The Cookbook Review series promotes individual research (that means you!) of healthy living and tracks my friendship with the nutrition and food sections of my local library. The opinions expressed are solely my own; I am not compensated for promoting any of my selected titles. Read on to see what I learned from the philosophies of this cookbook and decided to implement into my everyday life.
A significant number of people have recently asked me for tips on how to eat healthier. I have many thoughts about this flying around my head all the time. My goal is to research, research, research to continually expand my thinking and pin down what healthy eating really means.
And so I have begun my first post-college curriculum: to be swallowed up in the learning of nutrition.
Health, fitness, clarity of mind.
I am diving in to find what these things mean for Claire Ford.
And for ways to help all of you figure out what it means to you!
First stop: the public library.
First stop: the public library.
Um, I’m sorry. Have any of you actually visited your local public library?
Mine is literally two blocks away and I am horrified that I have never spent more than two minutes there, because it is incredible.
Addie and I walked there (well, she rode in the sweet, luxurious shade of her stroller and I pushed her, sweating through the Utah heat).
A whole aisle of the non-fiction section is lined with cookbooks. And I thought I had to take a pen and paper with me to Barnes and Noble in order to get recipes from the latest and greatest cooks (because let's face it, we're on a college budget, and I can't financially support B&N as much as I'd like to). Our library even has a website where you can search for and place holds on the books you're interested in. So far I haven't searched for a single book that wasn't available at the library. All right!
One hour, a renewed library card, and a sweaty baby later, I returned home with my spoils.
One hour, a renewed library card, and a sweaty baby later, I returned home with my spoils.
First on the list:
Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook.
I had come across this project and wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about.
Mark's philosophy: to swap the basic proportions in your diet; that is, increase unprocessed fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, and decrease your intake of animal products (meat, cheese, etc.). In other words, "become a less-meatarian and begin eating a plant-heavy diet." He says to think of it as tipping the seesaw in the right direction.
He calls this sane eating.
His way of eating sanely means eating a strictly vegan diet until dinner time (only whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds). After that he eats whatever he wants. I've decided to try this during the week, except I eat a vegetarian diet instead of a vegan one (I need my Greek yogurt in the mornings).
I had come across this project and wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about.
Mark's philosophy: to swap the basic proportions in your diet; that is, increase unprocessed fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, and decrease your intake of animal products (meat, cheese, etc.). In other words, "become a less-meatarian and begin eating a plant-heavy diet." He says to think of it as tipping the seesaw in the right direction.
He calls this sane eating.
His way of eating sanely means eating a strictly vegan diet until dinner time (only whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds). After that he eats whatever he wants. I've decided to try this during the week, except I eat a vegetarian diet instead of a vegan one (I need my Greek yogurt in the mornings).
Other ideas for developing your own sane-eating lifestyle:
- reduce animal and processed foods by an ounce or two per sitting
- eat vegetarian or vegan on weekdays and then splurge on the weekends
- allow yourself five meat splurges per month
- participate in the Meatless Monday program
- any other ideas?
At the grocery store, pay more attention to labels and not the claims on the front of the package. For example, we bought cranberry-raspberry juice yesterday that claimed "100% juice" on the front. Upon further inspection, however, the juice contains some juices that are themselves 100% juice, but there are also other ingredients in the jug of juice. They fooled us!
Stock your pantry with unprocessed, whole ingredients. If Oreos are on your shelf, you're going to reach for the Oreos when you get the munchies. On the other hand, if you've prepared some snacks in advance (chopped veggies, crackers and hummus, cut-up fruit, etc.), you'll reach for those things instead. Just stop buying your weakness foods. See how you do without them for a month. Your palate won't even miss them.
When it's mealtime, turn first to vegetables and fruits. You really can't eat too many since you're getting full on plants instead of animal products and junk food. Think of animal products as a garnish, seasoning, or treat instead of the main event.
When all is said and done, Mark Bittman promotes eating like food matters...because it does. As we begin making better food choices, our palates will change. We will crave leafy greens instead of Snickers bars, crisp cantaloupe instead of Cheetos, homemade things instead of fast food.
Unique things about this book:
- Doesn't force us to never eat ice cream sundaes, but instead encourages us to shift the weight from the not-so-good-for-you to the extremely-good-for-you foods.
- Takes meat out of the spotlight but not off your plate entirely.
- Make your treats count; instead of an entire bag of M&Ms, indulge in a square of fine chocolate.
- Easygoing, yet mindful.
- Emphasis on choosing better ingredients to not only help our own health but also that of the world's.
- Over 500 recipes in line with the sane-eating concept. Most include variation suggestions and tips on how to mold that recipe to fit your personal tastes.
- Recipes aren't weird, unrecognizable ones; instead, they focus on unique ways of preparing familiar ingredients.
Anything I didn't like:
- No pictures! More than in other cookbooks without pictures, this book's recipes stood well without graphics, but it's always nice to see what the dish will look like.
My thoughts: People aren't lying when they promote lifestyles like Bittman's by saying that they give you more energy. It's really true! As I've started eating more leafy greens and fewer chunks of cheddar, I wake up feeling more rejuvenated and my energy lasts all day long. My sleep has started to matter more; even with a six-week-old baby who gets me up every three or four hours, I wake up in the morning raring to go. Who could say no to that?
I once vowed never to become a vegetarian/vegan and I know I will never completely give up meat or dairy. But I am already seeing the benefits of eating less of these things. I like that Bittman is realistic about this sort of thing. You don't have to be radical to live better. In fact, the simpler you eat, the healthier you likely are (i.e. fewer ingredients generally mean a healthier food). Having tried out this way of living, my mind is clearer and my eyes are brighter. I am living better. And it's helping me be more creative with the food I make and eat. I'm discovering new fruits and vegetables that give my diet a lot of variety and added flavor.
Eating a plant-heavy diet brings color to my kitchen and intense flavor to my taste buds. My food tastes better. I have more energy. My mind remains clear all day!
Stay tuned for my next cookbook review: Alice Waters' timeless The Art of Simple Food.