How polluted has health become?
It feels like it's impossible to eat healthily. Once you've decided to eat carbohydrates or not, a super fruit is found. If you track down the superfruit, you need to know if it's GMO on Non-GMO. Or maybe you should become vegan and figure out what has animal products or not.
As best I can tell, the fitness and health industry has confused everyone to a point where no one is comfortable buying food and eating guilt free.
As usual with my writing, I'm here to make a bold statement. Spaghetti is the answer to a lot of our problems.
It is a simple meal, easy to cook and clean up, delicious and full of fuel for the body, It also looks good in Instagram photos. In fact, one of my first investments when I moved into my own apartment was a set of Lagostina Stainless Steel pots to cook my masterpieces in. The purchase was as much for social media as it was for function. Plus, how many other meals out there can you feed eight people for under $25? Not many, and that's why spaghetti will save the world. That, and there's a few valuable lessons to be learned from cooking delicious pasta meals like this:
For some of you, alarms just went off, "But Jordan, there are CARBS in spaghetti," or worse "spaghetti has gluten!"
For others, you are reading this thinking, "Oh great, now I'm supposed to eat carbs and gluten?"
Then there is the whole GMO/Non-GMO thing. I actually won't even get started on that, because frighteningly there is no actual data to support one side or the other. To me, that's the problem. We alll need to stop for one minute, put the crazy conspiracies aside, put the billion dollar agri-business aside and figure out if we should eat GMO foods.
So, here is how spaghetti saves us:
1. We eat a simple healthy meal again -- one that brings people to the table quick and easy. All the vegetables you can chop, fresh tomatoes, and whatever else you want to put in. You can make it vegetarian, vegan, or add meat. It's your choice, and it's simple.
2. We get some rules in place. Carbs don't make us "fat," over-eating carbs does. When someone tells you they don't eat carbs, or carbs are not healthy, or anything unscientific like that ask yourself two questions. Is this person a doctor or scientist? Why are they saying the exact opposite of a doctor or scientist? Once you've answered this question with "they're a bodybuilder keeping body fat below the necessary line" sit down to a meal with friends and family, serve food in the proper size, and eat slowly while talking to each other. Food has become a race these days, how quick can I heat it up, how fast can I eat it. It's all in the name of productivity, and it's ruining our health.
3. We understand what gluten is. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley and rye. A healthy body can digest it, it's our over consumption of grains that is causing stomach trouble, bloating, and weight gain. Too much of a good thing always causes problems. If you do not have celiac disease and eat proper portions and you should be fine. Of course, as always, if you have any reservations or concerns, consult your doctor.
4. We talk GMO foods. I'll tell you what I think, and it's pretty simple. My body needs the building blocks of what makes up our food in order to reproduce cells and allow my body to perform vital functions. What it is looking for is very specific, and most of the time works like a lock and key. Try unlocking your front door by even slightly modifying your house key. It may work, but it won't work perfectly. The more we change what makes up our food, the more we file down our house keys. Do I think we have ruined food yet? No. Am I worried that we are on a dangerous path? Yes. Good news, if you go to local grocery stores that import food, you can buy food from countries that ban the growing of GMO crops.
The point is this, we have made carbohydrates and gluten out to be something avoided. Most of us don't cook meals anymore because we think it's too time consuming and difficult. I'd like to see the joy of cooking come back, and the fun of dinner time return. Bring family and friends to the table, not just and the holidays, but regularly. I've got a whole tradition around cooking spaghetti.
Simply do this to eat healthily:
1. Learn what a serving size is, and measure your food.
2. Spend time and a little money talking with dietitians and go learn to cook for a fun night out.
3. Buy good cookware, if you have bad pots, pans, knives, and "stuff" it makes it a chore to cook.
4. Sit down to meals with friends, talk more, eat less, but enjoy your food.
Once the meal is done, be active. Go for a walk, a hike, or something that gets you to move.
Health has nothing to do with the gym or crazy diets. For more on that philosophy please check out my latest gig with The Heart and Stroke Foundation. Help spread the word on creating survivors!
ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
