Get your Read On

For many years of my life, I almost never thought about my food (besides things like "yum" or "yuck" :) ). I paid a little more attention as I got older, out of college, and then even more attention when I was feeding my family, not just myself. I started really learning about what we eat, and I've been surprised along the way about how little I really knew. (And how much BS there is in the supermarket, too, by the way...for example, if you're spending extra cash on "all natural" chicken like I was, you're throwing your precious dollars out the window). At the risk of sounding too preachy here--YOU are the only one that has your (and your family's) best interest in mind, so question, read, and learn!!

These first three books are MUST-READ books for anyone interested in learning about where our food comes from and what we're feeding ourselves and our kids...

What to Eat, by Marion Nestle (learn about what all-natural really means!)

Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer (this book was incredibly well-written...couldn't put it down)

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan (he was just on Oprah, did you see??)

My other book recommendations are my cookbook all stars. I'm really picky with cookbooks, because I HATE putting in all the time to try a recipe, and have a meal that is really not worth the effort. These are the books I pull out over and over, the ones that inspire my Leslie-creations, the ones that are full of pretty much no-fail recipes.

Whole Foods for the Whole Family, from La Leche League (don't judge a book by it's cover...this one happens to have the cheesiest cover of all time)

The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen (every single recipe I've made from this book is phenomenal!)

Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, by Moosewood Collective (these need the occasional doctoring up, but also really great recipes)

I have a few new cookbooks on the shelf that I haven't gotten to explore yet (including "The Sneaky Chef" and Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet"), so there may be more to come, but this is a pretty heavy start. Happy reading!