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Interior and Designer: Eric Pratt
Art Producer: Hannah Dickerson
Editor: Van Van Cleave
Photography 2021 Kate Sears, food styling by Lori Powell
Illustrations 2021 Claire McCracken
ISBN: Print 978-1-64876-625-1 | eBook 978-1-64876-124-9
R0
To my biggest cooking and innovation inspirationsMom, Dad, Kelsey, Mason, Spencer, Mimi, Melanie & Sylvie
Contents
Welcome to the world of easy, healthy cooking! Its a snap to make many recipes more nutritious with just a few adjustments, even for the novice cook. You just need to understand the basics.
This book is the perfect introduction to learning everything you need to know to cook delicious, nourishing meals. The most important part of cooking is getting yourself into the kitchen. The next step is practicing the techniques for success that I outline in this book.
I treasure the memories of my first moments in the kitchen while cooking with my mom. One night, in my early double-digit years, she let me cook dinner for the family. I chose the recipe based on some beautiful photos in one of her cookbooks, then I shopped with her for the ingredients at the grocery store. Once back home, I mixed up a marinade, roasted a juicy steak, and made a chimichurri to drizzle on top. Believe it or not, the meal turned out well! This dinner was a magical moment, and it was then that I knew I loved cooking for others and myself.
Over the years, I have learned all sorts of tricks to cook healthier food that I am excited to share with you in this book. Whether roasting at the correct temperature to preserve a foods nutrients or avoiding harmful oils, I demonstrate all sorts of important techniques for stress-free, healthier cooking. Once these skills are learned, the rest of the recipes in this book, and many other books after, will be a piece of cake! Even in the simplest kitchen setup, this book will be a secret weapon for cooking delicious, satisfying, wholesome, and energizing food for you and your whole family!
Getting started can be the toughest part of cooking. In this chapter, well discuss how to beginfrom using your senses and choosing kitchen equipment to how to grocery shop and what to stock in your pantry.
Wholesome at Its Simplest
There are countless benefits to cooking at home. Theres the unbeatable satisfaction of having made something with your own hands that you and your loved ones can enjoy. This is especially true when you cook together, and this can be the perfect time of day to catch up with each other. We frequently save money when we grocery shop for ourselves, as it allows us to choose what to buy and where to buy it. More than anything, home-cooked meals are often healthier, since you know exactly what ingredients are going into the food. This includes adding nourishing olive oil instead of unhealthy canola oil, enhancing the flavor with mineral-rich sea salt instead of nutrient-stripped kosher salt, and adding anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric and cinnamon. Many may consider cooking time consuming. But really, cooking for ourselves can be a time-saver when taking into account the amount of time spent waiting to order food and then the delivery time for it to arrive.
This book will help define the principles of healthy cooking and how such a task can be done in the comfort of your home, often with only about 20 minutes of active time involved. I take you through a few easy recipes to practice, beginning with a simple and scrumptious because even healthy cooking includes a few treats.
Tips for Getting to Good
My hope is that you come to realize that cooking delicious, healthy food is not difficult. It simply requires a few fresh ingredients, a fairly well-stocked pantry, the right tools to cook with, and, of course, your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. With that, here are seven general guidelines to follow to ensure healthy cooking is successful and stress-free.
Trust your senses. Recipes are wonderful road maps to a finished dish, but at the end of the day, senses and instincts will tell if something is offor just needs a little tweaking.
Be adventurous choosing vegetables. When you cook with vegetables harvested during the proper season, they will be innately flavorful. Usually, a little salt and olive oil is enough to enhance their flavor.
Shop with awareness. When grocery shopping, make a conscious effort to read the labels, so you know where your food comes from and whats in it. If you are adhering to a gluten-free diet, always check ingredient packaging for gluten-free labeling (in order to ensure foods, especially oats, were processed in a completely gluten-free facility).