One of my favorite Oprah episodes that I watched recently was Food 101 with Michael Pollan. One of Pollan’s rules that they discussed was number 39. This rule has been on my mind.
“Rule # 39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself” source - Food Rules by Michael Pollan
Is it that simple?
After thinking it over, my opinion is for most of us, yes! The majority of us don’t prioritize a lot of time to cook. So for many of us the amount of times we would feel like putting all the effort into making our favorite junk foods ourselves from scratch, would not be very often.
As Pollan said on Oprah’s show, making French fries is kind of a pain, so the amount of times he is willing to put all the effort in to have them is maybe once or twice a month. He shouldn’t be eating them more than that, so it works for him.
While this rule won’t work for everyone, because some of us love to cook and regularly spend lots of time doing it, but for most of us it could significantly cut down on how much junk food we eat. How often are you going to feel like making potato chips from scratch? It is a good way to evaluate your junk food intake, and significantly cut down on it.
My family doesn’t eat out often, but that doesn’t mean we are not susceptible to fast food choices. You don’t have to go to a drive through to get fast food. Grocery stores are full of them. This is more where we get into trouble. Many times we have grabbed fast grocery store junk food for those nights during the week that are especially busy.
The next time I go grocery shopping I am going to try to keep this rule in mind. If I opt for a few potatoes and vegetable oil instead of buying a bag of chips, how long will it actually take me to get around to making them?
In addition, the homemade version may not be nearly as unhealthy as the fast food one.
What I really like about this rule is that you are not denying yourself any foods you love. You want to be happy, and able to enjoy things in life, but how often are you really going to want to make it yourself?
Food for thought ;-)
What is your favorite junk food to eat? Would you make it at home?
If you have read the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan I would love to hear your thoughts on it? I might have to pick it up in AZ for a vacation read.
“Rule # 39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself” source - Food Rules by Michael Pollan
Is it that simple?
After thinking it over, my opinion is for most of us, yes! The majority of us don’t prioritize a lot of time to cook. So for many of us the amount of times we would feel like putting all the effort into making our favorite junk foods ourselves from scratch, would not be very often.
As Pollan said on Oprah’s show, making French fries is kind of a pain, so the amount of times he is willing to put all the effort in to have them is maybe once or twice a month. He shouldn’t be eating them more than that, so it works for him.
While this rule won’t work for everyone, because some of us love to cook and regularly spend lots of time doing it, but for most of us it could significantly cut down on how much junk food we eat. How often are you going to feel like making potato chips from scratch? It is a good way to evaluate your junk food intake, and significantly cut down on it.
My family doesn’t eat out often, but that doesn’t mean we are not susceptible to fast food choices. You don’t have to go to a drive through to get fast food. Grocery stores are full of them. This is more where we get into trouble. Many times we have grabbed fast grocery store junk food for those nights during the week that are especially busy.
The next time I go grocery shopping I am going to try to keep this rule in mind. If I opt for a few potatoes and vegetable oil instead of buying a bag of chips, how long will it actually take me to get around to making them?
In addition, the homemade version may not be nearly as unhealthy as the fast food one.
What I really like about this rule is that you are not denying yourself any foods you love. You want to be happy, and able to enjoy things in life, but how often are you really going to want to make it yourself?
Food for thought ;-)
What is your favorite junk food to eat? Would you make it at home?
If you have read the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan I would love to hear your thoughts on it? I might have to pick it up in AZ for a vacation read.
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