As a leader of the eat simpler, eat localer, eat organicer food revolution, author Michael Pollan knows some things about what we should be putting into our mouths. He started his last book, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” with: “Eat food, mostly plants.” The other night on The Daily Show he echoed this: “Eat food, not edible food-like substances.”

In his latest book, “Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual,” Pollan expands on this simple, yet brilliant tip with 64 “food rules” he solicited from New York Times readers and others. The result is a useful, often hilarious mini compendium of great eating advice. Here’s a sampling, plucked from a recent post on the Times’ Well blog:

“Don’t buy cereals that change the color of the milk.”

From his grandma: “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”

“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.”

“If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.”

“It’s not food if it’s served through the window of your car.”

“It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language.”

“The banquet is in the first bite.”

Cool, right? Here’s a neat slideshow from Food Rules at NYT.com.

My mom gave me some advice that I still use, including, “If you’re hungry, eat food, not junk.” And Geneen Roth, the author who got me off the hate-myself-for-eating rollercoaster 15 years ago, called one of her books “When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair.” Her point being–if you’re going to eat it, enjoy it all the way.

What about you, what are some helpful food rules you live by?

 
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