I want to recommend a wonderful book that is a must-read for anyone who loves food: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.  The book is sure and reads easily and quickly.  I read it on a cross-country flight and had time to spare.

Pollan provides three rules for eating:  Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.

If nothing else, it will encourage you to think seriously about what you are eating.  So much of what we eat has been processed beyond all recognition.  If you can’t look at a food item and know what’s in it, it’s probably over-processed.  If high-fructose corn syrup is one of the first 5 ingredients, it’s probably over-processed.  If you need a doctorate in organic chemistry to read the label, it’s probably over-processed.  Actually, the best foods don’t need labels and ingredient lists.  The ingredients of an oraange or an apple or a turnip are pretty darn obvious.

Even better, it’s great to eat seasonally and locally.  I have often heard people complain that fruits and vegetables don’t taste as good now as they used to taste.  In many cases, that’s because they were picked long before they reach their peak flavor and transported thousands of miles.  How different is that from a tomato picked this morning and enjoyed with a dash of salt, pepper, and vinegar tonight?

Read In Defense of Food and you’ll never look in your cabinets the same way again.