Cynthia Lair
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By: Moon Smile Press
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Yummy for Your Lactobacilli 5 out of 5 stars.
40 of 47 people found this review helpful.
In the foreword by Annemarie Colbin, CHES, of The Natural Gourmet Cookery School in NYC, there is the suggestion that shifts in customs around eating have contributed to the breakdown of our society, "could it be that by our dietary customs- consumption of unnatural foods and large amounts of meat and milk from animals raised on antibiotics and hormones- we are building a new kind of human being, one that has little connection with the healthier ways of the past?" I'd have to say... No. I don't see that as being a simple cause and effect, but I'm with her in spirit. I'd see both our diets and our lifestyles as being downstream effects of animals living in a very different kind of environment than the one we spent the overwhelming majority of our species-span evolving in. It doesn't matter whether she overstates the case or not, the bottom-line is still correct, we are Paleolithic hominids with Paleolithic-tuned bodies stranded without our tribes, alone in our urban institutions. By finding ways to recreate customs that resonate with a deeper part of our evolutionary past, we stand to not only enrich our lives but also improve our physical and mental health.
What do you know, it does take a village. But the villages are gone (and the old ones had their down sides, they weren't as kind to ostracized outliers as the anonymous urban mesh). Still, we can recreate the best of The Village without holding on clumsily to the parts that don't fit just out of fretful superstition. So, live in co-ops, teach your children and your neighbor's children in co-ops schools, plant a garden with friends (oops, I've gone outside the scope of a review again, thanks for all your lovely email reminders. Don't worry, I'll get us back on track, watch.) And lovingly prepare homemade meals from whole foods for your whole family. (ah, nicely done)
That's where Cynthia Lair's wonderful recipes come in. While this book does do some educating on whole foods and some philosophizing on the importance of healthy eating, the strength of this book are great and simple recipes, conveyed with love and enthusiasm.
If I had to say how this book has changed my life in two words, I'd have to say "Quinoa" and "safflower oil." Oops, does that count as three words? I'm cooking with new ingredients, eating lower on the gylcemic index, and I've given up bacon. Okay, that last one is a lie. I can't seem to give up bacon. Our little secret. Don't tell my vegan friends and don't tell my rabbi. But I feel bad when I eat it, and that's a start.
Cynthia Lair includes a nice little chapter on reducing flatulence. Beans are high in Oligosaccharides that pass all the way to the colon undigested. They sit in your colon with your colonic flora and ferment, produce that famous vegetarian flatulence. Personally, I'm not sure why you would want to reduce that, that seems to me to be at least half the fun of being a vegetarian. My buddy, Greg, in college could release a deluge of potent raffinose and stachyose byproducts in such a forecful way that the couch would shake. And not just the couch he was sitting on, but our other couch, which had to be at least a yard away. He had another trick, too distasteful for this format but remind me to tell you later.
I do have a personal connection, I had the pleasure of taking a cooking class with Ms. Lair when I rotated through Bastyr University. She was great, taught me the proper way to chop cilantro. She coaches with all positive reinforcement, and has an infectious smile. You can see it on display in photos on the back cover. Bright countenance. Mild exopthalmous, but captivating. And the recipes are really inventive and very tasty. Buy this book.
Editorial Review:
Are you concerned about the freshness of commercial baby food? Are you frustrated with making separate meals for your picky eater? Would you like move toward a plant-based, whole foods diet? Families all over the country have found satisfying, delicious answers to these questions and more in Cynthia Lair's Feeding the Whole Family. There are over 150 family-tested recipes using whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruit. Each recipe contains suggestions on how to transform dishes parents will love into food for babies and young children. Plus the book contains valuable insights on breastfeeding, starting solids and how to attract children to healthy eating.
Feeding the Whole Family also features an extremely handy "Identifying, Shopping, & Storing Whole Foods" glossary, a complete index and delightful stories and illustrations. The book is bound with a special binding that lies flat.
This is the perfect gift for new parents.
