Lindsay Maitland Hunt - Healthyish: A Cookbook with Seriously Satisfying, Truly Simple, Good-for-You (but Not Too Good-for-You) Recipes for Real Life

INTRODUCTION
how to be healthyish

CHAPTER 1
breakfast

CHAPTER 2
snacks

CHAPTER 3
lunch

CHAPTER 4
soups

CHAPTER 5
vegetarian dinners

CHAPTER 6
chicken and turkey

CHAPTER 7
pork and beef

CHAPTER 8
fish and shrimp

CHAPTER 9
treats

CHAPTER 10
go-to components

Which are the cookbooks you use the most? Im guessing theyre the dirtiest ones on your shelf. Now that this book is in your hands, these recipes can become living, evolving components of your home and kitchen life. Get loose where you feel comfortable, jot your notes in the margins, dog-ear the pages, and mix and match recipes across the book.

I call Healthyish cooking actual cooking. Dreaming of the perfect meal does not get food on the table. We want ingredients we can get at the grocery store, that we can cook in a reasonable amount of time, and that dont leave us with a sink full of dishes. Im talking recipes for the real world.

Healthyish works if youre just getting started in the kitchen or if youve been at the stove for twenty years because Ive developed each recipe with the home cook in mind. My background as a recipe developer for magazines like Real Simple and websites like BuzzFeed means that Ive spent years creating recipes for busy moms, cash-strapped students, and overworked young professionals. This is a wide group of cooks, but they are all looking for the same thing: doable recipes that taste good, but dont make you feel guilty or weighed down. Not to mention these recipes cant take up too much time or create too many dishes. Thats why I asked home cooks (just like you) to test each recipe in this book to make sure that cooks of all skill levels feel welcome here.

For me, planning out meals at the beginning of the week liberates me from later stress. But, for others, that could feel like taking away the freedom to choose what you feel like eating for dinner at 5 P.M. Healthyish recipes work either way. You can prep them ahead of time, or start right before dinnertime. I created Healthyish recipes to fit the lives of many different cooks.

All of this means that, after fifteen minutes of chopping and prep, you can step away from the stove to change into sweats, uncork the wine, and queue up your favorite show on TV while your dinner finishes cooking.

Or, wake up and dig a few things out of your pantry and fridge that will make a casual, filling breakfast in a few minutes, so you can enjoy time with your partner before the day begins. (May I suggest the Cozy Bean and Egg Skillet for Two on ?) Its possible to have more luxurious mornings at the breakfast table without panicking about a mound of dishes, or running hungry out the door and straight into an important meeting.

Or, if you have kids, your evening time might be all about feeding your kids and getting them bathed and to bed. You can still squeeze in a quick Healthyish dinner with your partner AND get the dishes done before 10 P.M.

Or, if you get home at 8 P.M. after a long day, you can still sit down to a nice meal before 9 P.M.

This way of living is a road map to more time with our people and doing the things we love, all while feeling good about eating tastily. And that is something that anyone could use a little more of.

The thing about balance is that it has become a metric thats another thing we have to live up to. This is personal for meIve oscillated between extremes my entire life, whether it was eating a greasy grilled cheese or eating a boring bowl of steamed vegetables. But seesawing between the two isnt how you achieve balance.

Healthyish recipes are about having the biggest, most delicious plate of food possible that incorporates vegetables and, yeah, some bacon. Its a big, hearty bowl of food that doesnt leave you feeling weighed down. Food that makes you feel good, and not sad. Thats a balanced approach to eating.

Healthyish can mean choosing whole grains instead of refined, packing your plate with vegetables and flavorful ingredients like olives or a few slices of salami for excitement, or simply swapping processed foods like bottled salad dressing for something homemade. Its OK to dollop an extra spoonful of sour cream on a vegetarian chili. Hell, you only live once!

HERE ARE MY FIVE RULES FOR CREATING A BALANCED MEAL:

ACID, FAT, AND SALT

A good recipe strikes a balance between tart, rich, and salty. Without one, the other two throw the recipe off-kilter.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Coco Chanel said, Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off. When you buy good ingredients, you dont need to layer on more and more to have a better meal. This is part of my approach to keeping the ingredient list tight; it saves you time and money, and in the end youll have something more delicious.

COLOR AND BEAUTY

Theres a reason we are drawn to bright orange carrots, jewel-toned beets, and neon green lettucethose colors signify nutrients. So, the more colors of whole foods that you have on your plate, the more nutritious your meal is. Color goes hand in hand with beauty. What looks nice is also appetizing.

FLAVOR BOOSTERS AND FUN

Healthyish recipes incorporate delicious flavor boosters that add pops of excitement to what would be an otherwise bland meal. Crunchy moments in the midst of something soft, and bursts of a contrasting intensity tucked into a simple base like rice are what make Healthyish eating satisfying. Im talking about flaky sea salt, ripe avocados, salty Parmesan, and savory miso paste. Whether its dotting a shakshuka with crumbles of feta, or folding Marcona almonds and avocado into a roasted vegetable salad, the key is to not be so restrained that your food feels sad.

MAXIMUM VOLUME, MINIMUM CALORIES

When it comes to portion size, Ive always felt that more is more. When I see a big plate or bowl filled with food, I anticipate satisfaction. Instead of loading up on calorie-dense foods, Healthyish eating relies on vegetables and fruit to increase volume without adding extra calories.