It’s getting more and more difficult for me to eat any type of meat. Especially after watching the documentary “Food Inc.” and reading the book “Food Rules, an eater’s manual” by Michael  Pollan, who also authored five other books,  including “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and ”In Defense of Food.”

In “Food Rules,” Pollan has penned a very simplistic 137-page book that guides us with these simple rules for better health: “Eat  food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Most of us Americans eat far too much food and our entire dietary setup is based on the wrong formula: meat, starch and vegetables when it should be listed the other way around.

The movie “Food Inc.” points out that even the FDA is guilty of putting corporate greed above our health and that consumerism is based on the need for a select few corporate farmers to profit from filling our bellies with junk. Aside from the horrors of raising animals in slaughterhouses, which will turn even the strongest of stomachs, far too many chemicals are put into our foods to preserve them. Pollan calls this diet “edible food like substances” and warns us to try to stay out of supermarkets. He says it’s much healthier to shop at local farmers’ markets. If we must use supermarkets, his advice is to only shop around the edges where most of the fresh produce is located and not the middle where most of the chemical culprits are stored on shelves.

The movie notes that although cows are meant to graze on grass, they are fed a diet of corn because it’s cheaper. Even chickens are raised in slaughterhouses under horrific conditions and laced with chemicals that make them grow faster. They are infused with hormones that contribute to our nation’s soaring obesity rates and in turn make our daughters develop at young ages, a condition known as “precocious puberty.”

Better for us to patronize co-ops where we can easily find grain-fed animals and chickens that are fed on the ground. An easy way to begin adapting to healthier eating habits is to cut down on meat portions. Pollan says that instead of eating an 8-ounce steak and 4 ounces of vegetables, try it the other way around.

That in mind, my new favorite utensil is a meat pounder, found in any store that sells kitchen wares.

Pounding meat before you cook it not only tenderizes it but also flattens it out and stretches it into more portions. Try this recipe for Chicken Paillards and you’ll find that you’re satisfied eating far less chicken than you might normally.

Chicken  Paillards with Lemon and Mushroom sauce (feeds 6)

3 skinless chicken breasts, sliced through the middle and each pounded to ¼-inch thick

¼ cup virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 fresh lemon

½ cup orange juice

½ cup lemonade

1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

½ cup fresh cilantro, with six sprigs set aside, then dice the rest

1 tbsp  garlic powder

Salt, pepper to taste

2 tbsp flour  

• Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder
• Heat half of the olive oil until a drop of water sizzles, but don’t make it screaming hot because olive oil burns easily
• Pan sear the breasts until they are brown on both sides. Remove  and set aside
• Saute’ mushrooms and add cilantro, then set aside
• Scrape pan and heat remaining olive oil. Swirl the scrapings (for seasoning)
• Add flour and whisk into a paste
• Add all of the liquids and simmer on low until  it thickens
• Put the chicken, mushrooms and cilantro back in the pan and keep warm until serving
• Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve with salad, rice, asparagus or couscous

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