For my project, I thought it would be a great idea to do a sustainability cookbook. I don’t know if everyone has started reading Omnivores Dilemma, but Pollan addresses the great struggle in the American culture between making healthy, sustainable choices for our bodies versus the convenient, unsustainable fast food culture. Little do people realize that there are an array of resources available to us for which that many to do not take advantage of in food choices. To put it lightly, Americans are just lazy bums. We don’t want to take the initiative to find ways to integrate new, sustainable ways of cooking and eating, so instead we turn to the easy fast food restaurants always readily available at the palm of our hands. This is where I come in however: my cookbook’s purpose is to teach and inspire those who want to change their ways of eating to become more sustainable, but do not know where to begin.
This week I have had a planning week. I have basically been mapping out how the cookbook is going to be formated by gathering ideas and taking in considerations from Brian. Before I begin actually providing recipes in the cook book, I am going to give a little background info. Sustainable versus Non-sustainable cooking. What does that even mean? Well, that my friend, you will have to wait and read when you look at the first pages of my cookbook. What to eat and where to get it are two major questions to maintain a sustainable diet. Where to get the food will be provided in background info, and what to eat and how to prepare it falls under the category of the recipes.
Within the recipe section, there will be a variety of recipes from snacks, appetizers, main dishes, salads and desserts. On the back of each recipe, there will most likely be a more common recipe and show how the different ingredients of that common recipe are unsustainable compared to the parallel recipe on the front of the page. We never realize all the different ingredients that go into the food that we eat. Each individual ingredient however, can either be sustainable or unsustainable, so by recognizing the multilayered aspect of sustainable eating, we can begin to slowly change little ingredients on our diets to become more sustainable.
Truthfully, I am a bit of a health nut myself and am really excited to gather more information on how I can change the way I eat to strive toward sustainability. But, while were waiting for my sustainable cook book to be available and ready to present, I vote that everyone goes out and buys a reusable water bottle. :)
As an avid eater and enjoyer of food in general, I am very excited to see the recipes in your cookbook. I noticed that in your profile picture for your blog you're holding a rather large cone of frozen yogurt (fro yo). I was wondering if this is a good example of a sustainable food and/or you being a health nut? Because of questions like these, I think it's a great idea that you will be providing a comparison recipe to contrast the ecological footprint associated with the production and preparation of sustainable versus non-sustainable food items.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your vote means a lot to me, so I bought a reusable water bottle. First step reusable water bottle, next stop sustainable cookbook!
I'm excited to see your recipes too. I may have to disagree with you about Americans being lazy, but only because I think all people are lazy in general. Wow, I just stereotyped a whole species. Actually, I think people use laziness as an excuse. By that I mean that they may suggest that people WONT change in some way because some particular change is too much, too effortful. But people will muster up the drive to change if there are incentives. Economists talk about creating incentives, but when it comes to changing the way we eat, I think all the incentives are already in place- good health, better tasting food, a sense of community and self-empowerment- but Americans won't recognize these incentives unless they are educated about them. Pollan and others seem to be making good ground in uncovering the wool from our eyes.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a cookbook too! I'm pretty pumped about it. I love cooking and anything food related so it should be fun. I'm taking a little bit of a different approach for mine so I'm curious to see how ours are different.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I live for reusable water bottles.