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Since I’ve been cooking for myself, I’ve been pretty healthy in what I consume on a daily basis. And then I started this blog, and I started to learn about sustainable food production, eating organically, and the importance of eating local when you can. On average, I consume a whole lot more beans and lentils and whole grains during the week than I do pork, chicken, or beef.

But even though I’m usually bathing in whole grains and leafy greens and vats of golden olive oil, I do have a soft spot for some processed foods. Most notably, candy. I have a bad habit of eating candy while I read books at night. (Most recently, it was those damn pretzel M&Ms and Cassandra Clare’s new tome.) Of course, you don’t see much of that as my readers, because I’ve never thought that “pick up a bag of candy and eat with wild abandon” really counted as a “recipe” worthy of posting on this blog.

So for the new year (I’m talking about 2011, I know no one talks about New Years resolutions past… January 3rd) I decided to give up processed foods entirely. My “rules” stemmed mostly from Michael Pollan’s book “Food Rules.” Some of the rules that stuck with me were:

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Eat nothing your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

Eat nothing with unrecognizable ingredients.

If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

Eat only junk food that you prepare yourself.

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Pollan has many other mind-blowing bits of info in the book, well worth the $6.00 I spent on my copy at the used bookstore. These were just my favorites.

To clarify, we still eat out on Friday nights. Even though my grandmother probably wouldn’t recognize my carnitas tacos with spicy poblano pesto, and I only have faith in Illegal Pete’s (but no proof) that they’re not putting high fructose corn syrup and MSG in my meal. And I’m sure the organic all-purpose flour I buy at the grocery store is made in a plant, but hopefully one day we can switch to a stone-milled version, if it’s not too expensive. We still eat desserts, but now I make all of them rather than buying them from the store.

I would be lying if I maintained that this didn’t have at least something to do with wanting to lose a little bit of weight. For those who don’t know me in person (all 2 of you reading this), you probably think I’m some svelte blond hottie, right? Well, sorry to ruin your dreams, but… I’m brunette.

Although I’m also trying to be healthier with what I stuff my face with currently (you know, before I revert back to subsisting entirely off of chocolate-dipped shortbread for all meals), my decision to cut out as much processed food as I can is born from a lot of reasons, most of which boil down to: I put a lot of work into not using commercial chemicals in my house, whether it be in my shampoo, or in my laundry detergent. And of course, there’s the aforementioned diet of mostly whole grains and hearty vegetables. So if I’ve been through all those fights, why wouldn’t I want to finish the battle?

This doesn’t mean anything is changing on the blog, of course. I still cook the same way with the same type of recipes. But it was on my mind today, so I thought I’d share.

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The Radio Dept – On Your Side

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