food, too, so in this book you’ll find my deliciously virtuous versions of whole-wheat waffles (made with whole-wheat flour), meatloaf (featuring turkey, plus a savory mushroom gravy), and mashed potatoes (with olive oil swapping in for butter).
Eating healthy includes caring about the earth. For deciding when organic is essential, for fruits and vegetables I follow the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen. When buying meat, I confirm that animals are raised conscientiously. For sustainably harvested seafood, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has a good guide. I buy at local farmers’ markets as much as possible, and bring my reusable bags.
Eating healthy every day includes skipping stress. So along with using super ingredients, let the recipes in Everyday Healthy help cooking be a nurturing meditationyou enjoy!
introduction
Good Food for Good Health
good food for good health
The path to healthy eating begins with choosing whole foods rich in macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients include protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These nutrients allow us to build cells, give us energy, and support our bodies’ proper functioning. Micronutrients include the vitamins, minerals, and other compounds we need only in small amounts, which also help our bodies function properly and fight disease.
One group of micronutrients that has garnered attention in recent years is antioxidants. These are vitamins and other substances that boost our immune system and help us repair cells damaged by oxidization—the damaging effects of roving atoms called free radicals that split off from oxygen molecules. Free radicals are created by normal chemical reactions in our bodies, and in lower numbers are actually beneficial to the immune system. However, they become harmful when too many build up within our cells. Aging causes an increase in free radicals, as do air pollution, pesticides, alcohol and tobacco use, and fried foods. An overabundance of free radicals causes inflammation, which in turn is known to cause diseases ranging from arthritis to diabetes to heart disease and cancer. Enter the antioxidants: these substances neutralize free radicals, keeping inflammation in check. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants, therefore, is the best defense against disease and the detrimental effects of aging.
So, healthy eating means including a variety of different foods in our meals, especially a variety of plant-based foods that help us glean many beneficial micronutrients. Nowadays people like to play around with macronutrients: many find that limiting foods like meat, dairy, or refined wheat flour helps them feel less fatigued, which can be a sign of inflammation in the body. If you’re feeling out of balance and want to try an adjustment to your usual menu, a key accompanying the recipes in this book shows which recipes are vegan VG, vegetarian V, gluten free GF, or dairy free DF.
This will help you try out a macronutrient adjustment and see if it agrees with you! Dishes that include foods especially rich in antioxidants and other micronutrients are given a “superfood” label SF, while dishes that use whole grains—the unrefined carbs
that offer slow-release energy and come with their nutrients intact—are flagged
WG
.
The recipes in this book are meant to be flexible and adjustable. Changing a recipe to fit to how you want to eat can be as easy as changing chicken broth to vegetable broth or making pesto vegan by replacing the Parmesan cheese with a non-dairy version. Or, you can always turn a salad or vegetable side dish into a healthy and satisfying entrée by accompanying it with a poached egg, sautéed chicken breast, broiled fish fillet, or seared tofu.
Read on for more details about the types of ingredients that appear in this book’s recipes and the nutrition they offer. Once you understand the role each kind of food plays, you’ll be able to choose which recipes suit your current needs, as well as to create your own healthy dishes.
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The goal of
Everyday Healthy cooking is to offer super-poweredmeals with an abundance of macro- and micronutrients,helping you create your own daily menus and giving your healthy eating exciting and appealing variety.
Antioxidants are plentiful in fruits and vegetables, especially colorful ones, likewatermelon, berries, tomatoes, broccoli and othercrucifers,spinach and other leafy greens, and nuts.
Good Food for Good Health
10
goodness from the garden
Loadingyour plate with fruitsand vegetables gives it appealingcolorand adds welcome variety in flavor and texture.Variety also mattersbecause each fruitor vegetable offers itsownunique combination of micronutrients—vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, sometimes called phytochemicals, which are specific nutrients found only in plants that play helpful roles in warding offdisease. Someof the most well-knownphytonutrients are carotenoids, found in carrots, red berries, and spinach,and polyphenols,found in green tea, soy, and oranges.When buying fresh vegetables andfruits, concentrate on peak-of-seasonproduce grownlocally,organic when you can. Choosing local, seasonal ingredients means more nutrients for you and less wear-and-tear on the environment.
VEGETABLES
Vegetables containa veritable alpha-bet of phytonutrients. Many are inflammation-fighting antioxidantsthat speciallytarget a particular health risk, like protecting your vision, fighting the risk of prostate cancer, or reducing the odds of heart disease.Vegetables also offer a wide variety of minerals and vitamins, plushealthycomplex carbs for energy, along with filling fiber. Some types, including potatoes, corn, crucifers, and leafy greens, also contain a doseof protein.
CRUCIFERSare a broad family of vege-table powerhouses that includes broc-coli, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbages, cauliflower, col-lard greens, and kale. Surprisingly, even arugula, watercress, radishes, and turnips are part of this extended family. The compounds called gluco-sinolates in cruciferous vegetables are known to have anticancer effects. Each crucifer brings its own blend of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients to your table. Many different crucifers appear in recipes throughout this book, helping you eat at least one every day.
LEAFY GREENSinclude spinach and let-tuce, and leafy crucifers like kale, col-lard greens, arugula, and watercress. Spinach is rich in folate, a B vitamin that protects the heart and protects against birth defects, and is a good source of
iron, which supports energy. Lettuces provide vitamins A, C, and K, plus chro-mium, a micronutrient that helps main-tain stable blood sugar levels.
ROOTS are colorful and rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber. They often contain enough sugar to please your sweet tooth, especially when roasted. The beets in recipes like Roasted Beets wth Indian Spices (page 126) offer unique red antioxidant pigments. Beta-carotene in carrots helps repair damaged DNAin the body, a nice thought while enjoying Carrot Noodles with Kale Pesto (page 134). A trio of
