About the Author
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For more than twenty years, the food editors and
chefs in the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living have been
producing bestselling cookbooks, including Meatless, Everyday
Food: Light, Power Foods, and Martha Stewart’s Cooking School.
Martha Stewart is America’s most trusted lifestyle expert and
teacher and the author of more than eighty books on cooking,
entertaining, crafts, homekeeping, gardens, weddings, and
decorating.
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Introduction
Most of us know that the way we eat is central to our well-being.
But we may not always know exactly what ingredients to buy or
meals to plan for the most satisfying, delicious, and healthful
results. This book will show you how easy it can be: Start with
fresh produce, whole grains, and lean proteins; prepare them
simply; and take the time to share and enjoy them.
This old-fashioned approach to food has a modern name—eating
clean. It means making meals from scratch, whether a workday
breakfast for one or a weeknight dinner for four. It means making
your own snacks instead of relying on anything from a package.
And it can also mean enjoying dessert (see Golden Rule 11:
Maintain a Healthy Perspective, page 34)! Just as important,
eating clean means focusing on every aspect of our meals—turning
away from our screens and devices and avoiding other
distractions, so we can savor the process of cooking and eating.
Perhaps you’re already eating this way, or maybe these ideas are
new to you. Either way, there is plenty to discover here. You’ll
find excellent recipes as well as the very latest advice from
reliable professionals, including nutritionist Kathie Madonna
Swift, who contributed her knowledge and expertise to this
project. I’m still exploring and evolving and looking for new
ways to appreciate clean, whole food, and I hope you’ll be
inspired to do the same.
Martha Stewart
Part One
Reset
GET A CLEAN START
Whatever inspired you to pickup this book—a resolutionto eat
better, a desire to wipe the slate clean with a whole body detox,
or a wish to boost your energy level—you have just taken the
first step toward achieving that goal. This book is designed for
anyone wanting to hit the reset button and gain a more rewarding,
and pleasurable, approach to food.
Food plays a central role in our lives. On the most basic level,
it feeds our hunger and keeps us alive. But it also functions on
social and emotional levels, so to fully address nutrition you
need to consider, from all angles, what you eat. Focusing on
whole, unprocessed foods helps your body prevent and fight
diseases and increases your energy levels. This means eating
fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and other legumes, whole
grains and whole-grain pasta, nuts and seeds, and modest amounts
of lean proteins, including fish, eggs, chicken, and tofu. And
yes, even the occasional dessert.
As you evaluate what you eat, you should also consider your
relationship to food, in terms of how you plan your meals, how
you shop, how you prepare food, and how you actually eat it. In
our grab-and-go lifestyle, food can become mere fuel to get us
through the day, rather than providing us an opportunity to slow
down, switch gears, eliminate distractions, and relish the
moment.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
“Know Your Nutrients” on page 36 lists foods that are the best
sources of antioxidants and antiinfl ammatory, detoxifying, and
digestive properties. Having a wellstocked pantry is an essential
fi rst step, and we’ve covered the basics— whole grains, legumes,
healthy fats, and fl avor enhancers—in the “Restock Your Pantry”
section starting on page 46. Then, we encourage you to clean the
slate with one of the action plans (designed for either three
days or twenty-one days) outlined on pages 62 to 69. Or you can
just start cooking from the wealth of delicious recipes in the
second part of this book. But before you do anything else, read
the “Golden Rules for Eating Clean” on the following pages, and
remember that the goal is a healthy, whole, wonderful
appreciation of food, not deprivation.
ABOUT THE RECIPES
In keeping with widely accepted ideals of “eating clean,” none of
the recipes in this book contains any butter, refi ned sugar,
all-purpose fl our, or red meat. Honey and other natural
sweeteners appear, as do whole-wheat fl our and pasta, and dairy
products; full-fat dairy is the most minimally processed, but you
can use reduced-fat varieties if you prefer. Look for the icons
listed below on each recipe page; these are indicated by colored
dots in the Action Plan menus and on the juice and smoothie
recipes in the “Reboot” chapter.
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