Liz Moody - Recipes for Two--Nourish Your Body, Nourish Your Relationships

Acknowledgments

Its so gratifying to write a book about how much easierand betterit is to go through life with other people, because the support of my community has been a favorite and formative element in my own story.

Zack, I literally didnt eat vegetables when I met you. Who wouldve guessed that someday Id be penning a healthy cookbook? Youve made me healthier in all of the obvious ways, but far more important, in the ways beyond eating well that typically slip the mind. Im healthier because you stretch my mind with fascinating conversations. Im healthier because you make me play sports when Id otherwise just be reading. Im healthier because of our travels, and because of how you help me relieve my stress, and how you make me laugh. At my core, Im healthier because you make me so much happier, and Im so grateful to get to go on this journey with you. I cant imagine writing this book or any book without you, and I appreciate every single second of time and energy youve put into both it and me.

Papa, youve helped me test so many of these recipes. Whether youre completely botching asparagus soup or developing an addiction to the Salted Caramel Crack Popcorn, your feedback emails were often the highlight of my day. You were one of my first Healthier Together partnersyou were, in fact, the person who first introduced me to what food could be, from our Chez Panisse caf dinners to the Thai food in Chicago. You dont support me with only words but action, and I recognize how rare and magical it is to have someone like you in my life.

Mom, its been so wonderful to see you take an interest in my food, even when youd probably be happy eating soup for the rest of your life. I love how open you are to changing your diet and lifestyle (and still consider getting you to eat fat one of my biggest wins!). Thank you so much for endlessly championing this book, and my writing career generally.

To my second family: Susan and Leslie. From recipe testing (if Leslie likes it, its basically golden) to helping foster my cooking career in its nascent stages on Rock Lane, I feel in so many ways like I couldnt have gotten where I am today without your unwavering support.

Amanda, youre one of a kind. To have such a power woman behind my books is such a privilege, and one that I appreciate daily. I couldnt have dreamt up a better editor. To the rest of my Potter teamElora, Natasha, Mia, Gabrielle, Kimyou do beautiful work, but youre also just some of the most fun, interesting, kick-ass people Ive had the pleasure of knowing. It makes me want to write more books just so I have more excuses to talk to you.

To my agent, Alia, who has endured far too many of my emotional phone calls. Youre such a wise and giving person, and youve gone so above and beyond in helping me not only as an author, but as a human. We started with Glow Pops and now were here, and I cant wait to see where we go next together.

To Lauren, Mariana, and Maeve: Im so glad we were able to reunite the gang for this book! Our week of shooting was one of the best weeks of my lifeit made me want to write a million more cookbooks, just to bask in more of that powerful, women-led energy. I love you all and the fact that you created photos more beautiful than I can imagine is only a bonus.

To my recipe-testing gang: Morgan, Nancy, Katie, Aunt Joan, Chiara, Amber, Elizabeth, Chloe, Gabrielle, Catherine, Kristin, Christine, Emily, Abdul, Erin, Emma, Jenna, and Leigh, youve all made this book so much better. Thank you for your incredible feedbackthis book would literally not be the same without you.

I believe that community is one of the least appreciated and most important pillars of wellness, and so many of my friends and family have supported me not just on this book but throughout my life. It would take years to thank all of you for your work in shaping me, but know that its so appreciated. On this book particularly, Stacy, I cant believe how many hours you willingly dedicated to hanging out in my kitchen, listening to Hamilton and testing different types of miso in soup. Ben, your frank and honest feedback and willingness to use your new Vitamix to take recipes for a spin was so appreciated. Gretchen, you cooked with me and ate with me and laughed with me and helped me stay sane throughout this whole process. Hogan, you answered my urgent cooking questions, no matter what strange time of day I called. Elizabeth, from connecting me to my favorite recipe tester to hanging out with me while I eschewed any semblance of a social life to cook to making me feel extremely confident about the Brussels sprout tacos, your presence made this book so much more fun. Katie, Ive loved bonding with you over our love for food. Im so happy to have you as a sister and cant wait to see where our relationship goes from here.

My mindbodygreen community has provided me with so much more than an office and a job here in Brooklyn. You guys are my family; our office is my home. I feel so immensely lucky to go to work every day with so many brilliant people whom I love dearly, and do work thats both fun and world-changing. Thank you to all of you.

Finally, to my readers at mindbodygreen and lizmoody.com: Ive so enjoyed getting to know you throughout the years. I never lose sight of the fact that it is because of you that I get to do what I do, so to you I say: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I like to think were all a big, Healthier Together family, and that brings a big ol grin to my face.

About the Author

Liz Moody spent years traveling the world as a newspaper columnist before settling in Brooklyn, where she lives in a tiny apartment with her husband (and main Healthier Together partner), Zack. She is currently the food director at mindbodygreen, one of the worlds leading wellness websites, and her work has been featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, goop, and more. In 2017, she published her first cookbook, Glow Pops , with Clarkson Potter. For more healthy recipes and general wellness musings, visit her at lizmoody.com or on Instagram @lizmoody.

Healthier Together

21-Day Cleanup

I think the best detox is all about supporting your body to detoxify itself with the ample tools it has available. This cleanup is designed to reset your taste buds, help eliminate your sugar cravings, boost your energy, and flood your system with vegetable goodness to nourish every one of your cells. Your skin will be clearer, your belly will be flatter, and you wont feel at all deprived. And the best part? Doing it with a partner makes you much more likely to stick to itand enjoy yourself in the process. So pick a buddy (see Pick a Partner, , for some tips on how to do it with anyone, anywhere) and dive in!

The guidelines:

• Drink one huge glass of room-temperature water when you wake up every morning. We wake up super dehydrated, so rehydrating first thing sets up your system for success.

• Drink water and herbal tea throughout the day. Try not to consume caffeine after 3 p.m. and stick to plain coffee, matcha, and green and black tea. (If youre willing to give up caffeine altogether, even better.)

• Avoid alcohol during the cleanup to give your liver, your bodys primary detox organ, a break. If you dont want to abstain altogether, keep it to two alcoholic beverages a week and choose the healthier options on .

• Stay away from refined sugar altogether and limit unrefined sugar (other than fruit) to the days of the plan when youre also having dessert.

• Move your body throughout the day as much as possible. Its not great to do high-intensity workouts when youre detoxing, and the jury is still out on how much that type of exercise negatively impacts your hormones in the long run (some research shows that the spiking cortisol of super-sweaty sessions leads to more belly fat). That said, you still want to move your body regularly and constantly. Try not to sit for more than an hour at a time, peppering your day with walks and gentle stretching. Park in the farthest spot in the lot. Walk or bike to work. When you do work out, try to do something recreational: hit some tennis balls with your Healthier Together partner, or go for a hike and soak in nature.