Review: Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World

Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World by Sam Kass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

This is Part 3 of today's food and cookbook extravaganza! Stop back Thursday for two more cookbooks- on the FODMAP diet recommended for those with IBS, MCTD with GI features, and Crohn's Disease.

"Don't count calories. Make calories count."

This is a beautiful looking and well laid out cookbook by the chef and senior food policy advisor to Barack and Michelle Obama. This is a book about mindful cooking and eating.

As a book about food, the emphasis is on food that is healthful and flavorful. The first 50 pages of the book discuss food and how to eat better and how to avoid waste while being a better judge of what you can use when you cook. (If you make broth, all those stalks and stems can go in broth. If you don't, compost!) Additionally, the spirit of eating what's in season is emphasized. And of course, buying locally and buying fresh, and organic if you can. Kass has some great things to say about calorie counting, essentially saying counting calories isn't as important about making the calories you eat count for something by not wasting calories on empty food. If you eat nutrient-rich foods, you are more likely to achieve satiety sooner.

As a cookbook, this is an extremely approachable book with simple recipes that I would say a responsible teen could make for their family. These are not complicated recipes. The ones I've tried have all be clear and well-explained. (Braised chicken was particularly yummy, once adapted for the low FODMAP diet.) It's rare to see a recipe with more than 6-8 ingredients in this cookbook. And that is kind of Kass's point. Fresh, flavorful food, well-cooked and properly seasoned, doesn't need a lot of "stuff" to make it enticing.

This book is a great resource for teaching our teens and young adults how to eat better, and ultimately, how to live better, too.

I received a hardcover copy of this book from Blogging for Books, their last offering before closing down. :(

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