Dear Friends and Family,
Wow. I'm tired today. I've been battling a cold all week. And, I've been super busy at work. I feel like I could sleep for an entire day and still be tired. Okay. Deep breath. Onto my topic of the day.
I went to reread an article by Michael Pollen called Unhappy Meals. And, on page 11 of the article, he has a list. It's his way of defining food vs. "food."
1. "Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food." Okay, roughly speaking, that means it needs have been around by 1900. I've decided I'm going to take a looser definition of the your great-great-grandmother, since my great-great-grandmother wouldn't have recognized milk or a banana or a strawberry or bread. If someone's great-great-grandmother, anyone's, would recognize it. It makes the cut.
2. "Avoid even those food products that come bearing health claims." Easy enough. Chances are not too many foods from the 1900's came with health claims.
3. "Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable c) more than five in number — or that contain high-fructose corn syrup." The high fructose corn syrup is easy enough. I'm going to add partially hydrogenated anything or other to the list. Both of those are evil. Fortunately, neither of them are likely to be found in food (see #1). The tougher one is avoiding ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, or more than five in number.
Making the transition to food will be a boon to both my health and the environment. The health piece is pretty obvious. The environment piece - less processing, less shipping, less packaging, back to nature. So, Tuesday, with my weigh in, I'll post my "food" items. Hopefully, as I get better at tracking, the list will shrink in size.
2007 Action Plan
Cheers!
mouse
Wow. I'm tired today. I've been battling a cold all week. And, I've been super busy at work. I feel like I could sleep for an entire day and still be tired. Okay. Deep breath. Onto my topic of the day.
I went to reread an article by Michael Pollen called Unhappy Meals. And, on page 11 of the article, he has a list. It's his way of defining food vs. "food."
1. "Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food." Okay, roughly speaking, that means it needs have been around by 1900. I've decided I'm going to take a looser definition of the your great-great-grandmother, since my great-great-grandmother wouldn't have recognized milk or a banana or a strawberry or bread. If someone's great-great-grandmother, anyone's, would recognize it. It makes the cut.
2. "Avoid even those food products that come bearing health claims." Easy enough. Chances are not too many foods from the 1900's came with health claims.
3. "Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable c) more than five in number — or that contain high-fructose corn syrup." The high fructose corn syrup is easy enough. I'm going to add partially hydrogenated anything or other to the list. Both of those are evil. Fortunately, neither of them are likely to be found in food (see #1). The tougher one is avoiding ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, or more than five in number.
Making the transition to food will be a boon to both my health and the environment. The health piece is pretty obvious. The environment piece - less processing, less shipping, less packaging, back to nature. So, Tuesday, with my weigh in, I'll post my "food" items. Hopefully, as I get better at tracking, the list will shrink in size.
2007 Action Plan
- 07.20: I pledge to make a difference.
- 07.20: I will track my electrical consumption.
- 07.20: I will keep the house at 78°+ for the summer.
- 08.16: I unplugged the blow dryer.
- 09.01: I tried compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- 09.02: I replaced the dishwasher.
- 10.11: I will keep the house at 54°/74° for the winter.
- 10.29: I started a budget, reducing my purchases.
- 11:01: I signed up for Residential Real Time Pricing.
- 11.08: I will track my "food" consumption.
Cheers!
mouse
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