A Convient Meal Isn't Always a Healthy Meal

When I was posed with the question of what to have for dinner, one busy night, I immediately thought of the most convenient meal I could prepare: A serving of Easy Mac, a can of pineapple, and milk. My primary motives for preparing this meal were the low cost and low hassle associated with this meal. To get the ingredients, I only needed to walk about 5 minutes to Carson’s Carryout, and the meal cost approximately $3.50. The total preparation from this point took about 5 minutes. For the Easy Mac, all I needed to do was add water and microwave for 3 ½ minutes. Then I stirred in the cheese and allowed it to cool for about 1 minute. In the meantime, I opened the can of fruit, and got out a disposable spoon. After eating, I was able to clean up the mess by either throwing away or recycling everything with no additional time needed for dishes.


While I had a very convenient alternative to eating in the regular dining hall, I definitely consumed what Michael Pollan considers to be a “damaging innovation.” In section 7 of his book, In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan discusses what he believes to be another of America’s problematic views of food. This view is that, in the western diet, taste is becoming less important than nutrition. Consequently, this is putting the American diet in the hands of the scientists. These scientists have proceeded to “flood” American cooking with “damaging innovations,” like low-fat processed foods. Nutritionally speaking, low-fat processed foods may have less fat than their whole food counterpart, but these new improvisations haven’t lead to the cure of “western diet” diseases; it has even caused some of these diseases. These processed foods contain more than 3,000 additives and preservatives. Additionally, these chemicals have only recently been introduced to the body, and so far we just haven’t quite adapted to the chemical imbalance.


After reading this section of In Defense of Food, I now feel quite poorly about the choice I made. I made a convenient choice; however, the choice I made ended up being quite harmful to my body. This case is a clear example supporting Michael Pollan’s claims proposed in section 7. After reading, I realize that I probably should have eaten fresh fruit, and a main dish that didn’t consist of so many calories and sodium.