What to Eat and How to Eat It: 99 Super Ingredients for a Healthy Life

Renée Elliott

Pavilion (SEPTEMBER) Hardcover $29.95 (256pp) 978-1-911216-18-6

Renée Elliott’s What to Eat & How to Eat It distinguishes itself from other healthy-eating cookbooks with its fresh approach, focusing on ninety-nine ingredients that form the basis of a healthy diet.

Divided into ten relevant categories, including fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, fish, and grains, the book even includes a trendy section on fermented foods. Ingredients that don’t often receive their due, like turmeric and kombu, see the limelight here; their inclusion is refreshing. A chapter on water might outwardly seem unnecessary, but it underscores the author’s focus on making healthy eating a way of life, not just an afterthought.

Each chapter focuses on one main ingredient, beginning with a short introduction and then exploring the benefits of, ways to eat, and uses of that ingredient, with at least one easyto-follow recipe. Where applicable, the author includes both metric and imperial measurements. In recognition of the fact that our time is valuable, each recipe can be made in thirty minutes. The dishes and ingredients are beautifully photographed.

A chapter on teff—the gluten-free seed of an annual grass, and an uncommon ingredient for home cooks—is a perfect example of the book’s helpfulness. The book exhorts the reader to dive right in and give teff a try, presenting it as a good source of energy, long lasting, and vitamin rich. A recipe for teff spice cookies follows—perfect for those who are trying to limit their gluten intake.

What to Eat & How to Eat It is intended for anyone who wants to begin eating a more healthy diet. Its ideas and recipes are easy enough for even the most novice of cooks, though there’s plenty of fodder for more advanced cooks to include in their repertoires as well. It may also serve as a nice addition to professional chefs’ libraries. ERIC PATTERSON