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Marianneosharp's review

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
by Michael Pollan

So, I should of blogged this right after I read it while it was fresh on my mind....now it's been a couple weeks and I've forgotten half of it. But - WHAT A GREAT READ! Sara, my half-cousin (she's my cousin's cousin....so what does that make her?), recommended this book when she found out how much a love Dr Oz. This book gives such an incredible depiction of the food crisis facing the typical western diet. It has taught me a lot....and when I tell you what I gained you'll just say, "well duh!", but you have to read it to understand. The author is a journalist who has put an amazing amount of research into this topic. He also wrote "the Omnivore's dilemna"...some of you may recognize that title. Anyway, next month I'm hosting book club with Dr. Oz's book "You, Staying Young" which, I'm sure, is a great book but I honestly wish it were this one instead.
This book explains where food has gone bad in America. How everything that's processed is what we're cons...more So, I should of blogged this right after I read it while it was fresh on my mind....now it's been a couple weeks and I've forgotten half of it. But - WHAT A GREAT READ! Sara, my half-cousin (she's my cousin's cousin....so what does that make her?), recommended this book when she found out how much a love Dr Oz. This book gives such an incredible depiction of the food crisis facing the typical western diet. It has taught me a lot....and when I tell you what I gained you'll just say, "well duh!", but you have to read it to understand. The author is a journalist who has put an amazing amount of research into this topic. He also wrote "the Omnivore's dilemna"...some of you may recognize that title. Anyway, next month I'm hosting book club with Dr. Oz's book "You, Staying Young" which, I'm sure, is a great book but I honestly wish it were this one instead.
This book explains where food has gone bad in America. How everything that's processed is what we're consuming...and that's killing us....and how everything that's "whole" is hard to find and inconvenient. This book has definitely motivated me to eat my 5 a day....and then some. Not that I'm actually doing that but now I'm more motivated and more guilty when I don't. Now when I see the pink sugar cookie at the gas station, I look at the ingredients and I'm disgusted. No doubt, that is one GOOD cookie, but it's not "real" food. As you can see on the cover of Pollan's book, he wrote: "EAT FOOD, NOT TOO MUCH, MOSTLY PLANTS". Which, again, sounds simple but that's all we really need to know about nutrition to be set on the right path. Eat food, he says, not sad imitations. Eat like the French, enjoy the quality, texture, appearance, taste....rather that eating really quickly while being very distracted. And eat plants....not so many seeds....but lots and lots of plants. That's what our bodies were intended to eat and that's what makes them run like champs.
Anyway, great read if someone needs someone feels the need to revamp their diet. I think it's helped me as a mom....because now I feel better about the fact that I never buy my kids fruit snacks and oreo's. Okay, so maybe we compensate that high fructose corn syrup and transfat with raw sugar and real butter.....but at least I'm not filling them full of fake, processed, last-for-the-next-10-years junk food. I'm becoming the queen of healthy desserts. Now...I hope that all didn't make me seem self-righteous about my families eating habits. The truth is that what my kids eat is one of my biggest stresses each and every day...a never-ending battle. I've tried "deceptively delicious" and had success with a couple recipes.....but Rhett hates the mac and cheese with butternut squash and has now decided he will never eat mac and cheese again. So that last part about what I proudly "never" buy just makes me feel better about all the good stuff that my boys "never"eat.
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message 1: by O

04/23/2008 08:55PM

Cousin in law?