Just Sarah

I love food.  Not just because I like eating it (though I most certainly do).  I like making it- it’s a fun and messy art form that I find somehow more forgiving than, say, drawing.  I like learning about it and growing it.  I am super interested in the problems in America surrounding food particularly the way it’s produced.  I learned about Michael Pollan a few years ago (author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Rules) and ever since I have practically worshipped his food rules (okay well, in my mind I have, but my eating habits would probably be atrocious to him).

I would highly suggest buying the book as it explains things in much more depth, but here is a basic rundown of the rules:

Eat food. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.   Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.   Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) the top three ingredients. Avoid food products that have more than 5 ingredients. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce. Avoid food products that make health claims. Avoid food products with the word “lite” or the terms “low fat” or “nonfat” in their names. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not. Avoid foods you see advertised on television. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. Eat only foods that will eventually rot. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can. Buy your snacks at the farmers market. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles). Eat mostly plants, especially leaves. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food. Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl), which is better than eating what stands on four legs (cows, pigs and other mammals). Eat your colors. Drink the spinach water. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well. If you have space, buy a freezer. Eat like an omnivore. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil. Eat wild foods when you can. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi. Sweeten and salt your food yourself. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself. Be the kind of person who takes supplements – then skip the supplements. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism. Have a glass of wine with dinner. Pay more, eat less. Eat less. Stop eating before you’re full. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored. Consult your gut. Eat slowly. The banquet is in the first bite. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it. Buy smaller plates and glasses. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. Eat meals. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does. Do all your eating at a table. Try not to eat alone. Treat treats as treats. Leave something on your plate. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space, a window box if you don’t. Cook. Break the rules once in a while.

I want to make this!

You see, Betty always has at least one guy chasing after her, often more.  She’s not stereotypically pretty, she’d not easy, and she’s kinda whiny, yet (very nice, cute, basically perfect) guys always want to be with her.  This is not realistic. This is not my life.  That is why it is ruining my life and my perception of romance. Mmkay

How I love Doctor Who!

(click the picture for tutorial)

Well this morning my siblings set off to go see Jim Cantore in battery park.  Oh how my family loves storms! I’m still not totally sure why I thought staying at home was a better idea…

Watching beauty tutorials online-

Led to the purchases of beauty products on Sephora (freebies + giftcards = $17 for 12 items!).

However, I really must go to sleep now because I just got home from Minnesota (pictures to come) and I am EXHAUSTED!

i’m a bit weird, so i’m pretty excited.  i like watching storms from my front porch in montclair.  however, i’m also trying to fly home from minneapolis and my bedroom in my apartment in NY is in the basement… flooding = my room is wet and gross = bad.

This is what Munchkinland must taste like!

I have been on a huge home improvement rage the past two days.  First I scrubbed my almost 10-year-old desk (yeah I’ve had it since I was 6) till it was smooth and beautiful- of course I then spilled nail polish remover on it.  I’ve selected just a few old things that I love to place on it (it’s no longer a display shelf) and added some fresh flowers cuz why not!  I then printed bunting flags with the letters of my name.  Anyhow my room now looks super cheerful.  Pictures soon to come!

Ahhhh! Pottermore! Pottermore! Pottermore!!! This is all I can think about right now! I am dying to get in early!!!