This book has made more sense to me than anything I’ve read before about diet. Although the author doesn’t use this analogy, it makes the large-scale food processing industry look a lot like the tobacco industry: huge corporations in the business of finding out how to make a product that sells, not one that is healthy.

Michael Pollan writes descriptively of how these corporations shaped the public’s perception of what food is from whole things like rice, apples and spinach, to nutrients, like Vitamin C, anti-oxidants, and Omega-3 oils. When people’s idea of what food is changed, they started eating to fill what they thought their bodies needed, like less oils and more carbohydrates, or more Vitamin C to stave off colds. These dietary fads continue, and often fade as they are seen to not have the advertised effect.

The trouble with this kind of thinking is that, while we might have an idea as how certain nutrients might be good or bad for us, real food doesn’t just deliver single nutrients; it’s instead comprised of hundreds of micro-nutrients that possibly interact with each other and our bodies.

This book is a must-read; it’s changing the way we look at food and how we choose what we eat. Haven’t been able to give up ice cream, though.

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2½ teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into very small florets (about 3 cups)

1 15-ounce can white beans (such as Great Northern or navy beans), drained

2 large heads of Belgian endive, trimmed, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

½ cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)

Combine oil and rosemary in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Cool.

Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, lemon peel, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Combine cauliflower, beans, endive, chives, parsley, and rosemary oil in medium bowl; toss. Mix in cheese. Add lemon juice mixture and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper.