June 15 // More Quotes from Food Rules + some Juneteenth Book Recommendations
some common-sense tips on eating "mostly plants"
Hello! This month we’re reading through Food Rules by Michael Pollan. (It’s an easy read and only an hour-long audiobook.) Even if you’re not reading, these Wednesday emails cover some of the highlights! Check out last week’s if you haven’t already!
Quotes from Food Rules, Section II
The book’s advice for healthy eating is summed up simply: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Section two of the book discusses that third part: what kind of food should we eat?
Pollan is not advocating that we quit meat altogether but that we “treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.” (Rule 26)
You don’t have to do much research to conclude that America’s mass-production of animal products is…disturbing. But buying happy cows from local farms is way more expensive! If you try to improve the quality and ethics of the meat you buy, that makes it much easier for meat to be more of a treat than a constant.
“Eat your colors.” (Rule 28) The colors of different fruits and vegetables often indicate the different nutrients they contain! Instagram account @kids.eat.in.color explains it like this:
❤️ Red: gives you a strong heart
🧡 Orange: helps you see in the dark
💛 Yellow: helps your body heal cuts
💚 Green: gives you super powers to fight off sickness
💙💜 Blue and purple: give you a strong brain
♡ White: gives you energy
Plus, colorful foods look pretty! It’s appetizing to eat a rainbow.
“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” (Rule 45)
That’s pretty liberating, huh? Many of the goodies we crave are easy to open from a wrapper or a drive-thru bag, but they really take a lot of work if we were to make them ourselves. (French fries are a great example of this, which is why we included them in last week’s Meal Inspiration!)
“Love your spices.” Herbs and seasonings add great flavor to your food and can even make you feel full faster, but salt, sugar, and fat can have the opposite effect.
Some questions to consider:
Was I raised to “eat my colors?” How did that benefit me/how might it have benefitted me?
What are some spices I really enjoy that I can incorporate into my cooking more?
What’s a junk food I can make for myself in the next week or two? 😏
Check back next week for Part 3, where we talk about eating “not too much.”
Picture Book Recommendations
Juneteenth is this Sunday (celebrated as a public holiday on Monday) so let’s check out some great picture books celebrating freedom…while also grieving that such a holiday has to exist. You might also enjoy the album Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition by Maverick City Music.
Heritage Mom shared a great list of Juneteenth book recommendations, and here are just a few from that list:
All Different Now: The First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson is an extremely moving perspective that you might not have really spent time thinking about. E.B. Lewis’s illustrations really help these beautiful words pack so much emotion and storytelling into so few words and pages.
Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom by Sharon Dennis Wyeth gives a great, young-reader summary of the history of slavery and emancipation in the U.S. and what it must have been like to celebrate that first Juneteenth.
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan is a sweet—but also honest—book about a woman who fought to make Juneteenth a party for everyone. (P.S. You might also want to make a red Juneteenth Punch—like strawberry lemonade—to celebrate!)
Also, check out what your city has going on to celebrate! I love the Juneteenth events we’ve got here in Chattanooga.
Story Prompt
Write a story, draw a picture, sing a song, etc. from the perspective of someone who got to celebrate being freed from slavery for the very first time.
Hopefully these thoughts and suggestions encouraged you! See you tomorrow!
Warmly,
Hope from Family Scripts