For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. It’s good to be back!

I included a few more than 10 links this week because they were good and, well, it’s been forever. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

This week the value of taking the elevator, why (you think) healthy food is less satisfying, and the best oils for cooking.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• An Argument for Less Intense Exercise <<Speaking of unsexy resolutions, how about just take a daily walk? I love this. (Huffington Post)
• Why we’re losing foods we love, why it matters, and how we can stop it <<Diversity. We need it. It tastes good. Industrial agriculture is killing it. This is a great read. (Washington Post)
• In Defense of Food and the Rise of ‘Healthy-ish’ <<New documentary based on the groundbreaking book by Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food. I rarely make the effort to watch TV, but this is on my to-do list this weekend. Here’s the complete episode. (The Atlantic)
• Why I Decided to Let Myself Take the Elevator Instead of the Stairs. At the Gym. <<I love this, even though it is something I would never do. Why? Because what works for me isn’t what works for everyone. I love the stairs so long as I am not carrying luggage, but that’s me. The real question is, what works for you? (Gretchen Rubin)
• Don’t Fall for the Common Habits Myth that Stops People from Making Successful Change. <<A nice followup explanation of my point above. Thanks to Gretchen for making this crystal clear. (Gretchen Rubin)
• ‘Design Thinking’ for a Better You <<I’ve never thought about it in quite this way, but this is one of the best explanations of how I hack my habits and approach health like a scientist that I’ve come across. Still, this is all easier said than done. (NY Times)
• Forget government guidelines. Here’s how to eat better, in 6 easy steps. <<Pretty much sums it up. (Washington Post)
• Bringing Out the Chef in Children <<Cooking isn’t just good for adults looking to lose weight, kids can benefit too. Oh, and they love it. (NY Times)
• Eating healthy or feeling empty? <<More evidence that when you think a food is healthy (whether or not it is actually healthy), you will think of it as less filling and satisfying. Ironically, I’ve found that the more Real Food I eat the more satisfied I am, whereas the more junk I eat the more food I crave. (ScienceDaily)
• A Healthy Diet’s Main Ingredients? Best Guesses <<I find this both amusing and sad, but I’m happy to see people finally calling it like it is. We don’t know much, but we know processed foods are uniquely unhealthy. (NY Times)
• The Great Stonesoup Oil Crisis (Are You using the Wrong Oil?) <<People love to get their panties in a bunch about cooking oils and smoke points and all that jazz. At the end of the day all you really need to know is don’t burn it and you’re fine. (Stonesoup)
• Warm Hummus with Mushrooms & Caramelized Onion <<When I saw the picture of this I immediately wanted to eat it. Turns out I have all the ingredients in my pantry to make my favorite hummus, so my plan is to turn it into this. (Global Table Adventure)

What inspired you this week?