Michael Pollan's latest book, "Food Rules"

If you have 30 minutes to spare and a passing interest in natural foods you might enjoy Michael Pollan's latest book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. This is probably the shortest book you've read since you were a first grader, but it does have interesting ways to remember how to eat in a healthy way. If you need or want to read the research Pollan did to arrive at these rules, you would be better off reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Although there is quite a bit of overlap between Food Rules and Pollan's previous two books, there is some new food for thought. Some of my favorite rules are:

• Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
• If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
• It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
• Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
• Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it (this would be impossible for me with restless toddlers, as I am a slow cook, but it's a good thought!)
• Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.

I also thought Pollan did a good job pointing out that an organic diet is not necessarily a healthy diet. Organic corn syrup is still corn syrup, organic sugary cereal is still sugary cereal, and organic processed convenience food is still processed convenience food. Fresh, locally grown organic food with as little processing as possible is the best way to go.

Because this book is short and easy to read, it would be a good one to have on hand for people who are just getting started thinking about a healthier lifestyle or who are wondering why you choose to each meat, milk and produce from a local farm.

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