To eat, or not to eat.....

That is the question on almost everyone's mind these days. Whether they are on the latest fad diet or just trying to eat more real, whole foods, eaters are faced with this decision every day, at each and every meal.  One thing that brings me a little bit of inner peace, is educating myself and others on healthful eating. Now, I am not a Dietitian or Nutritionist nor have I been trained in any such thing. I am just a wife and mother of two looking to keep my family well nourished.

Let's just pause for a moment here and define "diet". Many people hear the word diet and assume it is some kind of crazy plan to lose weight. When I say diet, I am using it as a noun as defined in the dictionary: the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.

Whether you are looking to change your eating habits to lose weight or to just eat healthy, the first and most important step is to read. That's it.  You have to read those food labels. There are very few regulations as to what manufacturers are allowed to put on a food label. You cannot trust the front of the package. You have to read the nutritional information box and the ingredients. It may look good up there in the nutritional info, but the ingredients tell a whole other story.


No time for reading labels you say? Many food manufacturers are now posting this information on their websites. BUT this is for their product only. If you are buying a different brand at the store, you have to check that label. On a recent shopping trip for American cheese slices, I looked at three different brands and read the labels. I chose the one that had the least amount of foreign sounding ingredients. And I definitely passed on the brand that contained sugar! In cheese!

After you start reading your labels, you may start to question things. This is the time to start reading literature to inform yourself as to what you should be eating. And don't stop at one website  blog, book, magazine, documentary or what have you. Read as much as you can about food! No one person has the one and only answer that is correct. Food science is an ever evolving thing. It is one of the most difficult areas of the scientific world to study.  Also, books and documentaries, while based on facts, are often presented to sway you to the way of the author/directors thinking. For example, "Food, Inc." is an excellent eye-opener into the way of industrialized food in America. However, it is presented in shock and awe fashion to get you riled up. The important thing is to catch the facts and then read or watch something else to keep learning what is going on.

Here is my recommended reading list (in no particular order) to get started on your journey into healthful eating. Enjoy :)

• "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan
• "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual" by Michael Pollan
• "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman
• "Food, Inc." the documentary
• "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser
• 100 Days of Real Food blog
• Eating Rules Blog