Cook it real good

A looong time ago, I wrote about my particular brand of foodie-ism (the short answer is that I like almost everything. The slightly longer answer is that I eat what feels good) and in the interlude between when I wrote regularly and when I....didn't....I have accumulated a healthy stock of resources related to feel-good food.

Nothing that has sweet potatoes in it is ever bad. 

My latest favorite is from Robin Robertson, called Vegan on the Cheap. I think it's a tragic misconception that veganism has to be ridiculously expensive. I mean, seriously - it's veggies and beans. How much money could that cost? I guess if you try to cook like an American with lots of meat (substitute) and cheese (substitute), then all those processed veggie foods are going to be expensive. Anywho....this is a great cookbook that holds up to my very rigid standards:

1. No funky ingredients that I will buy and never use again
2. It's not primarily salads which, realistically, I will never eat
3. It's not food I can't pronounce and have never heard of. I love trying new things, but sometimes I need something I can recognize. Like shepherd's pie. And cookies. 
4. It's all real food. No packaged stuff, just chop-it-and-cook-it food. For eating. 
5. (Don't tell, but it's easy to substitute meaty stuff when I feel like it)
6. Lots of good, realistic substitution suggestions.
7. It doesn't use a flippin' bajillion pans. I mean, really. I had this one cookbook that purported to be simple home cooking, but it took like 5 freakin' hours to make a rhubarb crumble and just about every dish in my cabinet. The fact that I only had like three dishes at the time is irrelevant. Crumble shouldn't be that hard. I was too tired to eat it after. 

So....what were we talking about? This cookbook is good. That is all. You should probably get it, even if you just want to pretend to eat more veggies. It makes it very easy to actually eat more veggies. 

Also, there's a fantastic website for people who really are hardcore about health: Wellness Mama. She is a very intelligent nutritionist who happens to back up all her claims with some very real research - which is necessary, because there is some unexpected stuff on her site. I also like that she is very realistic about the whole thing - she admits to "cheating," and to a past life of less-than-eco-friendliness. She teaches you how to make all your own cleaning and personal care products, including makeup. She also has some guidelines for those who wish to learn more about how diet can influence your overall health. Definitely a lot to mull over, no matter who you are. Take a peek and let me know what you think. 

Daisy *