As of now in the process of creating a Sustainable Eating Guide and Cookbook I am in a research phase, I’m reading articles and reviewing literature about sustainable practices in the kitchen, enjoying Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and attempting to practice what I will by the end of this quarter be preaching in my cookbook. I’m a week and a half into eating vegetarian and still going strong, at first I had a few slip ups, stuff like absentmindedly asking for bacon in my weekly Saturday brunch omelet or eating an entire tamale before realizing “crap! That had chicken in it didn’t it?” These absent minded unconscious meat-mistakes eventually disappeared as I got the whole vegetarian idea into my head and I got into a “meatless routine” I don’t even really have to think about avoiding meat. In Granted I occasionally miss my lunchtime turkey sandwiches and my weekend bacon splurge. While I will include vegetarian/vegan recipes in my cookbook, it will not be exclusively vegetarian I will emphasize meat in moderation into some of my recipes. . Unfortunately I do not have a kitchen in my 11x13 foot dorm room, so I am counting the days to the next weekend I go home and actually have an oven and a stove to try out all my potential recipes that I may be including in my sustainable cook-blog.
My approach to sustainable eating/cooking will focus on this word “moderation.” Allowing yourself to enjoy some of those big ticket items like meat and the occasional processed food in moderation, while the bulk of a person’s diet should consist of self prepared, organic or locally grown (or even better home grown!) food. My cookbook does not aim for Radical Simplicity at mealtimes; its goal is to provide a feasible, everyday guide to making more sustainable meal choices. Food, nourishment, something that should be so simple, has gotten so confusing and complicated in the last century. My Cookbook/guide will help the average person navigate the rows of their local grocery store, decode the mystique of Whole Foods and local and organic foods, and offer up satisfying recipes that employ this sustainable knowledge, so that they can eat their way to a more sustainable lifestyle.
My (rough) Outline of the yet-untitled Sustainable Eating Guide and Cookbook:
· General Introduction to the rationale of eating/cooking sustainably and an outline of the basic tenants of Sustainable cooking- aka why you should read my book and eat your way to a more sustainable life!
· Where to get your food??
o The farmers market- local and organic
o Navigating the “regular grocery store” for more sustainable options
o Whole Foods
o Your own backyard garden!
· What to eat?
o Vegetarian/vegan options
o seasonal fruits and veggies
o minimizing processing and packaging
o sustainable fisheries
· How to cook all these sustainable ingredients into delicious and nutritious meals!
o Recipes: appetizers, main courses, desserts, Yum!
· Conclusion: how eating and cooking more sustainably can be incorporated into an overall more sustainable and environmentally conscious lifestyle
I can't wait to see the final draft. Do I get a signed copy?
ReplyDeleteNo kitchen but have you considered a solar oven on the roof top?
I think it's great that you are providing a guide of how to navigate a grocery store. I know my mom would love to see this (as well as myself!)
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