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The Saturday Review: Food Rules (Giveaway!)

[ 37 ] 07/31/2010 |

Clean, simple eating. Sounds easy, right?

And then you really start thinking about it. What is clean eating? How should you eat to best care for your body – to fuel it? To be healthy – all the while not completely denying yourself the foods you enjoy?

It’s a toughie.

A while back, I picked up Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food after watching him on Oprah and watching the film Food, Inc.  I absolutely LOVED In Defense of Food. It delved into the scientific aspects of nutrition, how detrimental the Western Diet is, and also touched on the mass production of food. Very interesting reading – and it left me wanting more..wanting to understand, in plain English, how to eat.

Then, Michael Pollan released Food Rules. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, but I loved the title (I know, I know, judging a book by it’s cover) and it’s byline…Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Duh, right?

Well, clearly not.  When you look at your meals, is it ALL FOOD? As defined by the author real food is: “something your great-grandmother would recognize as food”.  If she picked up a tube of yogurt, would she have any idea how to eat it? Doubtful.

And how much? How’s that portion control going? (This is where I really stumble).

Finally, mostly plants. Does meat take center stage where it should really be an accent to your meal? There simply to add flavoring. Not the main event.

That first rule: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” ? Well, the entire book of rules are based around those three simple, yet crucial, ideas. There are 64 rules total within the book – all are broken out beneath those three main categories.

The thing I love the most about this book? It’s simplicity.  Each rule is concise, in plain English, and sensible. The entire book is only 112 pages long.

And the rules? They make so much sense. As I was reading, I was literally nodding my head in agreement. The rules are pulled from many different cultures, that over the ages have clung to the same enduring wisdom about food and nutrition.

It’s a clear, easy guide for those of us who want to escape all the fad diets, who want to get back to basics, who want to truly care for and nourish our bodies.

Clearly, I think it’s a must read. For everyone. Period.

The good news? We’ve got three copies to give away. Yes, three!

Want to enter? Here’s how:

Entering is easy:

1) What is your definition of ‘clean eating’? Is it something you’ve tried or are interested in pursuing? Tell us in the comments for one entry.

2) Blog about this giveaway and leave a link in the comments.

3) Tweet! And leave a link in the comments section.

All entries must be received by 12:00 am PST on Friday, August 6, 2010.  Three winners will be chosen via Random.org.

Good luck!

Disclosure:  The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans did not receive any product or compensation for this review. The opinions expressed are our own.

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Category: Giveaways, Heather, LOVE IT, Product Reviews, Review

About heather: Thirty-three year old wife, mother, runner and wannabe renaissance woman striving to look and feel even BETTER than she did before babies. View author profile.

  • Nancy

    I've been hearing a lot about clean eating lately. I don't really know much about it. Winning this book would take care of that.

  • Lisa

    Dude, where's my copy?!!!! Obviously, I'm not entering to win one, but you know, you could send me your copy : ). or, I could just buy my own-HA!

  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    I'm definitely buying this book soon. I've been really trying to clean up my diet lately, and to be honest, I'm kinda at a loss :)

    Excellent review, Heather!

  • http://laurasgettinghealthy.blogspot.com MommyP

    I've been hearing a lot about clean eating and it has my attention. What do I think it is? In my mind, clean eating is when you eat fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and staying away from anything that is processed with ingredients that are manufactured to make the food shelf stable.

    Am I on the correct thought pattern?

  • http://thesassymama.blogspot.com Heather

    Definitely! Clean eating has lots of different definitions, but I think buying food in it's natural form is a pretty good way to approach it.

  • http://thesassymama.blogspot.com Heather

    I loaned mine out, but if I can remember who I gave it to (ha ha), I'll totally send it your way!

  • http://twitter.com/TrishB Trish

    I also have heard about it but never really understood what it meant. To me “I think” eat more organic fresh vegetables, milk, eggs, meats and stay away from prepackaged foods? Thanks for the chance, this book could really help me in my weight loss journey and help me give my children better foods to eat.

  • http://twitter.com/TrishB Trish
  • DebraCC

    My version of clean eating is avoiding factory made foods. I've begin to severely limit my breads, sugars, anything that is wrapped in paper or plastic. I want to be able to recognize where the food come from. I want to recognize the ingredients listed on the container. `So I've been eating a lot more fruit, nuts, veggies and a lot less bread and junk food.

  • DebraCC

    Tweeted. http://twitter.com/debc65
    I do not know how to copy a link to just that post as I've seen some people do. Maybe someone can enlighten me?

  • shrinkingjeans

    Debra- If you click on the “5 minutes ago” or whatever time in the status of
    your tweet, it will take you to a separate page that has a URL for just that
    one status! -Melissa

  • http://twitter.com/girlsworld Kirsten

    Mmm. Clean eating to me, means little processed foods. I still eat them, but I have stopped buying the kids granola bars and fruit snacks and cookies and “kids” yogurt. Pretty much anything marketed to kids I won't buy. Clean eating also means we try to grow our garden. This year we have reaped the benefits of lettuce and strawberries. The tomatoes are growing but not ripe yet, and our squash, pepper, and bean plants are still growing. I hope we get a harvest out of them before it gets cold again. I haven't done it in a while and need to get back to it, but I was making our own granola too. 95% of the time I think we do pretty well eating healthy and in moderation. And I'll take that! (Wine is part of clean eating, right? It's got all that good stuff in it for your heart!) :)

  • Janetfaye

    I am not familiar with clean eating but I would like to learn about it.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

  • Janetfaye

    Tweet:
    http://twitter.com/Janetfaye/status/20022520878

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

  • anng

    Clean eating to me is eating fruits and veggies and stuff without preservatives….basically everything I HAVEN'T been eating recently!! Ummm, wonder why I keep gaining weight instead of losing, huh?

  • tiffanyzook

    I read his book, “In Defense of Food” and love, loved it. It is definitely harder to do than it sounds in our age of convenience, pre-made, processed foods. For me, right now, clean eating is eating fresh food, limiting any processed/convenience foods and really limiting meat. I haven't eaten red meat in almost a year and only eat poultry a couple of times/week. Its the chocolate and baked goods that really get me right now!

  • Julie M

    I have been trying to move my house to a more clean eating house. Cutting out the processed food and getting back to basic eating fresh and cooking from scratch. I would love to win this book to help us move even more into clean eating.

  • moziesme

    Clean eating for me is focusing on the fresh stuff – local fresh produce as much as possible. As a vegetarian, I think I'd love this book!

    janemaritz at yahoo dot com

  • seemamarun

    I'd define clean eating as something with very few ingredients. The ingredients it does have? Easy to read, understand, etc. Basically, real food. I haven't tried clean eating but I want to. I'm just overwhelmed at taking the plunge and doing it.

  • seemamarun
  • http://www.littleladybugthatcould.blogspot.com ladybugs714

    Clean eating to me is only eating something that has a mother or comes from the earth. Pretty basic.

  • charpenette

    I love Michael Pollan!
    My definition of clean eating would be food that I know comes from a sustainable source, is ethically raised, and does NOT use dangerous additives or chemicals (whether dangerous for humans or for animals). This is something I try to do as much as possible.

  • Erin P

    I recently read Mark Bittman's book Food Matters and it is basically the same concept. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, very little meat, no processed foods. His book has great recipes in it too. I have eaten like this off and on, and when I do, I feel SOOO much better.

  • Lacey

    My definition of clean eating is knowing where your food comes from. It's a meal that my property can provide me. We grow a lot of vegetables and eat them all summer long. I can and freeze the veggies for winter meals. We raise our own beef and our neighbor provides us with pork. Now, to just get a few chickens and we'd be good to go :)

  • Jim Doran

    For me, clean eating is not only eating whole/healthy/mostly-unprocessed things, but it's eating the right things at the right time. In Chinese medicine, there's an emphasis on healing with foods, balancing meals and having the appropriate thing and the right time (yin foods for when you are too hot, etc).

  • http://shepdogg.blogspot.com/ Tirah

    My step-brother and his girlfriend are Vegans so they talk about Clean Eating all the time. I want to step it up and be better at it myself.

  • http://shepdogg.blogspot.com/ Tirah
  • http://www.jeninreallife.com/ jeninRL

    I try to eat clean (good whole foods – fresh fruit, veg, whole grains, real meat – not processed) as much as possible. My family fights me on some of it and I am not completely convinced that ALL of the stuff we grew up on is horrible, if only in moderation.

  • Megan @ Inspiredbyfiction

    I've tried juicing and lately been eating more vegetables…I know that I still eat a lot of junk though…baby steps!

  • LindaKish

    It seems to me that is eating natural fruits and vegetables and foregoing processed foods. I have been working at it but need to do better.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  • Cynthia V

    I would love to win this book. I also saw him on Oprah and would love to read his books. I don't know too much about “clean” eating, perhaps organic greens..rabbit food. Nah, just kidding.

    Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com

  • Benita

    I do try to eat as cleanly as possible-organic and natural. This book can certainly help.

    bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

  • Wmmahaney

    I guess my idea of clean eating is trying to eat foods that are more organic and clear of pesticides and added hormones. I would love to learn more about this idea.
    wmmahaney(at)att(dot)net

  • tiffanyzook
  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    Winner!! Congratulations :)

  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    Winner!! Congrats, Tirah :)

    Email Heather@shrinkingjeans.net with your mailing info/contact phone and we'll ship your copy right out!!

  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    Winner :) Congratulations, Tiffany!

    Email Heather@shrinkingjeans.net with your mailing/contact phone info and she'll get it shipped out to you STAT!