Fit Fare

Author Michael Pollan did a full two years of research in writing his latest book, In Defense of Health. Throughout the nutrition and health tome, he offers this bottom line, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Sounds simple enough.

In a recent issue of People magazine, he gave a few of his specific tips:

Shop the periphery of grocery stores. Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy are there.

Avoid foods your grandmother wouldn’t have recognized. That’s the processed “edible, food-like substances” in the middle aisles.

At restaurants, ask for what’s local and grass-fed. Most local farmers don’t use pesticides. And food grown in healthy soil is more nutritious.

Don’t expect perfection. If we get it right one meal a day, we’ll be doing a lot for our health. I do splurge. I’ll have Cracker Jacks maybe once a year. They’re delicious! Although the prizes have gone way downhill.

I like the advice on not worrying about perfect. I know I easily “get it right” one meal a day, so to then work on the second and third meal of the day makes it all seem quite manageable. Treating our bodies right, supporting local farmers and focusing on our overall health and nutrition … what could be better?