If you secretly long
for those simple "clean your plate" days of
childhood — but don't want to actually clean your plate —
there's a new book for you.
Michael Pollan, the author of "The
Omnivore's Dilemma," has synthesized that tome's analysis
and explanation into "Food Rules: An Eater's
Manual."
It doesn't get much easier than this.
Each page has a simple rule, sometimes with
a short explanation, sometimes without, that promotes Pollan's
back-to-the-basics-of-food (and-food-enjoyment) philosophy.
Rule No. 1: Eat food.
He explains that he's referring to edible
items that haven't been processed beyond recognition. A third
of the book focuses on this theme. The second part addresses
the type of food people should eat: Mostly plants. The third
part focuses on how much food (you might be able to see this
coming): Not too much.
Among the gems: Be the kind of person who
takes supplements — then skip the supplements. (That's Rule
No. 40.) Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of
the milk (Rule No. 36). It's not food if it arrived through
the window of your car. (Rule No. 20). Try not to eat alone
(Rule No. 59).
So if you need simple directions to achieve
a more healthful, perhaps more sane way of eating — not a
fancy, complex eating plan involving percentage of carbs and
timing (and you also don't want to have to read "The
Omnivore's Dilemma," though you think you should) —
this could be your year.
(As for cleaning your plate, he advises
against it. Rule No. 61.)
