I am so happy to hear this news! Why? No, not because I think pizza is a vegetable (although my version is made from a ton of veggies). But because the media, everyone on Facebook, Saturday Night Live and pretty much anyone with some common sense is complaining about Congress and the whole pizza as a vegetable fiasco. Sometimes things are so obvious that it makes my job easy! This is one of those times.
What I really hope that people take away from all this is the understanding that we cannot rely on government or the people providing us food to watch out for our health. (Congress is not stupid. Like everyone else, they know that pizza is not a healthy thing to eat and that is should not count as a serving of vegetables.)
I also hope people realize that the food companies are obviously not out for our health. Based on the enormous pressure they must have placed on Congress, in order for Congress to make such a (what is the word I am looking for here…crazy seems nice enough) statement this should be obvious.
So if we cannot rely on the food providers (because they need to make profits – nothing wrong with that, that is their job) and we cannot rely on the government, who can we rely on?
The answer is, you are on your own. You have to educate yourself and decide what is the right food and wrong food for your family.
The funny thing about it is, food should not be complicated. It should be one of the most basic concepts. We have been eating food for a long time. We should not have to hire experts to tell us what to eat! That is one of the craziest things to me. (It’s my job, but that does not mean I don’t think it is crazy.) It IS crazy, but unfortunately, in today’s food landscape (where pizza is considered a serving of vegetables) it is very necessary.
I admit, the more I learn, the more complicated it gets. But the more I learn, the more it comes back around to being very simple. Here is the secret, the bottom line, the holy grail, the “Ancient Chinese secret yea” (quote from Wayne’s World), the grand finale, the silver bullet… ok you get the picture right?
“Eat fresh whole organic food that you prepare yourself.”
Yes, it is that simple. The more of this you can do, the healthier and happier you will be. It is not as easy as driving through a fast food place, but does that matter?
What do you want? If you want to be healthy, I have given you the answer! There is no secret! You just have to make a decision to take responsibility for your health and the health of your family and do what is right and not what is easy or convenient. It is hard in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, it is easy. I promise. That is exactly why I started The Kitchen Skinny – to make eating healthy at home as easy as it can possibly be. Check it out and join a group of people that have made the decision to take their food and health into their own hands and make a difference in their lives and the lives of their family.
