‘Michael Pollan’ Articles at Sweetnicks

This week’s Eat. Live. Be. topic is all about the experts… who do we listen from? Whose tips do we like? Who should we be listening to?

Honestly, this week’s topic comes at a good time for me, as I’m currently in the spot where I’m shaking things up a bit, fighting through any rut that I and my body might be in. A task that is much easier said than done. Last week, I bumped my average work-out totals from 7 hours to topping out at just under 11. And my body responded. I also added a Spinning class to my schedule. And I can’t put into words how much I hate spinning. I swapped out one of my weekend Zumba classes for a three mile hike instead. Little tweaks here and there to change up my regular regime and get things uncomfortable.

As for the experts, I listen to different experts for different things. I’m an ardent follower of Dr. Mehmet Oz. Such practical, easy to apply advice for the general health and well-being of your body. I like Jillian Michaels and Bob Greene for work-out tips. When it comes to food, I lean more and more on Michael Pollan. What about you? What experts do you glean the most from?

One small suggestion for you, as you make your way through your “get healthy” journey, go and “like” your favorite experts on facebook. Most of the ones I follow post regularly, and you’ll get all sorts of new ideas and motivation from seeing their updates. I know I do. From Jillian, particularly. While you’re at it, go “like” our Eat. Live. Be. page and come interact with us too. I also follow all of my instructors (Zumba, Spinning, etc.) … seeing them on facebook are like little subtle reminders of what I’m doing, what my goals are. I’m lucky in that I’ve sought out instructors that are personally invested in their students; they care about me meeting my goals and are quick to offer countless ideas and suggestions when I need help. And my (new) Spin instructor, in particular, gently guilts me into showing up at his class. It works. And I’m grateful for it.

To find out which experts my fellow ELBers turn to, please visit them at the below links:

Sarah Caron from Sarah’s Cucina Bella
Joanne from Eats Well with Others
Chris Arpante – Melecotte
Faith – Blog Appetit
Casey – The Starnes Family
Patsy – Family, Friends and Food
Claire – Cooking is Medicine
Rivki Locker – Healthy Eating for Ordinary People
Jennifer Schulz – Lick-a-Plate
Sarah Rogers – Sarah’s Sweet Creations

…

I am going to preface today’s post by saying I am likely to be zero help with this week’s Eat. Live. Be. topic: Portion control. Why? Because with the type of eating that I do (clean eating), there is no measuring, counting or weighing really. As long as you’re eating the right foods, you can have as much as you want. It’s one of the many reasons why it’s worked so well for me and why I love it so much. It takes all the guesswork and heck, just plain work, out of it and makes the whole approach very simple.

What do I mean by “the right food?” All natural. God made. Food in its purest sense of the word. Vegetables, fruit, protein, some carbs. For the most part, nothing processed, man-made or from a factory somewhere in middle America. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients, chances are, I’m not eating it. Except in the rare jelly bean case of course. This girl has to have SOME indulgences. But as long as you’re sticking to REAL food, there is no portion reminder. Spinach, asparagus, shrimp, tilapia, oranges, bananas, nuts, eggs, the list is endless. You get the idea, I’m sure.

Of course I bend the rules a bit. I’m not kidding about the jelly beans. They’re on my desk as I type now, and I’m picking out the red, white, purple and pink ones before I send them along to my Mom. Ok, Madeline likes purple too, so I’m trying to share. But the way I eat probably encompasses about 90% of my choices. I reserve the extra 10% for the occasional indulgence.

There is a quote in Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food that sums up clean eating beautifully:

When you’re cooking with food as alive as this – these gorgeous and semi-gorgeous fruits and leaves and flesh – you’re in no danger of mistaking it for a commodity, or a fuel, or a collection of chemical nutrients … The cook in the kitchen preparing a meal from plants and animals at the end of this shortest of food chains has a great many things to worry about, but “health” is simply not one of them, because it is a given.

For more tips and tricks when it comes to portion control, check out my fellow ELBers at the below links:

Sarah Caron from Sarah’s Cucina Bella
Joanne from Eats Well with Others
Maris Callahan – In Good Taste
Chris Arpante – Melecotte
Faith – Blog Appetit
Kristen – Dine and Dish
Jenna – Stop, Drop and Blog
Casey – The Starnes Family
Patsy – Family, Friends and Food
Tri-Fit Mom
Claire – Cooking is Medicine
Allison – Sweet Flours
Jen – NJ Epicurean
Leslie – The Hungry Housewife
Rivki Locker – Healthy Eating for Ordinary People
Claudia – Journey of an Italian Cook
Jennifer Schulz – Lick-a-Plate
Sarah Rogers – Sarah’s Sweet Creations
Denise and Lenny – Chez Us

Before I forget, Nermeen asked in last weeks’ ELB post about the Salad Fixins’ I had a picture of … I got that at Costco. I think it was $7-8 for the bag. It’s made by Aurora Products.

Tomorrow? I’ll be sharing some details about the divine Carnitas Salad we had for dinner last night. Clean eating, guilt-free and super simple to make….

Eat. Live. Be. #10: Listening to the Experts

Eat. Live. Be. #9: Portion Control