My Mission

As a nation, we've become convinced that there are two types of eating patterns. On one end, there are those who casually and proudly declare that they "don't care about what they eat" because they will only live once (albeit not for a very long time). The others, the obsessive label-readers, believe that the key to health is grazing on low-fat, low-calorie, low-excitement food so that they, too, can proudly declare that they "are very, very careful about what they eat and they would NEVER eat meat, or cheese, or whole milk" and so on.

What about real food? If you haven't heard of Nina Planck, check her out. She's originally from Buffalo, NY, and has traveled far and wide examining how and why we eat what we do. Here's my advice, much of it coming from Nina's philosophy, the recipes of Jamie Oliver and Giada de Laurentis, and what you would find in the open-air markets of any third world country:

Eat well. If it's low in one thing, it's high in something else. If you like to drink milk, drink it, but drink whole milk from grass-fed cows. If you like red meat, enjoy it every once in a while, but eat grass-fed beef. Eat lots of fish, but those low on the food chain, and make sure the fish was caught in the wild, rather than farmed. Fill your cabinets with lots of grains, nuts, and spices. Fill your refrigerator with lots of fruits, vegetables, and local cheeses. Join a food share. Every week, I pick up my milk and eggs from a local farm. Grass fed cows, free range, well-fed chickens. And yes, you absolutely can taste the difference.

You will be healthy. You will sleep well. You will have more energy, more happiness, and your taste buds will love you. You will teach your children to love food, not just use it. That's what these recipes serve to do. Enjoy.