Eat food.

An obvious statement.
Something we do several times a day.
Something we look forward to doing.
It may be alone in front of a computer.
It may be with others gathered around a table.

Are you eating right now?
Do you know what you are eating?
Not just the name...do you truly know what you are eating?

I just wrapped up reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.
It is a quick read. Much quicker than The Omnivore's Dilemma.
You will learn new things.
You will be reminded of things.
It will make you upset.
It will make you think.

He lays out three answers to the question of what humans should eat to be healthy: (Before we get too far, I just want to add - everything in moderation. Sometimes an Oreo Blizzard or a bag of Fritos is a must.)

1. Eat food
2. Not too much
3. Mostly plants

What does he mean when he says "eat food"?

+Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize. (Yogurt from a tube? Probably not. Sponge-like cake with white fluffy filling? Umm...nope. BK stuffed steakhouse? Come on! I don't even recognize that.)
+Avoid food products containing ingredients that:
    a. are unfamiliar
    b. are unpronounceable
    c. are more than five in number
    d. include high-fructose corn syrup
+Avoid food products that make health claims. (What? This water filled with vitamins won't make me swim faster. What a joke!)
+Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. (Bonus: The aisles tend to be wider on the outside or is it that there are fewer people...)
+Get out of the supermarket whenever possible (Farmers' markets and CSAs!)

That's it.
Start small.
Pick one and stick with it for awhile. Add on.

I'll fill you in on "not too much" a different day.

Info credit: This guy.
Photo credits: 1. 2. 3. 4. (These are all delicious.)

Mottainai.