Tag Archives: healthy weight

“We’re very confused about food, … which is weird. I mean, what other species needs experts to tell them how to eat?”, says food expert/journalist  Michael Pollan in an NPR program interview. The more he studied about food, the shorter his book, Food Rules, became. Not advocating for one ideal diet, Mr. Pollan wants us to steer away from processed food and towards plant based foods. That simple.   “Populations eating a remarkable wide range of traditional diets generally won’t suffer from (chronic Western) diseases ” and, “People who get off the Western diet see dramatic improvements in their health.”

Eat food, he advocates. Real food that is. Here’s some of my favorite rules; theres’s 64 altogether  in the book:

Part I:  What should I eat? (Eat food.) Like me, your definition of food might change by the end of this chapter.

• 5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

• 6. Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
• 7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that  third-grader cannot pronounce.
• 12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.
• 13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

• 19. If it came from a plant, eat it; it was made in a plant, don’t.

Part II: What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly plants.)

• 22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
• 24. Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl), which is better than eating what stands on four legs (cows, pigs, and other mammals).
• 27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
• 29. Eat like an omnivore.
• 35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.

Part III How should I eat? (Not too much.)

• 44. Pay more, eat less.
• 45. Eat less.
• 47. Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored.
• 53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.
• 55. Eat meals.
• 56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant food.
• 57. Don’t get your fuel the same place your car does.
• 60. Treat treats as treats.
• 63. Cook

This short 140 page book is packed with wisdom you won’t soon forget. It was one of the books and documentaries that changed my eating forever.

Links:

Michael Pollan- Ted Talk

Michael Pollan- NPR interview about his new book, Cooked

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/21/177501735/fire-water-air-earth-michael-pollan-gets-elemental-in-cooked

Michael Pollan- NPR, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me program

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128417647

Learn more about that old Twinkie here-

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/21/news/hancock/38-year-old-twinkie-worlds-oldest-still-a-sweet-treat-at-blue-hill-school/

HERE’S SOME GOOD, HEALTHY SNACKS….

Healthy eating including healthy snack options takes planning and shopping. Here’s some easy to eat, fast snacks, most of which are protein,  vegetables or fruit. I love this idea of a healthy snack drawer in the frig (skip the packaged food) which came from the blog, Life is Sweet…in Kindergarten.

  VEGETABLES

• Cut and prepped ahead in refrigerator so that grabbing to go is convenient (see previous blog post)
• Add peanut butter to celery stalks
• Dip in hummus, yogurt or guacamole

APPLE SLICES

• Use an apple slicer
• In a to-go container, add peanut butter and a knife to spread it (add a napkin, too)

• Slice the apple horizontally and add peanut butter, raisins, walnuts, or your imagination then cut in pie shaped slices

ALMONDS, NUTS, SEEDS, TRAILMIX (without chocolate or other sweet additions)

• Pre-measure a small palm full into a to-go container to avoid over eating
• Buy almonds at Trader Joe’s where they come prepackaged
• toss raw sunflower or other seeds with olive oil and bake

 AVACADO

• half an avocado with squeezed lime and sprinkled with spices of your choice

• avocado toast with cottage cheese and tomatoes

HARD BOILED EGGS

• Pack in a to-go container
• Add tomato slices and scallions or chopped basil leaves

EDEMAME with sea salt

TURKEY ROLLS

• spread with mustard and capers
• roll olives inside
• try avocado slices in the middle

• with cheese in the middle and a tomato on top

•  between slices of cucumber with flavorings of your choice

SWEET POTATOES

• baked half with a small amount of butter and walnuts or pecans
• slices tossed with olive oil and sea salt and baked

RICE CAKES

• spread with peanut butter with banana slices on top

• topped with avocado, tomatoes, turkey, or your choice

FRUIT

• any kind in moderation
• banana dolphins

Ok, maybe this is for the kids, but I couldn’t resist. Aren’t they cute! (from blog I’m Just a Wife)

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE GO-TO AND TO-GO HEALTHY SNACKS??? LET US KNOW BELOW….