Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.

Oh Cherry preserves how I love thee, How I long to buy you every Thursday at the farmer's market in Geneva. How wonderful you taste when I put you on toast or as the jelly in my PBJ. How organically sweetened you are... and how Michigan born... Oh Cherry preserves how I love thee.

The above is a result of the two books that I'm pretty sure have changed my life... I hope that this isn't a phase, because I tell you right now that I have had a taste of the good stuff, and I'm not going back. Now, I know that blogging about this might piss people off, but hey, it's just to raise some awareness!! So here we go:

Two books that changed my life after reading them this summer: Skinny Bitch (don't remember the authors) and In Defense of Food: an Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. Take a look at one of your favorite snack foods next time you get it out. Can you pronounce everything on the label? Can you say that you know exactly where it came from, or how it was made? That's what both of these books is really going at.

Skinny Bitch is really about more of the Vegan lifestyle (more power to you if you can give up your dairy and your meat... I personally can't, but I'll change WHAT I eat that is dairy and meat because of this book). But it really touches on making sure that you know about what food you are putting in your body. It's good stuff, but not for the lighthearted. The chapter about meat might make you give that one up for a little while, and the authors basically call you names throughout the book... It was good though.

In Defense of Food takes a look at the Western Diet, and what it has done to our bodies, and gives us the simplest of instructions: Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.
Basically he says, eat actual food and not the manufactured stuff that is supposed to be food... for example if you are eating cheese and nowhere on the label does it say anything about milk (which is what cheese is supposed to come from).... you are NOT eating CHEESE!! Not too much goes into the proportions of different things and starting to lean towards the culture in which we all eat. And the last little part goes on about eating more that comes straight from the earth.

So, after reading these and reading a few books about being green (research for our upcoming school theme), I ventured to the farmers market. Now, it is AWESOME to be able to ask them questions about what you are going to put in your mouth. "Hey, so, what do you do about insects?" "We use natural deterents like beet juice and covering crops"... NICE! "So, how fresh are these raspberries?" "They were picked on Tuesday."... only two days ago. And you know what the best part is... they did not come from Chile, Honduras, California (I live in Illinois, so that is far for me), Peru, or Mexico. You want to know where they came from? Berrien Springs, MI... like two hours away... SHUT UP! And I'm telling you right now... the cherry preserves, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries that I have gotten at the farmer's market are AMAZING... so so so so tasty! And shopping at your local farmer's market helps out the economy because you are buying local, helps out the environment because most of the smaller farms aren't just mass producing the major market items (corn and soy) and ruining the soil year in and year out. So, below is a link to help you find a local farmer's market... try it out, and I promise that you will NOT be dissapointed!!

http://www.localharvest.org/

I am now going to go lock myself in a room with my cherry preserves... cause I'm telling you... I think that it's love.