Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

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This week your “organic” milk may not be, boxed mac n’cheese contains banned chemicals, and sugar in pregnancy linked to allergies.

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“I call it adding life into living.”

When Mark realized his poor eating habits had been left unchecked for too long, he decided it was time to start taking his health seriously. Besides having gained a significant amount of weight, he was also suffering from digestive problems and low energy. To address these issues he decided to focus on Real Foods and cut most processed foods from his daily habits.

Mark’s process was pretty simple. He got rid of the processed foods from his house, started eating breakfast daily, cut out all alcohol except tequila (!), and started cooking most of his meals at home.

Over the course of one year Mark was able to restore his energy, fix his stomach problems and lose 70 lbs, all while launching a new company. He also saved money by buying less prepared food and developed a deep love of vegetables and cooking.

What is interesting about Mark’s story is not so much the specific changes he made as his approach to solving problems. For instance, instead of seeing cooking as a chore, he uses it as an opportunity to listen to podcasts and strengthen his business knowledge while taking care of his health at the same time. He approaches everything with curiosity and an opportunity to learn, so he’s never bored and actually enjoys the process.

This foodist mindset is a pattern for Mark, and his positive and flexible outlook is the main reason for his success.

Related links:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Foodists

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Mindset by Carol Dweck

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