Real Food Challenge- Day 24

"Cook."

Cooking your own food is the only sure way to take back control over your diet from the food scientists and food processors.  The only way you can really guarantee that you're eating real food, rather than edible food-like substances, with unhealthy oils, high-fructose corn syrup, and loads of sodium, is to prepare it yourself.  It isn't surprising that the decline in home cooking closely parallels the rise in obesity.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 23

"Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don’t."

Our fast food culture tells us that food should be cheap, fast and easy, and that it is a product of industry, not nature.  If nothing else, plant a single herb in a kitchen window.  Caring for your plant, watching it grow, and eating it's yield is not only going to give you the freshest, most nutritious produce obtainable, but it helps you to appreciate the time it takes to produce real food.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 22

"Get out of the supermarket whenever you can."

You won't find processed food products at the farmer's market.  No high fructose corn syrup, no packages with long ingredient lists, nothing microwaveable, and nothing old from far away.  All you'll find are fresh, whole foods, harvested at the peak of their taste and nutritional quality.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 21

"Do all your eating at a table."

Your desk is not a table.  And neither is the driver's seat of your car!  When we eat while doing other things, we eat mindlessly and wind up eating more than we would if we were actually sitting at a table.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 20

"Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does."

Enough said.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 19

"Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods."

Americans have added an average of 500 calories to their daily diet since 1980, which just so happens to be when the obesity epidemic began.  The bulk of these excess calories have come in the form of salt, fat, and sugar laden processed snack foods.  If you are going to snack, limit your choices to fruits, veggies and nuts.  

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 18

"Serve a proper portion and don't go back for seconds."

Portion sizes have gotten out of control in our supersized culture, so what exactly is a proper portion size?  You'll find different theories on this, but the easiest for me to remember is that a serving of animal protein should fit in your plam, a serving of veggies should fill both of your cupped hands, fruit fills one cupped hand, a serving of grains is the size of your fist, and fat or oils should be no larger than the size of your thumb.  If you still decide that you HAVE to have seconds, at least wait several minutes before going back.  After giving yourself a few minutes, you may discover that you really don't need more, or at least not as much as you thought. 

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 17

"The banquet is in the first bite."

No other bite will taste as good as the first.  Each subsequent bite will continue to diminish in satisfaction, so savor your first few bites and stop eating sooner than you otherwise might. Taking more bites doesn't always mean you'll receive more pleasure.  

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 16

"Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it."

Honor the cook (even if it's you!) for the care he or she has put into preparing your meal by slowing down and savoring your food.  I know that in my house, it can be frustrating at times to have carved out the time to prepare dinner, only to have everyone finish their meal in 5 minutes and rush from the table to head back to their phones or computers.  The time it takes to prepare the meal would be so much more satisfying if we spent the same amount of time enjoying it together.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.

Real Food Challenge- Day 15

"Treat treats as treats."

Special occasion foods are one of the great pleasures in life, and we shouldn't deprive ourselves completely from them.  However, the problem with them has become that these foods are now easily available as daily occasion foods.  Our great grandparents probably enjoyed fried chicken, but they didn't swing by Sonic every day to pick up some nuggets on their way to their kid's baseball practice.  The trouble that it took to prepare homemade fried chicken meant that it was usually reserved for special occasions.  It's okay to indulge every now and then, but a good rule of thumb is to prepare your special occasion foods yourself.  Making the process of getting treats a bit more time consuming means that you probably won't make the choice to have them quite as often.

All the tips given for the 28 Days of Real Food Challenge were compiled from "Food Rules", by Michael Pollan.