Super Natural Cooking
The idea of “eating healthy” is misunderstood I think. People seem to believe that it is overly difficult or bland and tasteless. I have never followed that conventional wisdom, and much to our benefit neither has Heidi Swanson. I had the good fortune recently to chat with her about her new book Super Natural Cooking.
For those unfamiliar with Heidi, she is the force behind the popular and successful food blog 101 Cookbooks, as well as the Mighty Foods blog. A couple of years ago I stumbled across 101 Cookbooks, and was struck by the the food and food writing on the site, but also the design and photography (Heidi is also a designer and photographer) - as a food loving designer I was totally hooked.
Super Natural Cooking (the second book from Heidi), takes a close look at whole foods and so called “super foods”. The book approaches food from a more holistic way than other books I have - even the the “healthy” ones - with sections on different kinds of natural sweeteners, and the ins and outs of various kinds of cooking oils. The book is a huge proponent of natural, unprocessed foods, and in doing so encourages it’s readers to try familar dishes with a slight variation.
After a couple weeks with the book and trying out a few recipes (I’m eating the chocolate chip cookies as I type this) … I have to say the book is becoming a favourite. The collection of recipes is varied enough to keep an interest, simple enough to be useful for weekday cooking and provides great jumping off spots for more experimentation. One thing to note is that some of the ingredients you aren’t going to find at your corner grocery store, you may need to go to a natural foods store for a few of the sweeteners, flours or oils - but this is a good thing, and there is an index of some online sources for some items if your local town can’t provide what you are looking for. All in all this is wonderful book, it’s a nice addition for those looking to round out a collection, and an excellent resource for those who are investigating healthier diet and are scared of “healthy and bland”.
Read the interview with Heidi.
