My Morning with Hillary

As most of you know, I am currently a research intern at Hillary for President and, let me just say, today was a great day to be an intern! This morning all of the Senate and campaign interns got to go to the Hill to have our pictures taken and have round table discussion with Senator Clinton.

(Ok, I'm going to try desperately hard to tell you what happened without going into groupie mode. But, I'm not making any promises.)

I met Senator Clinton almost four years ago during her book tour and, at the time, I told her I hoped she would be the first female president and when she was I wanted to work for her. So, when we all lined up to get our individual pictures taken, I deliberately positioned myself towards the end of the line so I could have a little bit of time to remind her of our first meeting. (I know none of ya'll are surprised I didn't fall in line!) ;)

I told her what I had said and she exclaimed, "And, now you are working for me! That's great!" She asked me where we had met, as we walked towards the conference room. I told her and we chatted a bit. It was awesome!

Then, she sat down with all of us for some Q&A. She thanked us for our hard work and said she didn't want to talk at us, but really wanted to engage in some dialog. My fellow intern beat me to the first question. The campaign interns are actually a pretty spunky bunch and we asked a majority of the questions!

She asked her about how she planned to reach out to young people. Another friend asked what was the pivotal moment that really sparked her passion for politics. Of course, one of the Senate interns asked her about Iran, even though asking her about issues like that is completely stupid. It's on the website, dude! I really think he just wanted her to see how smart he was. Like she's going to stop the meeting and say, "You've got a great handling of the issue! Would you like to join my policy team?" Puh-leeze.

Another intern asked her a great question about how she deals with all the media attention and scrutiny. She gave out a sigh and gave a really wonderful answer. She said it has taken her 35 years to really learn how to deal with it and that in the beginning she would read every story and get really upset at all the false information. However, now, she said, "I take criticism seriously, but never personally." I think that is pretty good advice no matter who you are, to be honest.

Of course, I asked her a question. I told her I was going to ask her the same question I asked her husband which is what is her number one piece of advice for someone considering public office. She said you really have to know yourself and why you're doing it because it is an incredibly difficult job. She said she knows other politicians who really seem to hate what they do and interacting with people and she doesn't know how they do it. She said her driving passion is to help people achieve their dreams and make this country better and so she really has a passion for what she does, which makes everything easier.

All in all, we spent about a half an hour with her, which is pretty incredibly when you realize she probably could have raised $50,000 or so in that amount of time. ;)

When I met her before and saw her speak a couple months ago, I was incredibly impressed, obviously, but I didn't really get to interact with her or watch her interact with others. I have to say, after today, I really understand why people say she is the most famous person no one knows.

She is incredibly smart and really, really funny. Most importantly, she is so genuine and sincere. I think Bill really gets all the good press about his people skills and ability to connect, but she has that same gift. She really is listening to you. I never felt like her mind was somewhere else (and in all honesty, who could blame her if it was) or that she was rehearsed or calculating. She just wanted to interact with us and give us something in return for all the time we dedicate to her.

I know I'm even more dedicated after today. :)

Vace

Vace
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We've totally been slacking with the picture thing and I forgot to take a picture of dinner last night. Dylan was here for the first time in a long time so I just got distracted.
We had vegetarian sloppy joes and TOTS! (love me some tots).

Too much fun

Ok this is my new favorite website. Hours of fun (see picture above) :)

Oscar Time

So, I found the Oscar ceremony REALLY boring this year. Most of the winners were pretty predictable and there were no really exciting moments during the show. Oh and it was WAY TOO LONG. Jeez, I feel asleep like five times!

So let's skip to the fun part - the fashion!

My #1 Best Dressed is:

Kate Winslet, without a doubt. Seriously, she is perfection. The dress is gorgeous. I love the color, especially with her hair and skin, and the fit is exceptional. I think the yellow diamonds with the green dress and gold purse is fresh and interesting. Plus, her hair and makeup fit the dress perfectly. Most importantly, she is wearing the dress instead of the other way around. Love. Love. Love.

My #1 Worst Dressed actually goes to shins:

Because I DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM AT THE OSCARS. It's inappropriate! Plus, why are people so hesitant to the full length ball gown thing, it's not like it's a look you get to do everyday. This whole mullet dress look is not daring, it's 80's and it's horrible, so please stop.

Otherwise, I thought Reese Witherspoon and Maggie Gyllenhaal looked amazing. I also thought Penelope Cruz's gown was amazing but I did not like her hair. Her ears and nose are too pronounced, she always looks a ton better with hair around her face. I also loved Cate Blanchett but thought her dress was a tad tight and created a little armpit pudge I couldn't stop looking at. Otherwise, as always, she was daring and interesting without being weird. A very hard line to walk, in fact, she's the only one that does it well.

I was a little iffy on BFF's Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts. As far as Nicole, it was really wonderful to see her in color because I feel like she's looked washed out for a solid three years. On the other hand, it was REALLY red and I felt like the bow was so Charlize Theron 2006. With regard to Naomi, the dress looked a way too low and I was not a fan of the arm thingies.

I was not alone in hating Kirstin Dunst's dress. Although, I felt no one really blames the designer for such a monstrosity. I also hated Anne Hathaway's dress, which pains me because I love that she stays resolutely pale in a sea of orange spray tan. I hated Beyonce's dress, which pains me less because I dont' really like her that much anyway. ;) I also hated Kelly Preston's cheetah print and J-Lo's chain number.

I actually might have given Best Dressed to Rachel Wiesz, because I thought that dress was amazing. But she totally turned into a worst dressed by adding that ridiculous necklace.

Then, of course, there was Jennifer Hudson's bolero jacket. I mean what the heck?!? She has always looked so amazing at the other shows. Although, apparently Andre Leon Tally styled her this time. What really angered me is everyone cited this fact as if it made up for the bolero jacket - it's "his style." Ummmm...I don't care. It's terrible, smacking his name doesn't make it any better.

So, overall, a much more interesting fashion spread then ceremony. Some took risks that paid off, others not so much. :)

Sunday: Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Sunday: Tortellini and Spinach Soup
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Snow Day!

Snow Day! on Vimeo

Today was awesome! It started snowing around 9:30pm and kept on till around 3pm. About four inches. First, I went on a little hike across the street from our house where I took the video above. Then, I cried and whined till Nicholas went to The Mall with me. It was just so gorgeous. I was giddy. I was snow giddy!

Saturday: White Chocolate Mousse Cake

Saturday: White Chocolate Mousse Cake
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We had our dear friends Miti and Tim over for dinner. Nicholas made spinach and puff pastry, plus zucchini gratin. I made this cake. Everything was fabulous.

Friday night

So, obviously I'm having trouble remembering to take pictures of our food when we go out. Friday night we went to Indique Heights with our good friends Dan and Laura (who just got engaged!). It was really delicious and I had the BEST mussels.

Thursday: Bowtie pasta with chickpeas

Thursday: Bowtie pasta with chickpeas
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Wednesday: Black bean soup

Wednesday: Black bean soup
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Must See TV

I don't know if that's what they call it anymore, but somehow NBC has created the funniest night on TV (again). I guess why everyone else was ripping off C.S.I. and trying to think of the next biggest reality show, they were creating the funniest shows on TV.

Seriously, every week I laugh OUT LOUD and make Nicholas rewind some scene several times.

First, there was this episode of My Name is Earl, which I kept on the Tivo for a month.

Second, there was this episode of 30 Rock.

Then, tonight, I laughed so loud at this line from 30 Rock:
Jack Donaghy: Young women will buy just about anything.
(Clip to Cerie, the young female assistant)
Cerie: These sunglasses have a chip in them that makes the lenses change color as my iPod looses power.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ayn Rand is also sort of an assface

Praise baby Jesus! I finished The Fountainhead, and I actually I believe I'm worse because of it.

I used to feel that reading was always positive, and once I started a book I had to finish. I am now officially tossing those rules out the window. So, actually I guess something good did come out of reading The Fountainhead.

Seriously, ya'll, this book SUCKS. I hated it. I hated the characters. I hated her philosophy. I hated the whole freaking thing.

If you know anything about Ayn Rand, you know that she promoted her philosophy of objectivism. Basically, it's the belief that the only real moral purpose is the pursuit of happiness through individual achievement. No altruism. No achieving in order to make other's lives better. Only ego.

And she spends the entire novel forcing this philosophy down your throat.

Even if I agreed with her (which I don't), I still think I'd resent the constant barrage of six page monologues on the value of individual achievement and the danger of "the collective." (Never mind, that she formed a group of people called...get this..The Collective. Apparently, working toward a group goal is ok if you agree with her.) If you want to know the other hundred reason she's a big fat hypocrite, read this.

Plus, she wrote total drivel like this:
"My darling, do you see why I'm happy and why I'm free?"
He said:
"I'll never remind you afterward that you're crying, Dominique."

Good Lord! Excuse me, why I go vomit up my lunch.

Of course, the ultimate irony is Rand was a huge critical flop. All the intellectual elite she valued thought she sucked a big fat one. It was the public, which she busts on the entire time, that turned her book into a success. So, I guess it depends on how you look at it. Either she was wrong and the public does know art of value when they see (or read) it. OR she is right and the public does only like crap. ;)

Assfaces Unite

Listen, I love The Hills. I make no apologies about it either. I can't explain exactly why I love it so much, although this article gets pretty close to explaining why its so addictive. But I'm not writing about the show I'm writing about one person on the show in particular. His name is Spencer and he is an assface.

He represents all the worst of boy kind. He lies. He flirts shamelessly. He constantly and consistently betrays his girlfriend Heidi. Plus, this douche bag seems to represent the worst of L.A./reality TV culture and has the sole goal of becoming famous for doing absolutely nothing. He's pretty open about it, too. You would think this would present an unique situation for Heidi to escape his grasp. She doesn't have to wonder if he cheats or lies - its right there on camera. I mean this dude just told Details magazine he really wants to film them having sex so he can post it on internet. He said this IN PRINT. It's right there for her to see. However, despite all this evidence and the fact that all her friends have told her again and again that he is an awful human being, she stays.

This is one of the most painful things about being a female. Not PMS. Not childbirth. The most painful thing is watching helplessly as your friend continues to date (or God forbid marry) a guy who is obviously a complete and total assface.

I thought as I got older I would see this less and less. I mean in some way you have to expect teenage girls to put themselves through this. It's just part of being a teenage girl. For all but a few of us, it is a lesson you have to learn the hard way. For example, I was the rare teenager who learned from others mistakes. I didn't do drugs. I didn't get drunk till I was 21. I got good grades. I didn't sleep around. Some part of my brain understood that being rebellious would hurt me more than my parents.

I say that to say this. Even I wasn't immune. I dated a complete assface. For two and a half years. Granted he didn't actually cheat on me (with one of my sorority sisters) till the end of our relationship.

But I still went back.

I made him promise he wouldn't do it again. I made him call her and say he would never talk to her again. But, of course, he did. And I took him back again. And again. Every time telling him next time he lied to me would be the last. This went on for several months. Those months were some of the hardest of my life.

So, on some level, I guess I understand why some girls do this to himself. What I don't understand is why women do it.

It seems like over the past few weeks I've talked to several friends who see the same things as me. Beautiful, strong, smart women - women with careers, women who own real estate - who stay with total assfaces.

Here's a sampling:
- One friend knows a woman who's boyfriend forced her to wear a shirt during sex because she had gotten "too fat." (Thank God this particular assface had the self-respect to leave and stay away)
- One friend knows a woman who's husband woke up one day and told her after four years of marriage he didn't love her anymore. When he didn't show up for marriage counseling the next week, she went home to find he had moved out.
- Then of course there's Spencer.

As my friend Annie says, "It makes you want to get ahold of someone."

It's so frustratingly simple and complex at the same time.

Love is hard. No doubt. Sometimes I'm completely positive that Nicholas is some foreign creature incapable of compassion, understanding, or even intelligence. And I'm sure he feels the exact same way about me sometimes. Love takes a lot of work, even more communication, and more patience then I sometimes think is humanly possible.

But love doesn't hurt. It doesn't betray or cheat or lie. I trust Nicholas more than any other person in my life. Period. Because I know, that everyday, on the most basic level, he really wants to do what's best for both of us. When he looks at me, I know, in the deepest part of myself, that when I hurt, he hurts.

What is the most frustrating is that I know every woman wants that, but, for a million different reasons, some women don't think they deserve it. That's what makes watching friends in these relationships so hard. Because I know it doesn't matter how bad he gets or how much he lies or if she finally catches him, it's not about him - it's about her. And you can't fix that - only she can.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Happy Fat Tuesday!
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Monday: Tomato Risotto with peas

Tomato Risotto with peas
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Yes we eat an absurd amount of risotto, but, yo, it's REAL good.

Fun-filled weekend

Colonial Williamsburg
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We had a very busy weekend filled with friends, food, and Colonial reenactments! I bet you can't say the same. ;)

I left Friday afternoon with my teammate and his girlfriend to go to Colonial Williamsburg for my moot court competition. We checked into our adorable B&B (on the school - thanks WCL!) and had our first round that evening. It went pretty well. To be honest, I was really not interested at all in advancing because I wanted do the tourist thing the next day with Nicholas, who got there late that night. I was so tired from the round that I totally forgot to take a picture at dinner, btw.

The next morning we woke up and finished the second argument of the preliminary round. We had a couple of hours to kill before they released the results so we had lunch at The Cheese Shop - a famous Williamsburg eatery.

Finally, around 1, we found out we weren't advancing. I was definitely the only mooter in the room who looked excited rather than disappointed. Once we were free, Nicholas and I set out on a whirlwind tour of Colonial Williamsburg.

We went to the Folk Art & Decorative Arts Museum. They were both housed in the former Public Hospital (pictured behind us). They had a small exhibit on how the mentally ill were treated in the 17th and 18th Centuries, before as we heard a woman tell her son "all the crazy people lived on the streets of DC."

Then, we went to a reenactment of the Governor dissolving the Burgesses at the Capitol, followed by a reenactment of a what that meant for many families around Williamsburg. It was actually pretty fascinating and not near as cheesy as I thought it would be. We walked around afterwards and visited the a bunch of the little shops.

We had dinner at one of the restored taverns - Christiana Campbell's. It was really delicious from the biscuits and sweet potato muffins they gave you to the fresh seafood. Nicholas had the best dish, which was a fricassy. Basically, it was a pot pie only with this really rich, creamy seafood stew inside. Yum! They had a period performer, which was fun, and they gave you some of the original 17th century recipes they stil use as you left.

After dinner, we wasted a little time before going to a candlelight concert at the church later that evening. It was really interesting because the theme was romantic songs. They sang songs from 1500's till the 1800's that were popular love songs at the time. It was a nice change because all I've really heard from that time period were religious songs. Then, we met my teammate and his girlfriend at The Trellis for dessert because the chef is apparently famous for his chocolate creations. The only problem was, even though they start serving dessert at 9:30 and we got there at 9, they were out of everything! It was so ridiculous.

So, Saturday was really fun, but that wasn't even close to end of our exciting weekend. We woke up early on Sunday and drove back to DC to meet a bunch of my friends from law school for brunch to celebrate the return visit of the beloved Haley Goo!

A consistent commenter on this blog, Haley moved to California after our first year so everyone was very glad to have her back for the weekend. We had a very fun brunch with everyone. Then, we got Haley and her boyfriend Brian all to ourselves because they were staying with us. So, we went to the Portrait Gallery and out to eat. Again, so excited forgot to take a picture. BUT, afterwards we came back and I made a love cake, which was way more exciting and that I did get a picture of.

We ate cake and played a few games of Scene It! and Scattegories infront of the fire. (I'll keep the winners names secret out of respect fo for the others). ;) It was really a lovely evening.

Haley and Brian flew back today and now it's back to the grind!

Thursday: Vegetable Soup

Thursday: Vegetable Soup
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Wednesday: White Pizza w/Onions

Wednesday: White Pizza w/Onions
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

He more than made up for the tuna salad. This was amazing!

Somewhere Gisele is quietly weeping

That's it. It is now official. Supermodels are a thing of the past.

Today Sports Illustrated announced the cover model for its 2007 Swimsuit Issue. One of most coveted covers in modeling, it has been the crown jewel in many a supermodel crown. Christie Brinkley. Elle Macpherson. Heidi Klum. However, for the first time in 43 years, the cover will not feature a professional model. Instead...



That's right. The cover "model" is singer/actress/diva Beyonce

To me, this seems like the final nail in the coffin. If you pay attention to magazine covers (or listen Tyra Bank's rants on America's Next Top Model), you know that fashion magazines have increasingly featured celebrity models instead of professional ones.

For example, take a gander at your local newsstand. Here's the rundown:
Vogue - Jennifer Hudson
Elle - Gwen Stefani
Glamour - Liv Tyler
Marie Claire - Hillary Swank

The only with a model on the cover is Cosmo, but last month the cover model was Eve Mendes. Going back (resistantly) to Tyra, maybe a better reflection of the situation is the fact that the winners of America's Next Top Model have not gone on to become Top Models. The only one I've really seen at all is Adrianne Curry and that's because she turned herself into a bit of a "celebreality" star on Vh1.

Even today's Supermodels, like Heidi and Tyra, are trying desperately to turn themselves into something else - be it the next Oprah (dream on sister-friend) or the Simon Cowell of fashion.

To be honest, I don't know what to feel about this. I absolutely do not read fashion magazines anymore, so it's not as if I'm particularly invested in them. (Real Simple and O Magazine only - no cover model issue there!) But, I have to admit, as someone who reached tween-dom at the height of the supermodel craze, I am a bit sad. I mean remember this! I think there was something positive in knowing the model's name and being somewhat invested in them. I always saw Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington as successful, ambitious businesswomen, instead of just an anonymous body.

Either way it's up to Victoria Secret to carry the torch now. But the second I see angel wings on Jessica Alba...

Not Happy!

I am sitting in my 11am class because, despite the massive ice storm, our school decided to delay till (you guessed it!) 11am. Grrrr....
Everyone else got off! It's so unfair! (insert major pouty face here)

Last Night

I am my mother's child. My mother is famous for saying that if she had a choice she would only eat foods that you eat with a spoon - chili, soup, ice cream. In the winter months, my instinct to bury in and eat warm, cozy foods is pretty intense. I would literally eat soup and chili for every meal if Nicholas would let me.

So, imagine my dismay when he tried to serve me THIS in the middle of a huge winter storm:

Cold, tuna salad! I don't think so!

Before you name me for the brat I am, know that he knew what was coming. He said, "I'm a loser and you're going to be mad when I tell you what's for dinner."

After a bit of whining, he relented and agreed to make me breakfast instead. I know. I know. I'm a huge baby but in my defense this is the ONLY time I've ever asked for something other than what he was fixing and I promise to never do this when we have kids. :)

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Sunday: Chocolate Blackout Cake

Chocolate Blackout Cake
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We didn't have just chocolate cake for dinner. We actually had two friends over for dinner and were having such a wonderful time I forgot to take a picture till dessert.

The cake was fantastic. However, it was incredibly labor intensive. I had to buy a candy thermometer for the love!

My girls

As the Grammys started, I said, "I just want to go on record as saying The Dixie Chicks are going to sweep."

It goes without saying that I am ecstatic to see them get the recognition they so richly deserve. I think what they went through was intense and they faced it with courage and humor. Most importantly, they took that experience and turned it into fantastic, honest music.

P.S. Jessica this also goes without saying...but I told you so ;)

Discuss

Yesterday, while down in the laundry room, I noticed that another resident was wiping out her laundry basket with Clorox wipes. When I mentioned that I had never seen someone cleaning a laundry basket, she said that the dirty clothes were in there before the clean clothes depositing all types of germs.

Last time I checked germs don't grow so well on cold, hard basket, but what do I know?

How do ya'll feel about this? Normal or borderline OCD?

Saturday: Potato Skillet Pie

Potato Skillet Pie
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Official

I am now an intern for Hillary for President.

I know this is a very proud day for my father. :)

Scallops and Spaghetti

Scallops and Spaghetti
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Thursday: Eggplant Stirfry

Eggplant Stirfry
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Unbelievable

I can NOT believe the week I decide to stop reading celebrity news THIS happens!

Boosotto

Boosotto
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Acorn Squash stuffed with Quinoa with Cherries and Walnuts

Acorn Squash stuffed with Quinoa with Cherries and Walnuts
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Not that we needed further confirmation...

English Muffin Egg Pizza

English Muffin Egg Pizza
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Right now...

I'm sitting in front of a fire with a big ole cup of hot chocolate. I'm under my favorite blanket, my dog is curled up at my feet, and I'm watching The Hills.

Can I just say awwwwwwwwwww? :)

Nachos

Nachos
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

It's the Super Bowl - what do you want? ;)

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Justin
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

So, somehow over the past month or so I've morphed into a 14-year-old. I'm not sure when or how it happened but, somewhere between my new obsession with ringtones and the Justin Timberlake concert last night, it did.

Seriously, when we were waiting for him to come out and the music was pumping and you could just see shadows moving around on the stage, I'm sure I looked like those screaming girls from the old Beatlemania footage. I was just SO like excited, you know!?! (Insert Valley girl voice and hair flip here).

All teenage jokes aside, he is fantastic. His music is great. He is an amazing performer and there was not a second of the concert that wasn't 100% crazy energy.

Then of course there is the whole "He is so freaking sexy I would pay large sums of mony for a quick butt pinch" thing. I think my friend Kirsten, who accompanied me to the concert, put it best: "I'd do anything. I'd listen to him call my mother a whore."

So, in a nutshell, JT is highly recommended. If you are an actual 14-year-old girl or just pretend from time to time, all the better. :)

P.S. I was too excited to take a picture of my dinner. I had General Tso's Bean Curd and it was delicious.

Breakfast for Dinner
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

So, I'm pretty much following Pollan's #1 rule...I mean my great-great-grandmother would definitely recognize this meal. She'd just be REALLY freaked out when we tried to explain that sausage was made from soy not meant. ;)

Nutritionism

I'm a big fan of Michael Pollan. Hearing an interview with him on NPR is what led me to give up Coke. This is a really great article by him recently published in the New York Times Magazine really addressing some of the bigger issues with our Western diet.

For those of you who don't want to read all 12 pages, here are his general recommendation.

1. Eat food. Though in our current state of confusion, this is much easier said than done. So try this: Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. (Sorry, but at this point Moms are as confused as the rest of us, which is why we have to go back a couple of generations, to a time before the advent of modern food products.) There are a great many foodlike items in the supermarket your ancestors wouldn’t recognize as food (Go-Gurt? Breakfast-cereal bars? Nondairy creamer?); stay away from these.

2. Avoid even those food products that come bearing health claims. They’re apt to be heavily processed, and the claims are often dubious at best. Don’t forget that margarine, one of the first industrial foods to claim that it was more healthful than the traditional food it replaced, turned out to give people heart attacks. When Kellogg’s can boast about its Healthy Heart Strawberry Vanilla cereal bars, health claims have become hopelessly compromised. (The American Heart Association charges food makers for their endorsement.) Don’t take the silence of the yams as a sign that they have nothing valuable to say about health.

3. Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable c) more than five in number — or that contain high-fructose corn syrup.None of these characteristics are necessarily harmful in and of themselves, but all of them are reliable markers for foods that have been highly processed.

4. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible. You won’t find any high-fructose corn syrup at the farmer’s market; you also won’t find food harvested long ago and far away. What you will find are fresh whole foods picked at the peak of nutritional quality. Precisely the kind of food your great-great-grandmother would have recognized as food.

5. Pay more, eat less. The American food system has for a century devoted its energies and policies to increasing quantity and reducing price, not to improving quality. There’s no escaping the fact that better food — measured by taste or nutritional quality (which often correspond) — costs more, because it has been grown or raised less intensively and with more care. Not everyone can afford to eat well in America, which is shameful, but most of us can: Americans spend, on average, less than 10 percent of their income on food, down from 24 percent in 1947, and less than the citizens of any other nation. And those of us who can afford to eat well should. Paying more for food well grown in good soils — whether certified organic or not — will contribute not only to your health (by reducing exposure to pesticides) but also to the health of others who might not themselves be able to afford that sort of food: the people who grow it and the people who live downstream, and downwind, of the farms where it is grown.

“Eat less” is the most unwelcome advice of all, but in fact the scientific case for eating a lot less than we currently do is compelling. “Calorie restriction” has repeatedly been shown to slow aging in animals, and many researchers (including Walter Willett, the Harvard epidemiologist) believe it offers the single strongest link between diet and cancer prevention. Food abundance is a problem, but culture has helped here, too, by promoting the idea of moderation. Once one of the longest-lived people on earth, the Okinawans practiced a principle they called “Hara Hachi Bu”: eat until you are 80 percent full. To make the “eat less” message a bit more palatable, consider that quality may have a bearing on quantity: I don’t know about you, but the better the quality of the food I eat, the less of it I need to feel satisfied. All tomatoes are not created equal.

6. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves. Scientists may disagree on what’s so good about plants — the antioxidants? Fiber? Omega-3s? — but they do agree that they’re probably really good for you and certainly can’t hurt. Also, by eating a plant-based diet, you’ll be consuming far fewer calories, since plant foods (except seeds) are typically less “energy dense” than the other things you might eat. Vegetarians are healthier than carnivores, but near vegetarians (“flexitarians”) are as healthy as vegetarians. Thomas Jefferson was on to something when he advised treating meat more as a flavoring than a food.

7. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks. Confounding factors aside, people who eat according to the rules of a traditional food culture are generally healthier than we are. Any traditional diet will do: if it weren’t a healthy diet, the people who follow it wouldn’t still be around. True, food cultures are embedded in societies and economies and ecologies, and some of them travel better than others: Inuit not so well as Italian. In borrowing from a food culture, pay attention to how a culture eats, as well as to what it eats. In the case of the French paradox, it may not be the dietary nutrients that keep the French healthy (lots of saturated fat and alcohol?!) so much as the dietary habits: small portions, no seconds or snacking, communal meals — and the serious pleasure taken in eating. (Worrying about diet can’t possibly be good for you.) Let culture be your guide, not science.

8. Cook. And if you can, plant a garden. To take part in the intricate and endlessly interesting processes of providing for our sustenance is the surest way to escape the culture of fast food and the values implicit in it: that food should be cheap and easy; that food is fuel and not communion. The culture of the kitchen, as embodied in those enduring traditions we call cuisines, contains more wisdom about diet and health than you are apt to find in any nutrition journal or journalism. Plus, the food you grow yourself contributes to your health long before you sit down to eat it. So you might want to think about putting down this article now and picking up a spatula or hoe.

9. Eat like an omnivore. Try to add new species, not just new foods, to your diet. The greater the diversity of species you eat, the more likely you are to cover all your nutritional bases. That of course is an argument from nutritionism, but there is a better one, one that takes a broader view of “health.” Biodiversity in the diet means less monoculture in the fields. What does that have to do with your health? Everything. The vast monocultures that now feed us require tremendous amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to keep from collapsing. Diversifying those fields will mean fewer chemicals, healthier soils, healthier plants and animals and, in turn, healthier people. It’s all connected, which is another way of saying that your health isn’t bordered by your body and that what’s good for the soil is probably good for you, too.