With more work travel on the calendar for June, I had the opportunity to read more on flights. Thanks to the iPad I had a few months worth of Kitchen Reader Book Club picks to read. June was Smart Chefs Stay Slim: Lessons in Eating and Living from America’s Best Chefs by Allison Adato. I read the description and was intrigued but wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did. I read it on 2 flights, a pretty quick read and I found myself highlighting quite a few pages.
Now that I have been reading on the iPad for almost 6 months I have found it hard to not use it, I flip between pages, highlight passages or things I want to remember. In the case of Smart Chefs Stay Slim I highlighted 10 recipes and loved the casual approach and storytelling that the author took. She reached out to world renowned chefs and asked them how they stayed healthy. Many had lost weight and were on a healthiness journey. Yes the struggle, yes the try to workout and yes the eat food. It is part of their job but a few of the key lessons really made sense to me:
Eat food you love. Why eat something you don’t, this seems so simple but how often do you find yourself eating just to eat.
Eat vegetables. We hear it over and over again but really, eat your vegetables.
Season your food, things like lemon, salt, pepper, herbs and spices go along way to really brighten food.
Eat the amount you need. Don’t be intentionally wasteful but do you really need half a pizza or 8 pieces of chocolate. Eat until you are satisfied, if that means leaving food on the plate maybe box it up for another time.
This book was worth it for the recipes alone; unique and healthy recipes that I can’t wait to try a few of. I really recommend this for those looking to be a bit healthier, are just curious how chefs eat or love anecdotal type stories.
July is Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch (I hope this is good! I am a Wisconsin girl and love cheese)
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I also found myself enjoying this book more than I anticipated. I liked the bite-sized lessons and found the advice really sensible. “Eat the food you love” is such a great mantra. I also laughed when I read, “snacks are not accessories”!
I didn´t read the book, but after this reviews I will. All I can say is based on my experience, and I totally agree with this book. After graduating from Culinary School, I had to realize that there was no way in the world that I could possibly eat everything I had access to. Then I started to eat everything… in tiny portions. Just a bite of this, a spoonful of that. I love this way of eating because I don´t feel deprived. And I love juicing, so every day I have a big vegetable juice, that makes me feel healthy and energetic.
I reflected on the wisdom of the “Eat Dessert” chapter when I was eying chocolate at the grocery store this week. A bite of excellent chocolate is definitely better than a fistful of Hershey Kisses!
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