I have a confession: I’m a little bit in love with Michael Pollan right now. After completing Food Rules a couple of weeks ago, I launched into Omnivores Dilemma. Now, before I come off as faddish and lemming-like, I should tell you that my personal food revolution didn’t start recently, it began after the kitchen remodel last year when I could finally cook comfortably again after many years of frustration and meals out.

Mrs. Knightly's Boyfriend - Michael Pollan

I think it might be my mothers generation (She’s 69 this year) that was the last to eat “Real” food on any kind of regular basis. When I was growing up, everything we ate came out of a package, can or freezer except salads, which were iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. When I came of age in the late 70′s I gained some awareness of “Whole Foods” and even worked my way through the recipes in Diet for a Small Planet. I made grotesque, nearly inedible carob cakes so dense they defied even a Ginsu and felt smug about the mounds of sprouts I put on my sandwiches. And then I had a baby. That’s when food started getting really complicated. I decided not to feed him any sugar. At all. My parents and grandparents thought this was cruel and made a game of giving him candy, cookies and liberal doses of sugar on the Cheerios he already loved without. I fed him Turkey hot dogs and chunks of tofu, partially steamed carrots and apple slices. And then I went back to work and all Culinary Hell Broke Loose. I fell into the Convenient Consumer Category. Running late? Stop at McDonalds. Tired after a double shift? Shove this in the microwave.

We don’t mean to be lazy, but let’s face it, fast food is cheap and well, fast. It takes at least a half hour to make a decent salad and just try eating that in the car on your way to a meeting. Planning meals takes time. Cooking ahead takes time. I have begun to hate the days I don’t bring my lunch to work because the closest thing is Pizza and right next to the register are these amazing peanut butter cookies and when I’m hungry, I just C A N ‘ T seem to resist them. The next thing you know, I’m over-carbed and sluggish for the afternoon.

So yeah, it’s all very complicated. I think I’ll focus on this for a bit in my next few blog posts about the Revelations of Reading the Labels on everyday staples like Salad dressing. Paul Newman uses HFCS! and Xanthan Gum! Who knew how much of a challenge it would prove to be — even attempting to eat only things you could pronounce or make at home without the aid of Chemistry and molecular distortions.

Here’s a Recipe I made up for Jalapeno Ranch over the weekend (Note the lack of sugar, which most salad dressings, even the savory ones have):
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c lowfat buttermilk
1 T jalapeno’s, diced fine
1 t Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
1 t dried dill
1 t dried parsley

Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants –

Mrs. Knightly