Yes, it has actually been a month and a few days since you made the New Year’s Resolution. Do you need to issue an APB on those good intentions?
My own resolution alert level elevated to orange after reading some good advice on diet from journalist Michael Pollan. Author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan has become a big name in the health scene thanks to his pithy, almost haiku-like advice to American eaters. This Foodie-Yoda proclaims that we should: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” or “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”
I am inexorably drawn to any food shaped like a tiny Teddy Bear. Graham crackers, gummies, whatever. I assume Mr. Pollan would frown upon such snacking. He also reminds us not to eat mindlessly as we work or drive. Another problem for me. Though I had resolved in January to enjoy my meals fully, chew every bite to maximize digestion, and breathe between bites, I have not been successful at keeping the intention alive. The other night, my husband watched in horror as I devoured a burrito in a rapid fire gulp-fest after I came home from a long day at work where I ate little and barely had time to pee. Not good.
The frightening thought is that I am probably far better off than most Americans with my diet of mostly whole grain, low fat foods. I belong to an amazing local CSA. I make my child’s school lunches rather than relying on the school lunch program. I know my arse from a brussell sprout and know what to do with garlic scapes.
But what about the rest of us? Working in philanthropy, I am fully aware that hunger and food-insecurity is on the rise in America. I know that families living in poverty or even those stuggling in middle-class working families can’t even dream of heeding Pollan’s advice to cook more, eat organic, shop at famer’s markets and avoid processed foods. The foods on his naughty list are often the cheapest and most accessible.
It is possible that Pollan’s advice is elitist and a tad unrealistic in today’s America. Even still, I hope he will spark a debate on how we can make fresh, healthy foods available to every community, not just the Whole Food shoppers.
So, I am going to lay off the cookies tonight and try to reboot my New Year’s Resolution to eat more mindfully. I hope your February reboot works for you, too.

For many reasons, I had been churning inside all summer. So, in an effort to invoke change and progress, I began shaking up my personal world like a snow globe in ways both large and small. Finally, this Fall, some positive changes happened in my life which I believe will put me on the path I have longed for.
