Healthy Junk Food: An oxymoron?
by Melissa, May 13, 2009 | Permalink
I heard Michael Pollan, author of “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food”, speak last night at the local library. While I have thoroughly enjoyed reading his work, he was 100x better in person than on the written page. Most of what he spoke about has been published, either in his books or the NY Times; but it was so refreshing to hear it from him with light-hearted humor and personal anecdotes thrown in for effect.
There is one quote that really sticks out in my mind. Mr. Pollan was talking about some of the culturally-inspired dietary advice that he has collected from his fans (anyone can visit his website and submit words of wisdom that have been passed down from grandparents and great grandparents). He shared this quote with us: “Eat all the junk food you want, provided you make it yourself.” Have you ever tried making your own French fries (BTW, Michael Pollan admitted to loving French fries)? If you haven’t, you should give it a shot. You will likely end up with a huge mess in your kitchen, but the end result will be much healthier - no matter how much oil you use. First of all, most people don’t keep big blocks of hydrogenated soy or cottonseed oil on hand (I am not even sure where to even buy such a horrid ingredient). Secondly, the home cook is most likely to start off with oil that they haven’t already cooked with. This is a huge contrast to restaurants which reuse fry oil over and over again - sometimes until it is dark brown and becomes sludge-like in consistency. The point being that no matter what you cook, there is only so much “harm” you can inflict on your health compared to the dietary crimes perpetrated by low-end restaurants, fast food joints, and industrial food manufacturers.
If everyone in this country cooked for themselves, we’d be a much healthier and happier nation. Go ahead and cook up all the bacon, chocolate chip cookies or whatever hits the spot for you! Just start with good wholesome ingredients (such as real butter, eggs, what have you…), put some love into the act and enjoy a relaxing meal with friends and family.
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One Response to “Healthy Junk Food: An oxymoron?”
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May 13th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
That’s great advice! No kidding, I always tell people that they do not need to go crazy washing and trying to be perfect in their kitchen. Even if your veggies have some dirt left on it or you don’t think you have the right ingredients, be assured that it is ALWAYS better than what’s happening behind the scenes in most restaurants, take-out joints or food processing facilities.