Colino Stacey - Good foodfast!: deliciously healthy gluten-free meals for people on the go

By the Same Author

Elements

Graze: Lots of Little Meals Fast

Lyons Press is an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Text copyright 2015 by Jason Roberts

Photographs copyright 2015 by Sami Johnson

Jacques Apple recipe on page 229 courtesy of Jacques Ppin, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Eves Chocolate Cake recipe on page 220 courtesy of Damien Pignolet.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roberts, Jason (Chef)

Good foodfast! : deliciously healthy gluten-free meals for people on the go / Jason Roberts with Stacey Colino ; photographs by Sami Johnson.

pages cm

Summary: If you want to eat healthy without sacrificing flavor but are so busy that you often find yourself resorting to takeout or packaged convenience foods, this book is for you! Chef Jason Roberts shows how eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables and other nutritious foods can fuel our bodies and mindsand still excite our palates. Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4930-0823-0 (hardback)

1. Quick and easy cooking. I. Colino, Stacey. II. Title.

TX833.5.R585 2014

641.5'12dc23

2014031668

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Contents

Introduction

It often seems like an overwhelming challenge to cook a homemade meal when were already juggling a full plate of responsibilities. With a perpetually rushed lifestyle, its an unfortunate conundrum weve all encountered! When it comes to cooking at home, many of us have a love it-or-leave-it mind-set: Its quick, easy, affordable, and already packaged, or its a trip to five different stores to buy costly ingredients only to then slave away for hours in the kitchen trying to create the meal. (Personally, that would drive me nuts!) We believe food is either healthy or delicious but unlikely to be both. Many of us will stay within our cooking comfort zones or feel the need to enroll in a culinary school to upgrade our techniques before were willing to even attempt to cut up a whole chicken.

Breathe! Its going to be okayI promise. The truth is, I can totally sympathize, but to my way of thinking, these are all unnecessary burdens. You really can prepare delicious, nutritious meals in the comfort of your own home with a minimal time commitment, a reasonable budget, and just one trip to the grocery store or farmers market. The key is to be prepared, organized, and efficient in your shopping and cooking techniques.

The food going into your body provides the energy your body expends, so youll want to make it top-quality fuel.

Healthy living and eating have always been passions of mine. I grew up in a family of food professionals and learned to cook and appreciate the value of food at a young age in both Australia and New Zealand. Ive been doing it ever sincein restaurants, on the telly, on the radio, through print media, social media, live food shows around the world, and, of course, in my own kitchen. I live it, I breathe it, and I certainly cook it! As a chef who travels often, I have discovered that my health and my ability to maintain focus depend entirely on what I eat and how I exercise. For as long as I can remember, I have been super activeas a cyclist, surfer, swimmer, and runner, not to mention dadso I tend to look at food as fuel, as well as a source of pleasure.

The food going into your body provides the energy your body expends, so youll want to make it top-quality fuel. As Ive gotten older, Ive come to realize just how much of a gross misjudgment it is to leave the days food selections to chance. The right foods will give you the right energy to power through the day. The wrong foods... well, who even wants to think about that?! The point is, if you plan better, you can eat better. Its as simple as that.

As a cook/chef/lover of food, I have a deep, abiding appreciation for the importance of incorporating varied tastes and textures and using simple cooking methods and techniques when preparing meals. Over the years, I have discovered that with the proper planning and preparation, it is possible to put together healthy, delicious meals that are loaded with tantalizing flavors, textures, and aromas in very little time. Its a matter of being conscious of fresh, vibrant ingredients, using a variety of colors from Mother Natures garden, and relying on low-moisture cooking techniques (such as roasting, sauting, steaming, and stir-frying, all of which will preserve what Mother Nature intended as far as the goodness, nutrients, flavors, colors, and textures of your fresh ingredients) to get the job donewith a minimum of fuss. This book will show you how to do this in your own kitchen.

The trick is to choose foods that will fuel and strengthen your body and mind, while letting their flavors and textures delight your taste buds and inspire you. In general, I have figured out that simpler is usually better: Not only will the food look better but it also will taste better and be better for you. Be sure to use good-quality ingredients and be conscious of your cooking methods. I have learned how to incorporate all of these elements in the meals I prepare for myself, my friends, and loved ones, and it is my personal quest to teach you how to cook this way as well.

The old adage that you should never trust a skinny chefsince chefs generally use plenty of fat, salt, and sugar to make their meals memorableno longer rings true. Once I reached the age of thirty-five, I found that I really needed to tune into what I was eatingboth the types of food and the portion sizes. By eating well and exercising more (and avoiding gluten since Im gluten intolerant), I improved my body composition by dropping body fat and increasing muscle mass.