weight or hating myself for giving in. It completely sucks the joy out of eating.
Food is powerful. It is colorful fuel for our bodies that has been cared for, tended to, and cultivated by other people. I’d rather not waste my time squeezing the excitement and beauty out of eating experiences by twisting my head to remember 83 restrictive rules. No, I’d rather spend my energy as a conscious consumer who seeks to honor the people who harvest and prepare the food in the market bin, grocery store aisle, or restaurant table.
He doesn’t shy away from the crucial role that advertisers and corporations play in selling off “food-like substances” as real food and I do appreciate his reverence to the sanctity of food and communal experiences but they are consistently tinged with the ultimate goal of weight loss. He recommends eating with people for the social aspects but also as a distraction from eating too much.
Many of the rules don’t take privilege and access into account. Yes, someone may genuinely want to shop at a farmers market rather than stopping at a fast food joint, but who’s to say their decision didn’t take multiple factors into account including cost and time? Also if someone’s income is not stable and they may not know when their next paycheck is coming in, it makes sense that they would purchase food with a longer shelf life rather than fresh produce. Demonizing processed foods and labeling a food as “wrong” or “evil” perpetuates the restriction and relapse behavior that only makes someone feel worse about their body and their decisions.
I recognize many of these rules (use a smaller plate, treat treats as treats, don’t always eat when you’re hungry) from the times they have bounced and echoed in my own head. My personal food journey held a lot of space for restriction, demonization and “no” lists that made me either hate a specific food for making me gain weight or hating myself for giving in. It completely sucks the joy out of eating.
Food is powerful. It is colorful fuel for our bodies that has been cared for, tended to, and cultivated by other people. I’d rather not waste my time squeezing the excitement and beauty out of eating experiences by twisting my head to remember 83 restrictive rules. No, I’d rather spend my energy as a conscious consumer who seeks to honor the people who harvest and prepare the food in the market bin, grocery store aisle, or restaurant table.
March 21, 2024
I'll read anything by Michael Pollan. I've never been disappointed by him. This small book is an eater's manual - not a diet book. It gives suggestions on how to break away from a typical Western diet of processed foods. Rule #20 is "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car." I finished this book this morning before grocery shopping and as a result my refrigerator and cupboards are now full of healthy things. Here's a funny one #36 "Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk."
I usually donate my books to the library after reading but I think I'll keep this one around for inspiration.
Re-read January 2024 - I needed a pep talk again. Read in one sitting. It's like reading a long magazine article. Some pages only have one sentence.
I usually donate my books to the library after reading but I think I'll keep this one around for inspiration.
Re-read January 2024 - I needed a pep talk again. Read in one sitting. It's like reading a long magazine article. Some pages only have one sentence.
July 6, 2013
I have had “The Protein Power Lifeplan” on one of my kitchen shelves for over ten years now and I read it regularly as it gives sound advice on how to eat healthily.
However, when I saw “Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual” and read the review, I knew that I had to have this and purchased it on a whim yesterday. I then decided to briefly look at it on my Kindle with a view to reading it at a future date. Did that happen? No, of course it didn’t. The fates had something else in store for me. I started the book, stopped somewhat briefly for dinner, and carried on reading until 2 am this morning.
I hate to use the word “gem” for a book as it’s a word that’s used so often nowadays but it’s definitely the case here. I’ve always tried to be careful in my eating habits but regrettably I have a great love for chocolate, amongst other things, (there is a wonderful Lindt chocolate factory nearby with its own shop, and bargains too) but I very rarely make any purchases as I have no control whatsoever.
It was the first paragraph of this book, however, that immediately caught my attention and made me continue reading:
“How odd is it that everybody now has at least a passing acquaintance with words like ‘antioxidant’, ‘saturated fat’, omega-3 fatty acids’, ‘carbohydrates’, polyphenols’, ‘folic acid’, ‘gluten’ and ‘probiotics’? It’s gotten to the point where we don’t see ‘foods’ but instead look right through them to the nutrients (good and bad) they contain, and of course to the calories – all these invisible qualities in our food that, properly understood, supposedly hold the secret to eating well.”
So well put.
I soon learned too that the author’s golden rule consisted of seven words:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”.
Well yes, I go along with that but it’s all a question of control. I have never liked chips, cakes and other such foods that are fattening and supposedly unhealthy, so why did I need to read this book? Pure curiosity I believe.
There are sixty-four rules given in this book (divided into three sections) and with advice given in the main heading for each:
Some are sensible but others require willpower:
“Leave something on your plate”
Yes, in principle, but what if it’s really, really good I ask myself! Why deprive my body?
But my favourite rules are:
“Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food”;
“Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry”;
“Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce”; and the intriguing one:
“Eat only foods that will eventually rot”.
But no. 64 gives you an “out” from time to time:
“Break the rules once in a while”.
Yes I agree with that; indulge yourself with your favourite food, but always remember to do things in moderation. We get back to willpower here.
This is an excellent book!
However, when I saw “Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual” and read the review, I knew that I had to have this and purchased it on a whim yesterday. I then decided to briefly look at it on my Kindle with a view to reading it at a future date. Did that happen? No, of course it didn’t. The fates had something else in store for me. I started the book, stopped somewhat briefly for dinner, and carried on reading until 2 am this morning.
I hate to use the word “gem” for a book as it’s a word that’s used so often nowadays but it’s definitely the case here. I’ve always tried to be careful in my eating habits but regrettably I have a great love for chocolate, amongst other things, (there is a wonderful Lindt chocolate factory nearby with its own shop, and bargains too) but I very rarely make any purchases as I have no control whatsoever.
It was the first paragraph of this book, however, that immediately caught my attention and made me continue reading:
“How odd is it that everybody now has at least a passing acquaintance with words like ‘antioxidant’, ‘saturated fat’, omega-3 fatty acids’, ‘carbohydrates’, polyphenols’, ‘folic acid’, ‘gluten’ and ‘probiotics’? It’s gotten to the point where we don’t see ‘foods’ but instead look right through them to the nutrients (good and bad) they contain, and of course to the calories – all these invisible qualities in our food that, properly understood, supposedly hold the secret to eating well.”
So well put.
I soon learned too that the author’s golden rule consisted of seven words:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”.
Well yes, I go along with that but it’s all a question of control. I have never liked chips, cakes and other such foods that are fattening and supposedly unhealthy, so why did I need to read this book? Pure curiosity I believe.
There are sixty-four rules given in this book (divided into three sections) and with advice given in the main heading for each:
Some are sensible but others require willpower:
“Leave something on your plate”
Yes, in principle, but what if it’s really, really good I ask myself! Why deprive my body?
But my favourite rules are:
“Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food”;
“Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry”;
“Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce”; and the intriguing one:
“Eat only foods that will eventually rot”.
But no. 64 gives you an “out” from time to time:
“Break the rules once in a while”.
Yes I agree with that; indulge yourself with your favourite food, but always remember to do things in moderation. We get back to willpower here.
This is an excellent book!
March 2, 2023
47. Ăn khi bạn đói, đừng ăn khi bạn chán.
Câu trên đúng với tình trạng trước của mình (hiện tại vẫn thế nhưng biết tiết chế hơn). Food Rules: Ăn uống đúng cách - Bộ quy tắc ẩm thực lành mạnh là cuốn sách tổng hợp những quy tắc về ăn uống một cách đơn giản và dễ hiểu, để ta hiểu rằng ăn uống đúng cách không cần phải quá cầu kỳ, rườm rà.
Mình là vẫn luôn cố gắng duy trì cơ thể mình trong gầy hơn - mình luôn tập thể dục nhưng chẳng bao giờ để tâm tới ăn gì, ăn thế nào cả. Khoảng cuối năm 2022, mình bắt đầu đường tiêu hóa mình có vấn đề (do ăn những đồ ăn kém bổ dưỡng) thì mình mới chú tâm nhiều hơn với thức ăn. Đọc quyển sách này giúp mình mở man nhiều hơn về cách chọn những loại thức ăn thế nào như trong Phần 1:
9. Tránh các sản phẩm thực phẩm có tên gắn với từ "lite" (nhẹ) hoặc các thuật ngữ "ít béo" hoặc "không béo".
10. Tránh các thức ăn đóng giả thứ gì đó không phải chúng.
13. Chỉ ăn những thức ăn sẽ bị thối hỏng.
Chọn ăn những thức ăn nào trong Phần 2:
34. Tự nêm đường và muối vào thức ăn của bạn.
39. Ăn tất cả các loại thức ăn kém bổ dưỡng mà bạn muốn, miễn là bạn tự nấu chúng.
Và trong Phần 3, chỉ ra ăn thế nào là đúng cách, và hiện tại mình vẫn đang dùng những quy tắc trong phần này khi ăn và nó có hiệu quả một chút.
45. ...Ăn ít đi.
46. Ngừng ăn trước khi bạn cảm thấy no.
47. ĂN khi bạn đói, đừng ăn khi bạn chán.
61. Để lại thứ gì đó trong đĩa của bạn.
Cách viết của Michael Pollan hài hước, ngắn gọn và dễ hiểu (dù có một vài phần phải nghĩ rất lâu mình mới hiểu rõ), tác giả đút kết và rút gọn từ những điều phổ biến, kể cả việc sử dụng những quy tắc truyền thống của thế hệ trước về ăn uống cũng hợp với thời đại. Về hình thức, Nhã nam in bìa cứng như một cuốn sổ tay, giấy dày dặn, bên cạnh đó là kèm những tranh minh họa trong sang chảnh.
Câu trên đúng với tình trạng trước của mình (hiện tại vẫn thế nhưng biết tiết chế hơn). Food Rules: Ăn uống đúng cách - Bộ quy tắc ẩm thực lành mạnh là cuốn sách tổng hợp những quy tắc về ăn uống một cách đơn giản và dễ hiểu, để ta hiểu rằng ăn uống đúng cách không cần phải quá cầu kỳ, rườm rà.
Mình là vẫn luôn cố gắng duy trì cơ thể mình trong gầy hơn - mình luôn tập thể dục nhưng chẳng bao giờ để tâm tới ăn gì, ăn thế nào cả. Khoảng cuối năm 2022, mình bắt đầu đường tiêu hóa mình có vấn đề (do ăn những đồ ăn kém bổ dưỡng) thì mình mới chú tâm nhiều hơn với thức ăn. Đọc quyển sách này giúp mình mở man nhiều hơn về cách chọn những loại thức ăn thế nào như trong Phần 1:
9. Tránh các sản phẩm thực phẩm có tên gắn với từ "lite" (nhẹ) hoặc các thuật ngữ "ít béo" hoặc "không béo".
10. Tránh các thức ăn đóng giả thứ gì đó không phải chúng.
13. Chỉ ăn những thức ăn sẽ bị thối hỏng.
Chọn ăn những thức ăn nào trong Phần 2:
34. Tự nêm đường và muối vào thức ăn của bạn.
39. Ăn tất cả các loại thức ăn kém bổ dưỡng mà bạn muốn, miễn là bạn tự nấu chúng.
Và trong Phần 3, chỉ ra ăn thế nào là đúng cách, và hiện tại mình vẫn đang dùng những quy tắc trong phần này khi ăn và nó có hiệu quả một chút.
45. ...Ăn ít đi.
46. Ngừng ăn trước khi bạn cảm thấy no.
47. ĂN khi bạn đói, đừng ăn khi bạn chán.
61. Để lại thứ gì đó trong đĩa của bạn.
Cách viết của Michael Pollan hài hước, ngắn gọn và dễ hiểu (dù có một vài phần phải nghĩ rất lâu mình mới hiểu rõ), tác giả đút kết và rút gọn từ những điều phổ biến, kể cả việc sử dụng những quy tắc truyền thống của thế hệ trước về ăn uống cũng hợp với thời đại. Về hình thức, Nhã nam in bìa cứng như một cuốn sổ tay, giấy dày dặn, bên cạnh đó là kèm những tranh minh họa trong sang chảnh.
September 4, 2020
Mình không phải là một người ăn uống theo một chế độ hay phong trào gì đặc biệt. Thích thì ăn, không thích thì không ăn. Tuần đôi lần đi tập gym, giảm ăn đồ dầu mỡ xào nấu, giảm ăn mỡ, giảm ăn ngọt. Mình không đọc sách về dinh dưỡng và cũng không theo một chế độ ăn đang thịnh hành nào chỉ bởi vì mình thường bị hoang mang giữa hàng trăm cuốn sách về sức khỏe, hàng chục chế độ ăn uống khác nhau và một "hồ" những bài viết, thông tin về thực phẩm.
Mình có cảm giác chế độ ăn ở thời chúng ta giống như một dạng tín ngưỡng. Người ta trước hết tin tuyệt đối vào nó, đôi khi khổ sở tuân theo chế độ ăn đó với một ước mơ có được một cơ thể và sức khỏe như ý.
Điều làm mình hoang mang hơn cả chính là sự hỗn loạn về thông tin. Kể cả những chế độ ăn được ủng hộ nhất, thịnh hành nhất, có nhiều người nổi tiếng tuân theo nhất cũng có những nguồn thông tin phản bác đáng tin cậy không kém. Có những cuốn sách về dinh dưỡng nổi tiếng bậc nhất cũng nhận được không hề ít những ý kiến phản đối từ những chuyên gia dinh dưỡng và bác sĩ.
Khi đọc cuốn sách Food Rules - Ăn uống đúng cách của Michael Pollan, mình đánh giá cao ở sự căn bản và tổng hợp của cuốn sách. Food Rules là một cuốn cẩm nang bao gồm 64 quy tắc ăn uống được trình bày theo cách đơn giản và cô đọng nhất để những người không hề có kiến thức dinh dư��ng như mình cũng có thể đọc được. Cuốn sách được chia làm ba phần: Tôi nên ăn gì? Tôi nên ăn loại thức ăn gì? và Tôi nên ăn như thế nào?
Có một điều mà tác giả cuốn sách Food Rules nhấn mạnh: trọng tâm của các nghiên cứu dinh dưỡng hay các chiến dịch sức khỏe cộng đồng đang hướng vào việc "xác định thứ dưỡng chất xấu xa trong chế độ ăn phương Tây để các nhà sản xuất thực phẩm có thể "cải tiến" sản phẩm của họ, nhờ đó không đả động gì đến chế độ ăn, hoặc để cho các nhà sản xuất dược phẩm có thể phát triển và bán cho chúng ta thuốc giải độc.
Thỉnh thoảng ta lại thấy rộ lên thông tin về một hợp chất nào đó xuất hiện trong các chế phẩm thực phẩm mà chúng ta sử dụng hàng ngày (3MCPD chẳng hạn), để rồi ngay sau đó liền xuất hiện những sản phẩm đề mác "không có chất này chất kia", các sản phẩm detox cũng chạy theo quảng cáo "giải độc cấp tốc cho gan, cho cơ thể".
Nói cách khác, theo Michael Pollan, "Ai ai cũng được lợi. Trừ chúng ta, những người tiêu thụ thức ăn".
Cuốn sách nhỏ với 166 trang này gói gọn lại chỉ trong ba điều "Ăn thức ăn. Đừng nhiều quá. Chủ yếu là thực vật".
Trước hết, từ Food rules, bạn có thể sẽ bắt đầu để ý thấy hàng ngày thức ăn mà mình tiếp nạp vào cơ thể sẽ có những thứ bị "chế biến sâu", không tốt cho sức khỏe. Để phân biệt được những món ăn này và loại bỏ chúng ra khỏi giỏ hàng siêu thị - nơi bạn dễ mua những món thực phẩm không tốt này, hãy đọc các nguyên tắc ở phần 1. Phần 2 như là một sự trở lại của lời mẹ dạy đã mòn tai: Ăn nhiều rau. Phần này sẽ nói cụ thể hơn về việc chọn thực vật gì để ăn thì tốt, ăn phần nào của cây rau, ăn rau thế nào, thậm chí là lưu trữ thực phẩm như thế nào cho đảm bảo.
Food Rules không phải là một chiếc khung ép người đọc phải tuân theo như một chế độ ăn mẫu mực. Bằng chứng rõ ràng nhất cho điều này chính là nguyên tắc số 64 - nguyên tắc cuối cùng: Thỉnh thoảng phá luật. Tác giả nhấn mạnh, việc ám ảnh với những quy tắc ăn uống sẽ ảnh hưởng xấu đến niềm vui sống và có lẽ cả sức khỏe của bạn và rằng việc nuôi dưỡng một thái độ thoải mái với thức ăn là rất quan trọng.
Food Rules được phát hành dưới dạng bìa cứng, giấy dày đẹp và in màu toàn bộ. Cầm cuốn sách trên tay cảm giác rất ưng bụng, đẹp, dễ đọc, dễ thực hành.
Michael Pollan là tác giả có đóng góp lớn cho tờ New York TImes, là giảng viên ở Havard và được tạp chí Time vinh danh trong danh sách 100 người có ảnh hưởng nhất thế giới năm 2010. Nếu quan tâm tới Michael Pollan, bạn cũng có thể đọc thêm Nào tối nay ăn gì nha.
Mình có cảm giác chế độ ăn ở thời chúng ta giống như một dạng tín ngưỡng. Người ta trước hết tin tuyệt đối vào nó, đôi khi khổ sở tuân theo chế độ ăn đó với một ước mơ có được một cơ thể và sức khỏe như ý.
Điều làm mình hoang mang hơn cả chính là sự hỗn loạn về thông tin. Kể cả những chế độ ăn được ủng hộ nhất, thịnh hành nhất, có nhiều người nổi tiếng tuân theo nhất cũng có những nguồn thông tin phản bác đáng tin cậy không kém. Có những cuốn sách về dinh dưỡng nổi tiếng bậc nhất cũng nhận được không hề ít những ý kiến phản đối từ những chuyên gia dinh dưỡng và bác sĩ.
Khi đọc cuốn sách Food Rules - Ăn uống đúng cách của Michael Pollan, mình đánh giá cao ở sự căn bản và tổng hợp của cuốn sách. Food Rules là một cuốn cẩm nang bao gồm 64 quy tắc ăn uống được trình bày theo cách đơn giản và cô đọng nhất để những người không hề có kiến thức dinh dư��ng như mình cũng có thể đọc được. Cuốn sách được chia làm ba phần: Tôi nên ăn gì? Tôi nên ăn loại thức ăn gì? và Tôi nên ăn như thế nào?
Có một điều mà tác giả cuốn sách Food Rules nhấn mạnh: trọng tâm của các nghiên cứu dinh dưỡng hay các chiến dịch sức khỏe cộng đồng đang hướng vào việc "xác định thứ dưỡng chất xấu xa trong chế độ ăn phương Tây để các nhà sản xuất thực phẩm có thể "cải tiến" sản phẩm của họ, nhờ đó không đả động gì đến chế độ ăn, hoặc để cho các nhà sản xuất dược phẩm có thể phát triển và bán cho chúng ta thuốc giải độc.
Thỉnh thoảng ta lại thấy rộ lên thông tin về một hợp chất nào đó xuất hiện trong các chế phẩm thực phẩm mà chúng ta sử dụng hàng ngày (3MCPD chẳng hạn), để rồi ngay sau đó liền xuất hiện những sản phẩm đề mác "không có chất này chất kia", các sản phẩm detox cũng chạy theo quảng cáo "giải độc cấp tốc cho gan, cho cơ thể".
Nói cách khác, theo Michael Pollan, "Ai ai cũng được lợi. Trừ chúng ta, những người tiêu thụ thức ăn".
Cuốn sách nhỏ với 166 trang này gói gọn lại chỉ trong ba điều "Ăn thức ăn. Đừng nhiều quá. Chủ yếu là thực vật".
Trước hết, từ Food rules, bạn có thể sẽ bắt đầu để ý thấy hàng ngày thức ăn mà mình tiếp nạp vào cơ thể sẽ có những thứ bị "chế biến sâu", không tốt cho sức khỏe. Để phân biệt được những món ăn này và loại bỏ chúng ra khỏi giỏ hàng siêu thị - nơi bạn dễ mua những món thực phẩm không tốt này, hãy đọc các nguyên tắc ở phần 1. Phần 2 như là một sự trở lại của lời mẹ dạy đã mòn tai: Ăn nhiều rau. Phần này sẽ nói cụ thể hơn về việc chọn thực vật gì để ăn thì tốt, ăn phần nào của cây rau, ăn rau thế nào, thậm chí là lưu trữ thực phẩm như thế nào cho đảm bảo.
Food Rules không phải là một chiếc khung ép người đọc phải tuân theo như một chế độ ăn mẫu mực. Bằng chứng rõ ràng nhất cho điều này chính là nguyên tắc số 64 - nguyên tắc cuối cùng: Thỉnh thoảng phá luật. Tác giả nhấn mạnh, việc ám ảnh với những quy tắc ăn uống sẽ ảnh hưởng xấu đến niềm vui sống và có lẽ cả sức khỏe của bạn và rằng việc nuôi dưỡng một thái độ thoải mái với thức ăn là rất quan trọng.
Food Rules được phát hành dưới dạng bìa cứng, giấy dày đẹp và in màu toàn bộ. Cầm cuốn sách trên tay cảm giác rất ưng bụng, đẹp, dễ đọc, dễ thực hành.
Michael Pollan là tác giả có đóng góp lớn cho tờ New York TImes, là giảng viên ở Havard và được tạp chí Time vinh danh trong danh sách 100 người có ảnh hưởng nhất thế giới năm 2010. Nếu quan tâm tới Michael Pollan, bạn cũng có thể đọc thêm Nào tối nay ăn gì nha.
September 13, 2018
بسیار مختصر اما کارآمد. راهنمای کوچک و بسیار راهگشا برای: چگونه خوردن، چه چیز خوردن و چه مقدار خوردن
کتاب ابدن ادا و اطوارهای کتاب های رایج در تغذیه رو نداره و خیلی هم ساده و البته به درد خور هست و کوتاه. نکته های بسیار ساده ای داره که جدن من که بسیار اوقات از اونها غفلت می کنم و جالب اینکه با توجه به همین نکته ها دیدم می تونم خیلی بهتر و تمیزتر خوراک بخورم. توجهم رو به آداب و رفتار خودم بیشتر جلب کنم . تا یار چه را خواهد و میلش به چه باشد
آرش حسینیانِ مترجم، درود خدا بر او باد، به حق زحمتِ ارزشمندی می کشه در گزینش کتاب هایی که ترجمه می کنه. کاملن نگرانی ی او از این راهی که دسته جمعی به ناکجا آباد(احتمالن بیابان های قم) می رویم رو در کاری که داره انجام میده می بینم. باری اگر بی خیالِ قضایا بشیم(که شدیم اساسن) به زودی ی زود و به یاری بزرگ پروردگار باید با انتحارِ نهایی و جمعیتی پرونده ی خودمون رو ببندیم
#
از متنِ تاریخ نقل شده است
روایت است کمی سال پیش از این: در این شوره زاران مردمانی می زیسته اند که خویشتنِ خویش به خرافاتی بیش فروخته بوده اند. آنان خود را سرورِ تمامِ جهانیان می دانستند(زهی تصور باطل، زهی خیال محال) و تمام همسایگانشان را نادان و ابله می پنداشته اند(هرچند هر گاه پولی به دست شان می رسیده برای عشرت و تفرج به همان ابله ها! پناه می برده اند. ما مردمِ بی چاره) حال آنکه گذرنامه شان را حتا خودشان پذیرفته نمی دانستند تا برای زیارت به شهرری(شهری باستانی بوده است در همین بیابان ها معروف به شاه عبدالعظیم) از آن بهره ها برند. باری اینان به دستِ خود و آگاهانه به نبرد با خویش پرداختند و هرچه که در کف داشتند به بادِ فنا و نابودی سپردند(آسوده باد روان شانِ در دوزخ) و هیچ نیاموختند که راه هایی هم برای در نکبت نزیستن برای شان مهیا بود. "دشمنی ی صمیمانه ای" با خود و زیستگاه هایشان داشتند به گونه ای که حتا حیواناتِ ساکن جنگل ها و بیابان های آن روزِ این سرزمین همگی کلافه و متواری از ملل مترقه تقاضای اقامت کردند و دست به مهاجرت های نسلی زدند و در اواخر بقای آن مردمان حتا دیگر گنجشک و کلاغ هم در زیستگاه هایشان پیدا نمی شده است. آبّژ شان آلوده به زهر، زمین شان تفیده از بی آبی و آسمان شان از سموم خاکستری و بعدتر سیاه و تمام. گفته اند در اواخر کارشان درویشی صلا داده است. آسوده باشید که همگان دورِ هم به چاهِ نابودی عنقریب سقوط خواهیم کرد. ایدون باد. خوشبختانه این نوع از نسلِ غیر بشر تمامن نابوده شده است و حالا این سرزمین شوره زاری بسیار مفرح و چشم نواز برای آنانی ست که علاقمند به مطالعه ی حماقت های جمعی و ابدی ی نسل ها هستند
1397/06/22
کتاب ابدن ادا و اطوارهای کتاب های رایج در تغذیه رو نداره و خیلی هم ساده و البته به درد خور هست و کوتاه. نکته های بسیار ساده ای داره که جدن من که بسیار اوقات از اونها غفلت می کنم و جالب اینکه با توجه به همین نکته ها دیدم می تونم خیلی بهتر و تمیزتر خوراک بخورم. توجهم رو به آداب و رفتار خودم بیشتر جلب کنم . تا یار چه را خواهد و میلش به چه باشد
آرش حسینیانِ مترجم، درود خدا بر او باد، به حق زحمتِ ارزشمندی می کشه در گزینش کتاب هایی که ترجمه می کنه. کاملن نگرانی ی او از این راهی که دسته جمعی به ناکجا آباد(احتمالن بیابان های قم) می رویم رو در کاری که داره انجام میده می بینم. باری اگر بی خیالِ قضایا بشیم(که شدیم اساسن) به زودی ی زود و به یاری بزرگ پروردگار باید با انتحارِ نهایی و جمعیتی پرونده ی خودمون رو ببندیم
#
از متنِ تاریخ نقل شده است
روایت است کمی سال پیش از این: در این شوره زاران مردمانی می زیسته اند که خویشتنِ خویش به خرافاتی بیش فروخته بوده اند. آنان خود را سرورِ تمامِ جهانیان می دانستند(زهی تصور باطل، زهی خیال محال) و تمام همسایگانشان را نادان و ابله می پنداشته اند(هرچند هر گاه پولی به دست شان می رسیده برای عشرت و تفرج به همان ابله ها! پناه می برده اند. ما مردمِ بی چاره) حال آنکه گذرنامه شان را حتا خودشان پذیرفته نمی دانستند تا برای زیارت به شهرری(شهری باستانی بوده است در همین بیابان ها معروف به شاه عبدالعظیم) از آن بهره ها برند. باری اینان به دستِ خود و آگاهانه به نبرد با خویش پرداختند و هرچه که در کف داشتند به بادِ فنا و نابودی سپردند(آسوده باد روان شانِ در دوزخ) و هیچ نیاموختند که راه هایی هم برای در نکبت نزیستن برای شان مهیا بود. "دشمنی ی صمیمانه ای" با خود و زیستگاه هایشان داشتند به گونه ای که حتا حیواناتِ ساکن جنگل ها و بیابان های آن روزِ این سرزمین همگی کلافه و متواری از ملل مترقه تقاضای اقامت کردند و دست به مهاجرت های نسلی زدند و در اواخر بقای آن مردمان حتا دیگر گنجشک و کلاغ هم در زیستگاه هایشان پیدا نمی شده است. آبّژ شان آلوده به زهر، زمین شان تفیده از بی آبی و آسمان شان از سموم خاکستری و بعدتر سیاه و تمام. گفته اند در اواخر کارشان درویشی صلا داده است. آسوده باشید که همگان دورِ هم به چاهِ نابودی عنقریب سقوط خواهیم کرد. ایدون باد. خوشبختانه این نوع از نسلِ غیر بشر تمامن نابوده شده است و حالا این سرزمین شوره زاری بسیار مفرح و چشم نواز برای آنانی ست که علاقمند به مطالعه ی حماقت های جمعی و ابدی ی نسل ها هستند
1397/06/22
July 3, 2020
Essentially just 64 different ways of saying don't eat processed food. I hope it finds the right people. Mercifully short to be fair
January 18, 2022
A happy (and, probably, more importantly, healthy) riff on what and how to eat. A quick read, probably worth keeping handy, not just in the kitchen, but in the grocery store, but in any event, nearby (as least until more of the rules are internalized ... and, let's be honest here, ... habits are hard to break).
Highly accessible ... or, sorry, can't resist ... easily digestible. Lots of simple, homespun wisdom (masking the extensive research laid out in more painstaking detail in other publications). My favorite:
The food scientists' chemistry set is designed to extend shelf life, make old food look fresher and more appetizing than it really is, and get you to eat more....
The original content in this slight, pocket/bite-sized book was published more than a decade ago, and most of it was widely distributed in the mainstream media; here it is repackaged/republished as volume 9 in the Penguin Green Ideas collection, which, I'm finding well worth the investment ... and the minor hassle of acquiring it ... sadly, as my local independent bookstore confirmed, it is not available for sale (in the slipcase collection) in the U.S. (but it's not that difficult to order it from a UK supplier).
Highly accessible ... or, sorry, can't resist ... easily digestible. Lots of simple, homespun wisdom (masking the extensive research laid out in more painstaking detail in other publications). My favorite:
The food scientists' chemistry set is designed to extend shelf life, make old food look fresher and more appetizing than it really is, and get you to eat more....
The original content in this slight, pocket/bite-sized book was published more than a decade ago, and most of it was widely distributed in the mainstream media; here it is repackaged/republished as volume 9 in the Penguin Green Ideas collection, which, I'm finding well worth the investment ... and the minor hassle of acquiring it ... sadly, as my local independent bookstore confirmed, it is not available for sale (in the slipcase collection) in the U.S. (but it's not that difficult to order it from a UK supplier).
April 14, 2010
My rating is based on a combination of a)the book's content; and b)the book's usefulness to me. The usefulness is what brings it to a higher rating.
I've been studying health and nutrition on my own for many years now, so the content was not new to me. I bought the book to have on hand for motivation and reminders of what I already know. The way the information and "rules" are presented makes it perfect for keeping me on the healthy path. I read the entire book in a little over an hour and marked the pages that have the best reminders for me. The simplicity of presentation will make it really easy for me to keep pounding this stuff into my head when I'm tempted to eat licorice for dinner. Yes, hanging my head in shame, I admit to having eaten licorice as a meal.:(
I really like the rule about "you can eat as much junk food as you want, as long as you prepare it yourself." He points out that you wouldn't eat french fries very often if you had to scrub, peel, slice, and fry the potatoes yourself, and then clean up the mess. Something we don't think about when we buy *crap* at the grocery store. Would I prepare this myself?
I've been studying health and nutrition on my own for many years now, so the content was not new to me. I bought the book to have on hand for motivation and reminders of what I already know. The way the information and "rules" are presented makes it perfect for keeping me on the healthy path. I read the entire book in a little over an hour and marked the pages that have the best reminders for me. The simplicity of presentation will make it really easy for me to keep pounding this stuff into my head when I'm tempted to eat licorice for dinner. Yes, hanging my head in shame, I admit to having eaten licorice as a meal.:(
I really like the rule about "you can eat as much junk food as you want, as long as you prepare it yourself." He points out that you wouldn't eat french fries very often if you had to scrub, peel, slice, and fry the potatoes yourself, and then clean up the mess. Something we don't think about when we buy *crap* at the grocery store. Would I prepare this myself?
February 13, 2021
Let's just call this book the manifesto for healthy food regime. The author needs to be commended for packaging the information precisely and succinctly. Most of the rules mentioned in the book are highly scientific and backed by research. Along with that there are many food wisdom which has been passed on since generations. I was sold at the start only when author pointed out that nutrition science is still an emerging field and as a result many of the food wisdom are yet to be tested. But it is important to know that the food wisdom has been tested over generations and hence might be more sound when seen in the light of evolutionary science.
The author describes the whole concept of the book in seven words that is Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Now why he says this can be explored throughout the rules mentioned in the book.
Some of my favourite rules from the book are -
1. Avoid food products that make health claims. Most likely they are processed foods.
2. Eat only foods that will eventually rot. The more processed a food is, the longer the shelf life and the less nutritious it typically is.
3.If it came from a plant, eat it ; if it was made in a plant,dont.
4.Eat wild foods when one can. Because the fields and forests are crowded with plants containing higher levels of nutrients and phytochemicals.
5.Dont eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
6.Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
7. Eat less because we as humans eat much more than what our body requires and the excess wreaks havoc.
The author describes the whole concept of the book in seven words that is Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Now why he says this can be explored throughout the rules mentioned in the book.
Some of my favourite rules from the book are -
1. Avoid food products that make health claims. Most likely they are processed foods.
2. Eat only foods that will eventually rot. The more processed a food is, the longer the shelf life and the less nutritious it typically is.
3.If it came from a plant, eat it ; if it was made in a plant,dont.
4.Eat wild foods when one can. Because the fields and forests are crowded with plants containing higher levels of nutrients and phytochemicals.
5.Dont eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
6.Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
7. Eat less because we as humans eat much more than what our body requires and the excess wreaks havoc.
October 21, 2019
A really quick reread... certainly I need to be reminded of the rules in part 3 because I think the hardest thing is moderation when it comes to food!
June 6, 2010
This book is an "abridged" version of Pollan's book "In Defense of Food" and gives excellent advice about what to eat and not to eat as far as being natural and healthy. He's not an extremist; but, what he says makes good sense. He advises that if it comes through a car window, it's not food. If your food is made in a plant rather than coming from a plant, you shouldn't eat it. He mentions "edible food-like substances" which is very reminisent of another book I've read in the last couple of years called "The Twinkie Deconstructed." Most of the book is common sense but we could certainly use the reminders. It's cover price is a bit steep for it's size and content so if you want to read it, borrow it from the library or get a used copy... or read "In Defense of Food."
August 26, 2022
Come lo mismo que tus abuelos, nada de precocinados ni comida chatarra, cocina tú y come poco.
March 8, 2012
This book was a super quick read with 64 "food rules" which each had a paragraph or two explaining them in more detail. It has some great reminders and a few new ideas. Some of my favorites are:
Avoid food products that make health claims (you shouldn't have to advertise how healthly something is), Eat only food that will eventually rot, Treat meat as a flavoring, Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself (fries, ice cream, pies are all harder to make and highly processed, you will eat less and it will be more healthful if you make it), Pay more, eat less (trade quantity for quality, The banquet is in the first bite (the first bite is always the best, the more you eat doesn't add to your pleasure, it just adds calories), spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it, treat treats as treats (S policy: no snacks, no seconds, no sweets-except on days that begin with the letter S.)
Some things I need to remember: Avoid highly processed foods, anything that has sugar as a top 3 ingredient, eat animals that have themselves eaten well, eat less, stop eating before you are full, eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored, eat slowly (put down fork in between bites), buy smaller plates and glasses, serve a proper portion and don't go back for seconds,
Avoid food products that make health claims (you shouldn't have to advertise how healthly something is), Eat only food that will eventually rot, Treat meat as a flavoring, Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself (fries, ice cream, pies are all harder to make and highly processed, you will eat less and it will be more healthful if you make it), Pay more, eat less (trade quantity for quality, The banquet is in the first bite (the first bite is always the best, the more you eat doesn't add to your pleasure, it just adds calories), spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it, treat treats as treats (S policy: no snacks, no seconds, no sweets-except on days that begin with the letter S.)
Some things I need to remember: Avoid highly processed foods, anything that has sugar as a top 3 ingredient, eat animals that have themselves eaten well, eat less, stop eating before you are full, eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored, eat slowly (put down fork in between bites), buy smaller plates and glasses, serve a proper portion and don't go back for seconds,
March 20, 2017
What a delightful read! The art was absolutely charming and was completely in keeping with the light, upbeat, positive approach that the author followed. Some of the rules were fairly obvious, but who doesn't need a little reminder now and then! Other rules were more introspective such as #65 Give Some Thought to Where Your Food Comes From. The corollary of this notion is to be grateful for your food. The author notes a Zen blessing: "This meal is the labor of countless beings. Let us remember their toil." Wise words to live by. This was a highly enjoyable read and one that I'll return to again and again.
June 11, 2021
Интересно ми е напоследък да чета за храната, храненето, готвенето на здравословни храни, но не в маркетинговата светлина на думата "здравословно". Идеите на Майкъл Полан ми харесват, макар може би това да не е най-великата книга за храненето и храните, но ще видя и другите. Мисля че е за всеки, който не се увлича по крайности и си дава сметка за химията в храните, рекламите и т.н. а и за всеки, който иска да промени не само начина си на хранене, но да възпита нов вкус към храната, да промени отношението си към храните и дa се погрижи за себе си информирано.
April 17, 2013
I read this (before reading all the reviews here which outlined how short it is, how recycled the material was, &c &c) and was so dissatisfied I returned the Kindle book to Amazon for a refund. Shame on you, Pollan. Shame on you, publishing industry for publishing such a tiny (and expensive) "book." It was like a cross between calendar notes and a blog post. Recommended to no one.
January 11, 2018
Read years ago.
Short and to the point.
Short and to the point.
December 11, 2020
Ngạc nhiên là khi gấp sách lại mình khá thấm và nhớ những gì tác giả đề cập trong quyển này, đây như một quyển sổ tay các quy tắc ăn uống í, mà như ban đầu tác giả có nói, bạn không cần phải hiểu transfat là gì để có thói quen ăn uống lành mạnh! Cuốn này rất ngắn thôi (hợp để đọc lẹ tính vô goodreads challenge hihi), gồm 64 quy tắc dễ dàng áp dụng kể cả với các bà các mẹ, ví dụ như: không ăn những gì bà của bạn không nhận ra là đồ ăn (như đồ đóng hộp đóng bịch), không để người khác nấu ăn cho bạn (như đồ ăn nhanh, ăn hàng...)... mình thấy rất thiết thực luôn. Tác giả không phải chuyên gia dinh dưỡng nhưng đã tham khảo ý kiến chuyên môn nhiều rồi viết ra những ý chính không quá nặng nề về khoa học, như các chất hóa học đường đạm béo này kia, nên phù hợp với mọi đối tượng muốn cải thiện diet nhe. "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not so much" là những gì tác giả đúc kết qua quyển này và trình bày ngắn ngọn cho từng ý luôn, đọc loáng cái là xong, lâu lâu giở ra ngẫm lại để ăn uống là cái thú nhưng vẫn bảo vệ sức khỏe.
January 3, 2025
Useful and informative, I will probably be going back to this one for a good minute. I love Michael Pollan’s writing and adore the documentary series on Netflix called Cooked, based on another of his books. Highly recommend this to pretty much everyone over any other book out there calling itself healthy.
May 3, 2017
أول كتاب أقرؤه في هذا الباب، يدور حول ماذا وكيف نأكل؟
الكتاب بسيط للغاية، وهو يلخص قراءات وأبحاث الكاتب في مجموعة قواعد واضحة ومباشرة يمكن تطبيقها على الفور
ليس هدف الكتاب بناء الوعي حول أهمية الالتزام بما جاء به من نصائح، أو حول أهمية أن نكون على دراية بما نأكله وأثره على أجسادنا وحياتنا، لذا إن لم تكن الأمور واضحة لدى القارئ فقد لا يشعر بأهمية تلك النصائح أو قد لا يؤخذها على محمل الجدّ.
الرسالة الجوهرية: تجنّب تناول الأطعمة المُعالجة، أي "الاختراعات الحديثة" القابلة للأكل و التي صُنعت بالمعامل كي يدمن المستهلكون على شرائها
واستبدلها بكل ما تذخر به الطبيعة من نباتات، حبوب، ومنتجات طبيعية.
كيف تعرف الطعام المعالج؟ ما هي مؤشرات أنه اختراع قابل للأكل وليس طعامًا؟ كيف تتناول طعامك بطريقة تزيد من فاعليته؟
الكتاب يجيب عن هذه الأسئلة.
بعض النصائح كانت تحتاج لتفصيل وشرح أكثر، مثل قوله "ازرع حديقة خضروات إذا توافرت لديك مساحة"
فاعلية النصيحة ترتبط بالظروف المحيطة بها. مثلا لو كان لديك منزل مع حديقة صغيرة في مدينة مزدحمة فإن التلوث في الهواء والتربة - التي سوف تستخدمها بالزراعة، أعلى بكثير من ذلك الموجود في الأرياف والقرى حيث تُزرع الخضروات، لا سيما في حال ضمان جودتها ونوعية السماد المستخدم والمبيدات الحشرية وعوامل أخرى وبالتالي يكون عدم زرع الخضروات خيارًا أكثر صحة!. ما أريد قوله أن بعض النصائح لا يمكن أخذها على ظاهرها مباشرةً وتحتاج إلى تفصيل لازم.
الكتاب بسيط للغاية، وهو يلخص قراءات وأبحاث الكاتب في مجموعة قواعد واضحة ومباشرة يمكن تطبيقها على الفور
ليس هدف الكتاب بناء الوعي حول أهمية الالتزام بما جاء به من نصائح، أو حول أهمية أن نكون على دراية بما نأكله وأثره على أجسادنا وحياتنا، لذا إن لم تكن الأمور واضحة لدى القارئ فقد لا يشعر بأهمية تلك النصائح أو قد لا يؤخذها على محمل الجدّ.
الرسالة الجوهرية: تجنّب تناول الأطعمة المُعالجة، أي "الاختراعات الحديثة" القابلة للأكل و التي صُنعت بالمعامل كي يدمن المستهلكون على شرائها
واستبدلها بكل ما تذخر به الطبيعة من نباتات، حبوب، ومنتجات طبيعية.
كيف تعرف الطعام المعالج؟ ما هي مؤشرات أنه اختراع قابل للأكل وليس طعامًا؟ كيف تتناول طعامك بطريقة تزيد من فاعليته؟
الكتاب يجيب عن هذه الأسئلة.
بعض النصائح كانت تحتاج لتفصيل وشرح أكثر، مثل قوله "ازرع حديقة خضروات إذا توافرت لديك مساحة"
فاعلية النصيحة ترتبط بالظروف المحيطة بها. مثلا لو كان لديك منزل مع حديقة صغيرة في مدينة مزدحمة فإن التلوث في الهواء والتربة - التي سوف تستخدمها بالزراعة، أعلى بكثير من ذلك الموجود في الأرياف والقرى حيث تُزرع الخضروات، لا سيما في حال ضمان جودتها ونوعية السماد المستخدم والمبيدات الحشرية وعوامل أخرى وبالتالي يكون عدم زرع الخضروات خيارًا أكثر صحة!. ما أريد قوله أن بعض النصائح لا يمكن أخذها على ظاهرها مباشرةً وتحتاج إلى تفصيل لازم.
May 27, 2023
I'm about to read a new book coming out in June, titled Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind the Food That Isn't Food by Chris van Tulleken, and thought a quick refresher of Michael Pollan's food rules would be a good idea. He's not, in his own words 'a nutrition expert or a scientist, just a curious journalist hoping to answer a straightforward question' about what represents healthy eating in today's world. He came up with 64 rules or what he likes to think of as personal policies, such as: 'Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.' Some are hilarious, some deadly serious. His mantra, as we all know, is simple: 'Eat food. (I would change that to Eat REAL food). Not too much. Mostly plants.' Words to live by.
May 4, 2010
This morning, instead of chowing down on a big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Frosted Flakes like I normally do, I reached into the way back of my refrigerator and found a container of greek yogurt. I chased it down with a banana and felt very virtuous. This morning, before hauling myself out of bed, I read Michael Pollan's short, sweet Food Rules, which is basically a distillation of his two other food-related books, The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food (in fact, I think pretty much everything in Food Rules can also be found in In Defense of Food, although in a less compact format). For $11, it would have been nice to have more new info in the book (I read it in about 30 minutes), but I also think it's a helpful reference for people who want to eat better but either don't know how or lack willpower.
I'm one of the ones who lacks willpower. Pollan's main thesis is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And I'm not good at any of those three things. I'd rather eat sugary cereal (not "food" in Pollan's book, but rather a "foodlike substance") than eat yogurt. I work out a lot precisely so I can eat a lot. And plants just don't do it for me the way a hot fudge sundae or a dozen oreos does. Then I read a book by Pollan or watch Food, Inc and I feel all virtuous and try to eat well, and it lasts a few days, and then I'm back to shopping in the middle of the grocery store, filling up my cart with fruit roll ups and corn dogs. So this morning, I ate yogurt. For lunch, I already have whole grain pasta and asparagus on the brain. Maybe the compactness of this little book will help me permanently change my eating habits. I'd like to think it will, but it probably won't.
I'm one of the ones who lacks willpower. Pollan's main thesis is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And I'm not good at any of those three things. I'd rather eat sugary cereal (not "food" in Pollan's book, but rather a "foodlike substance") than eat yogurt. I work out a lot precisely so I can eat a lot. And plants just don't do it for me the way a hot fudge sundae or a dozen oreos does. Then I read a book by Pollan or watch Food, Inc and I feel all virtuous and try to eat well, and it lasts a few days, and then I'm back to shopping in the middle of the grocery store, filling up my cart with fruit roll ups and corn dogs. So this morning, I ate yogurt. For lunch, I already have whole grain pasta and asparagus on the brain. Maybe the compactness of this little book will help me permanently change my eating habits. I'd like to think it will, but it probably won't.
May 11, 2018
قواعد سريعة للطعام
1.الحاجات الجديدة اللى طالعه اليومين دول واللى مليئة بالمواد الحافظة دا مش طعام ولكن حاجة بتسد الجوع
2.أهم ميزة بتميز الطعام أنه لازم يكون بيعفن بمعنى أن كيس الشيبسي اللى بيقعد مدى الحياة دا مش طعام دا حتى البكتريا مش معترفة بيه كطعام
3. من مميزات الطعام الحقيقى أنه بيختلف اسمه من دولة ﻷخرى ودا وإن دل يدل على أنه طعام حقيقى موجود منذ قدم الخليقة على عكس مثلاً وجبات كنتاكي اللى مش بيتغير اسمها من مكان ﻵخر
4.الطعام لازم يحتوى على ألوان كتير
5.ابعد تماماً عن الطعام اللى بيتم التسويق ليه لأنهم عادة مش بيسوقوا للحاجات المفيدة، عمرك شاهدت مثلاً إعلان عن محصول البطاطا ولا البطيخ مثلا
6. حاول تأكل ببطأ ومتستعجلش وأنت بتأكل
7.لما تكون قاعد بتأكل كل على مائدة الطعام ومتنشغلش بكذا نشاط عشان متأخدش وقت أطول فى الأكل
8.الطعام الصحى هو اللى مكوناته معروفة وسهلة فى النطق بمعنى أن مكوناته مش بتلاقيها فى المعمل ولكن عند بتاع الخضار والعطار والفكهانى
9.مفيش حاج�� اسمها اكلة جديدة بمعنى أنك قبل أما تأكل الأكل شوف كده لو جدة جدتك عارفها ولا ﻷ يعنى جو إختراع يا كوتش دا مش أكل
أخيراً بقه أعتقد إننا لو طبقنا القواعد دى كلها يبقى مش هناكل
1.الحاجات الجديدة اللى طالعه اليومين دول واللى مليئة بالمواد الحافظة دا مش طعام ولكن حاجة بتسد الجوع
2.أهم ميزة بتميز الطعام أنه لازم يكون بيعفن بمعنى أن كيس الشيبسي اللى بيقعد مدى الحياة دا مش طعام دا حتى البكتريا مش معترفة بيه كطعام
3. من مميزات الطعام الحقيقى أنه بيختلف اسمه من دولة ﻷخرى ودا وإن دل يدل على أنه طعام حقيقى موجود منذ قدم الخليقة على عكس مثلاً وجبات كنتاكي اللى مش بيتغير اسمها من مكان ﻵخر
4.الطعام لازم يحتوى على ألوان كتير
5.ابعد تماماً عن الطعام اللى بيتم التسويق ليه لأنهم عادة مش بيسوقوا للحاجات المفيدة، عمرك شاهدت مثلاً إعلان عن محصول البطاطا ولا البطيخ مثلا
6. حاول تأكل ببطأ ومتستعجلش وأنت بتأكل
7.لما تكون قاعد بتأكل كل على مائدة الطعام ومتنشغلش بكذا نشاط عشان متأخدش وقت أطول فى الأكل
8.الطعام الصحى هو اللى مكوناته معروفة وسهلة فى النطق بمعنى أن مكوناته مش بتلاقيها فى المعمل ولكن عند بتاع الخضار والعطار والفكهانى
9.مفيش حاج�� اسمها اكلة جديدة بمعنى أنك قبل أما تأكل الأكل شوف كده لو جدة جدتك عارفها ولا ﻷ يعنى جو إختراع يا كوتش دا مش أكل
أخيراً بقه أعتقد إننا لو طبقنا القواعد دى كلها يبقى مش هناكل
April 2, 2021
This book is just fine and the illustrations in my edition are very cute, but I only gave 3 stars. For me, the problem isn’t knowing the rules — it’s the how to implement following such rules. It’s one thing to say “don’t eat anything if sugar is one of the top ingredients” — it’s another thing entirely to make the choice to eat a celery stick instead of a Milky Way bar. For me, I was hoping for a something that might inspire me to actually follow common sense rules.
Another pet peeve: as someone with family members who suffered from alcoholism, it’s pretty glib to say “drink wine with dinner!” with no qualifiers about how this is an extremely dangerous drug for anyone with addiction issues, not to mention the many people who are killed every year from drunk drivers.
Bottom like: the tone came across as glib and smug. That’s probably my biggest issue with this book. Other than that, it’s fine. Seems logically sound, it’s extremely short and easy to read, and the illustrations are charming.
Another pet peeve: as someone with family members who suffered from alcoholism, it’s pretty glib to say “drink wine with dinner!” with no qualifiers about how this is an extremely dangerous drug for anyone with addiction issues, not to mention the many people who are killed every year from drunk drivers.
Bottom like: the tone came across as glib and smug. That’s probably my biggest issue with this book. Other than that, it’s fine. Seems logically sound, it’s extremely short and easy to read, and the illustrations are charming.
February 5, 2019
Don't buy this book at full price for yourself.
Do borrow it from the library (as I did), pick it up at a used book store or giveaway, buy it as a gift for a friend who doesn't read much (alas, we all know such people), or even sit in the library or stand in the aisle of a bookstore and read this book in its entirety. It took me two sittings to finish this book, but it is easily finished in one sitting. It's a fluffy book of Michael Pollan lite, a bunch of short, bite-sized chunks, lots of white space, sometimes (seriously) an entire chapter will consist of the title only.
Still, Pollan's rules of good eating are sensible and should be taken to heart. If this is a way to get the message out to the demographic that don't read super-serious 400-page polemics, well, I understand why they published it, even if I think it's poor value for money.
Do borrow it from the library (as I did), pick it up at a used book store or giveaway, buy it as a gift for a friend who doesn't read much (alas, we all know such people), or even sit in the library or stand in the aisle of a bookstore and read this book in its entirety. It took me two sittings to finish this book, but it is easily finished in one sitting. It's a fluffy book of Michael Pollan lite, a bunch of short, bite-sized chunks, lots of white space, sometimes (seriously) an entire chapter will consist of the title only.
Still, Pollan's rules of good eating are sensible and should be taken to heart. If this is a way to get the message out to the demographic that don't read super-serious 400-page polemics, well, I understand why they published it, even if I think it's poor value for money.
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