Try it: 2 Weeks of Real Food

By Hannah Cutts HERWriter

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This article is a continuation of my previous submission; it provides an outline of the diet advocated by Michael Pollan in his book “In Defense of Food,” and my experience sticking to it. I am including an outline of my diet plan so that you can test it out because, as always, I hope to inspire your personal investigation of health information.

The basic goal of these weeks was to eat a diet of wholesome foods in a sustainable, socially and environmentally conscious manner. I ate locally grown, fair trade, organic and natural foods from institutions that make earth-conscious business choices like my local Farmer’s Market, Fair Trade coffee houses, Whole Foods, etc. I recorded the amount of money spent on these foods throughout two weeks, as well as the time invested in shopping, preparing food and cleaning.

I kept a food journal to document what I ate, how I felt and musings on the experiment’s specifics each day. Below is the plan I followed throughout the experiment. This is developed to mirror and expand upon the suggestions offered by Michael Pollan.

Food Guidelines:
1.Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
a. Minimize purchase of anything packaged
- Avoid products that make health claims.
- Avoid additives, preservatives, or strange, chemical ingredients
- Especially avoid high fructose corn syrup.
b. Five ingredients or less on a food label is best.

2.Buy mostly produce - stay out of the middle aisles at the supermarket.
a. Stay out of the supermarket! – Go to the farmer’s market and buy seasonal produce from local growers.
3. Animal products should be pastured or 100 percent grass fed.
4. Know what is in your food and where it comes from: buy organic and Fair Trade.
5. Cook for yourself as much as possible.
6. Make purchases from stores that provide healthy working conditions for employees.

Diet Guidelines:
1. Eat meals while sitting at a table in the company of others, not in front of a screen.
2. Limit snacking.
3. Don’t Waste! Put leftovers in reusable containers. Don’t throw out extra food or edible byproducts like apple peels/cores.
4. Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.

Overwhelming? Slightly different from your average diet plan? My next article will discuss the health pros and cons of this plan, as well as the fantastic lifestyle changes (and huge inconveniences) this plan meant for my life. Want a quick taste of what is to come?

Think: baking bread at 3 a.m. and awkward dinner parties. Think: extensive research on sustainable businesses and excessive food label reading. Think: two weeks to sit down, and truly celebrate the connections between people, the earth and our food.

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.