Food Rules: The Edible Experiment, Week One

Journal Entry:
Week One
September 5, 2010


I took “Food Rules” out to my parent’s house today to enjoy the cool front that blew in over the weekend and to peruse the pages of this text. I have to admit, I was rather skeptical of this book when I first heard of it and of what (I thought) it was about. I thought, “Oh boy, here we go again. Another someone from somewhere telling me the “somethings” that I should or should not be eating. He will probably promote a whole bunch of organic stuff and free-range this-and-that and other expensive, fanatical foods.” I already consider myself to be a pretty healthy eater: I exist on mostly natural, fiber-filled and vitamin-rich foods; foods which are not over-processed or strangely colored or artificial-tasting. That is, I exist mostly on vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, skim milk, Greek yogurt, fresh fruits, and the like. I never have bought into the whole “Organic” craze; I figure that something is probably just as good if it is not necessarily “organic” or bought up the road at our local Farmer’s market. (Although, don’t get me wrong – I love strolling through the Farmer’s market on a beautiful Fall day!) Thus were my expectations for this book laid out.

However, upon opening the pages of this pretty little book, I quickly fell in love! I read it in one thirty-minute sitting, taking to heart all the practical, simple tips that Pollan suggests in his easy-to-understand pages.

I have decided to adopt 15 of my favorite rules and try to follow one of them per week for the duration of the semester, building upon ones from previous weeks as I go. Hopefully, these will form good habits that I will keep for the rest of my life … the life that is now going to be longer since I of course will be eating even healthier in the days to come. 