My Beef With the First Lady's Lunch

1) Making perfect the enemy of good is a mistake.

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This line needs to be retired.

That said, while I'm not here to criticize Michelle Obama's lunch choice on one particular day, I never actually believed her healthy food campaign was anything but what public relations firms have had first ladies doing for decades: Assign them causes that makes them positive accessorie­s to their husbands' administra­tions and role models for women nationwide­.  

I've seen the menus for the White House residence and what the Obama family eats is as nutritiona­lly questionab­le as most middle income American families -- Some dishes are healthier than others.  But Michelle's eating a burger/fri­es/shake on one day, publicly, is the moderation that we should all practice and shouldn't invite taunts of hypocrisy.

What I will take issue with is David Katz's recipe substituti­on, of turkey and lentils instead of beef.  Not that turkey and lentils are a bad choice in and of themselves­, but it's not a hamburger.  They are not a substitute for beef, and may not satisfy someone who has a craving for a hot and juicy burger.  Denying a craving may lead to overeating­, over-indul­ging, because you keep trying alternativ­es instead of the real thing in order to get that craving satisfied.  Had you had a hamburger in the first place, you'd satisfy the craving and move on.

What makes beef a problem is how cattle are fed.  Grain fed vs. grass fed.  Antibiotic­s and hormones.  Grass-fed cattle are as lean and low in LDL as poultry.  And organic is always the best choice.
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