Culinary Haiku

"Eat food
Not too much
Mostly plants."

Michael Pollan (On the cover of his book In Defense of Food)

Food wisdom is as important as psychological, social, or spiritual wisdom. The old "You are what you eat" mantra has been drilled into our heads so long that we take it as conventional wisdom and conveniently ignore it.

Pollan is one of the chief contemporary proponents of eating real food, in moderation. He's great at using simple, mnemonic sound bites to help us remember how to put culinary wisdom into practice. A few of his ground rules:

* If your great grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, don't eat it.
* If it has more than five ingredients in it, don't eat it.
* If some of the ingredients are polysyllable words that you've never heard of and can't pronounce, don't eat it.
* Shop the edges of the grocery, not the middle.
* Don't get your fuel at the same place your car does, i.e. don't eat at The Apu Cafe at your local mini mart.

Simple, real foods, in adequate amounts. The fresher the better. The more local the better. The more organic the better. The less processed the better.

You can do it. Start today by throwing out all that crap you have stock piled in your cupboards. Bye, bye Hamburger Helper, Twinkies, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Frankenberry cereal, etc., etc. Then go out and buy some real food. Directly from the farmer, if possible, but if it's impossible because it's winter where you are, then spend most of your money in the produce aisle and wherever your grocer stocks the whole grains and nuts.

I know I don't really need to tell you this, but I will anyway: A healthy body supports a sharp mind. And increases your chances of living a longer, healthier, more enjoyable life. Today's a great day to begin changing your diet. Bon appetit!