Don’t eat sugar. Lower your calories. Have an energy bar. Avoid carbs. Jump off the roof!
The diet industry can make us all really nuts if we pay attention too long. And unfortunately, most of us don’t get any decent information from our doctors. But, here at Little House we believe that the first priority is not what you EXCLUDE, but what you INCLUDE. To be healthy, your body must have REAL FOOD, which means something that will ROT unless it’s preserved by canning, freezing, etc. We cannot eat mini-pretzels and diet coke for every meal, pop a vitamin and think that we’re going to be remotely healthy. So here’s the basics:
Organic garbage is still garbage. If you eat organic boxed macaroni and cheese for every meal, your health will deteriorate just as quickly as the person eating the conventional version. It’s not food. Organic or not.
Conventional good stuff is still good stuff. The most important thing is to eat something REAL. The country isn’t in a health crisis because our we eat too much produce with pesticides. If only! It’s in a crisis because we don’t eat enough produce of any kind. So first things first, people, get up to your gizzard in some plant foods. A conventional pesticide-laden peach is, like, a bazillion times better for you than organic goldfish crackers.
Skinny doesn’t equal healthy. We can get thin on protein supplements, shakes, and meal bars, but we are not healthy. We’ll look great, but we won’t fight off disease and cancer that way.
For the best information on healthy foods and how to prepare them, I recommend World’s Healthiest Foods and his book
Food that rots is a great and simple standard. I’m going to keep that one in mind.
Great post! Seems like people are all just DYING to get thin….
Absolutely love this. I really believe this to be true. Eat real food,not something man-made in a factory that lasts for years. And it tastes so much better.
Your comment “To be healthy, your body must have REAL FOOD, which means something that will ROT unless it’s preserved by canning, freezing, etc.” has to be the most honest, straight-forward, and simple REAL answer I’ve heard anyone say about the food we eat.
It’s even better than the rule I live by. ” If you have to buy packaged or boxed and you can’t pronounce it and it has more than 10 ingredients, don’t buy it.
Great post! Sounds a lot like the mantra of my nerd-crush Michael Pollan – “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
For me, one of the biggest rewards of having a garden is a new-found focus on veggies -from my garden or the grocery store. Last night for dinner, we had 5 different vegetables. Only one came from my garden, but no matter – all were good for us.
Isn’t it sad that it is *radical* to say “to be healthy you have to eat real food?” That people can feel offended when you say “we need to eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables? It blows my mind that those words are considered confrontational. Thanks for simple, honest reminder that just because it came from the “health food section” doesn’t make it healthful!
What a great article! I am sharing it on facebook. I second the excellent site and book you recommend, though I highly disagree with his acceptance of soy as a health food. In fact, I have created some small unit studies for my children based on the book.
“Organic garbage is still garbage”. Bingo! Very well said.
A great post…we eat a meal with fresh veg of varying kinds daily and I always make sure my kids get at least one piece of fruit a day…my son has took cherry tomatoes in his packed lunch for his snack today…all homegrown and organic!!! I live by the rule that a little of everything is good for you but I do love your line ‘To be healthy, your body must have REAL FOOD, which means something that will ROT unless it’s preserved by canning, freezing, etc.’… this is one to remember!!!
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8-D
Great post, and I love the line about “food that will rot!” Beautiful!
I still would tend to recommend organic produce over “conventional,” but you make a very good point about he peach and the goldfish crackers.
Luckily, we grow a lot of our own veggies/greens/herbs, so our food is, by default largely organic. We use no chemicals of any kind in our garden and so far have had no problems.
I love your blog! (I think I’ve said that before.)
Amen, sister!
@Spring–Yeah, I was kind of ducking under the computer table.
@2 Green Acres–I LOVE him. “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. “
@Stephen–Thank you very much, sir!
My daughter and I were talking about your article and she said if the worms won’t eat it then you shouldn’t eat it. Words to live by.
All the information I have read on your blog thus far is full of common-sense and written in a style that leads one to want to immediately take up the advice. It’s my first visit today but I look forward to reading every new (and older) post with equal enthusiasm!!
Something really scary to think about here. A few weeks ago someone tossed out a small box of McDonald’s french fries which landed on the far corner of my lawn. I had the flu and DH was working very long hours so the box sat there for over two weeks. When I was finally feeling better I walked over to pick it up and was simply amazed and freaked out when I saw that those french fries were perfectly preserved as they looked exactly the same as when they are handed to you at the drive through. Now under normal circumstances nothing edible lasts more than 23 hours around here with dogs, cats, mice, cayotes, rabbits and our ever present bugs and birds. The fact that none of these animals would even touch it is very scary.
Ellen…YIKES. Try it with Chick-fil-a fries. I LOVE those things. ACK!
Something else: most foods that rot come in their own “nature made zip lock bags”—like bananas, oranges, onions, etc.
Ha Ha, I am the skinniest unhealthy person I know!! 100 pounds with diabetes, osteoporosis, constant joint pain and oh yeh ? celiac disease. Many years spent in south pacific with NO calcium source, lived on bread and sugar sandwiches. Obviously parents were too bussy.