Book Review: Food Rules

Food Rules by Michael Pollen is a good summary of many of his other books. It’s a set of 63 rules with a bit of explanation per rule. If you’ve never read any of his books, I’d probably recommend The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but if you’ve already read one or if you are just looking for a shorter read, Food Rules was good.

Some of the rules I liked were:

• If you aren’t willing to eat an apple, you’re not hungry.
• Eat no food whose ingredients you wouldn’t have at home.
• Snacks should be unprocessed plant foods.

(Not that I am currently following any of these rules!)

I also liked these reminders:

• Eat until not hungry, not until full.
• Put your fork down between bites.
• Use smaller plates and glasses.
• Eat at the table, and only eat when you are eating.
• Cook your own junk food. (How often would you eat french fries if you had to cook them?)

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual was an entertaining and thoughtful read. It didn’t feel worth buying to me because it was so short so I’d recommend checking it out of the library. I got my copy through Paperbackswap and have already sent it on to somebody else.