Know more about your food

The way Americans eat is killing us. It’s cheaper and easier by far to eat junk than it is to choose a healthy diet. We gotta change that, according to Michael Pollan, author of three important works about food:

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer, And What You Can Do About It

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

If you want a real education on our food chain and how your diet choices impact the world, start reading! Pollan makes a strong argument for how better diet choices could make a serious dent in other problems like energy consumption and pollution.

Why would a blog that’s all about personal development would take on this subject? Two reasons: 1) Food is a powerful representation of how we view ourselves in relationship to the world. 2) It’s tough to be effective when you aren’t healthy.

If you’re interested in knowing more about how to make a serious change in the way you eat, here are two resources:
SlowFoodIndy.com is an Indianapolis organization with all kinds of resources and events designed to support a healthier take on food. New chapters of this international organization are popping up in cities all over the world as people become aware of how they can contribute to more sustainable lifestyles. If you aren’t in Indianapolis or Cincinnati, you can search for one in your area at SlowFoodUSA.org.

If time is your obstacle to buying and preparing local foods, check out Farm Fresh Delivery, a local service that delivers organic and locally grown foods right to your door. They operate in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. This has been a lifesaver in our busy household. For a minimum $35 delivery, we get a crate loaded with fresh vegetables and fruits every other week. You can set up more frequent delivery and add on a wide variety of products, from meats to dairy and spices. They also allow for substitutions within each standard crate if you have picky eaters in your family. If you live in a major metropolitan area outside Indy or Cincinnati, search for a comparable service in your area.

We love the surprise of opening each crate and seeing what’s for dinner. It forces us to cook new things we might not otherwise try. Rather than wandering the store wondering what to buy, you build meals around each delivery. This expands the variety of foods you consume and reduces the monotony of deciding what’s for dinner. What’s more, you’ll find yourself spending less time at the grocery and taking lunches to work/school more often to make sure what you buy isn’t wasted.

You might think this service would be expensive, but I find it’s no more expensive than shopping the grocery, plus I save time shopping and eat fewer lunches out when I always have fresh produce on hand. Give these things a try and see how they work for you!