Michael Pollan on Martha Stewart

Last week, food author Michael Pollan dropped by the Martha Stewart show to discuss responsible and healthy eating and share a deliciously simple salmon recipe. One of the things I love about Pollan is his ability to deliver his message very succinctly. For example, he sums up the content of his newest book with a clear bottom line: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

While talking about our eating habits with Martha, he said, "Don't fuel yourself where you fuel your car" - another great bottom liner. Sad to say, statistics show that gas stations get more revenue from the processed food they sell in their convenience store than the gas that they sell.

Michael's Tips for Eating Smarter
1. Avoid food products containing ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number or that include high-fructose corn syrup.

2. Avoid food products that make health claims. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.

3. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle: Processed products dominate the center aisles. And get out of the supermarket whenever possible. Shop at a farmer's market. You won't find any processed foods there.

4. Eat well-grown food from healthy soils: Organic is important, but there are farms that are not certified organic that do an exceptional job of growing food.

5. Pay more, eat less: The American food system has devoted its energy to quantity, not quality. Better food costs more, so pay more and eat less in order to maximize your purchase.

Michael Pollan has a slew of books to his name, the latest is In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. You can read more about Michael's message right here.