Nana, would eat this?

Deciding what to eat while navigating the modern grocery store can be a grueling task. First, do I shop at Whole Foods or Kroger? Is organic really better for you? What is processed food anyway? Can I really believe what is written on food labels? The questions go on and on.

Over the past few months, I have made it my job to investigate these questions. Lucky for me, I’m not the only one who wants answers. It seems like food literature is everywhere. My magazines are packed with articles on proper nutrition. The Today show has at least one segment a week on how to eat healthy and last week I ordered two more books on the food industry in the United States. Why is this a popular topic? The answer: because what we are eating is making us fat.

Did you know that Americans only spend a tenth of their money on food? In the 1950’s, people spent a fifth of their money on food. How did we get from a nation that valued the food we put in our bodies to a nation that wants things fast, easy, and cheap. The simplest answer: the food industry. Every day we are inundated with advertisements perpetuating this idea. Microwavable meals, fast food, food infused with “vitamins” and “nutrients” that make it easy to replace fruits and vegetables in our diet. But the bottom line is that eating healthy isn’t that easy. A Nutragrain bar isn’t better for you than a doughnut. Why? Because both are packed with ingredients that aren’t real food.

So, how do you decide what to eat? This is the question I have asked myself over and over again. Yesterday, I stumbled across an answer. I was reading Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. This is a book I suggest every person who eats should read. It is short, concise, and well written. One of the rules struck a chord with me. It made shopping easy… and at the same time, much harder. The rule: Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. Would your great-grandma know what is sitting in your cabinets and refrigerator? Would she recognize Twinkies? Fiber One bars? Wheat Thins?

What is wrong with these foods? Take a minute and look at the labels. Can you read every ingredient? If you wanted to make Wheat Thins in your own kitchen, could you? If not, than you shouldn’t be ingesting it. Start wanting more out of the food you consume. After all, eating is something you do most often in your life… probably between 3 and 5 times a day. Quality should be on the top of your list for something that impacts your life so much.

So when you are walking through the grocery store (or shopping on Peapod), ask your Nana, would eat this? Do you recognize this food? If she wouldn’t, think hard about buying it. Sure, you might have to cook more. Sure, you might have to change your daily eating routine. Sure, you might have to spend more money. But a little change (and a few more dollars) leads to large health benefits (and smaller health bills).