I love food. Actually, I am downright crazy about it. But I also love to feel healthy. Sometimes the two can create a tough balance … especially as a vegan.
A decade ago, I was living on junk and fast foods. Even though I enjoyed every bite, the reality of eating that junk for so many years began to catch up with me. I couldn’t figure out why I was constantly feeling like crap. So I started to explore the possible causes, and finally some research on my health issues led me to the disturbing finding that these ailments might be a product of what I was eating. It all became clear when I discovered the concept of healing through food. I thought it sounded crazy at first, but I decided to give it a try. After all, what did I have to lose? To my amazement, I started to get better. Then I started to feel better than I had in years, all thanks to food—the right food, that is. After about a year of refining my diet, I decided to study holistic nutrition and share what worked for me with anyone who would listen. The light bulb went off in my head and my mission was born: Help as many people as possible change the way they eat. Thus, the Skinny Bitch series was born.
I first met Christy in late summer of 2009 for a blind “lunch date” at Seed Café in Venice Beach, California. We both knew prior to the lunch that we had a lot in common. We’re both crazy about food and passionate about helping people get healthy. In getting to know Christy, I learned about the path that brought her to where she is today and how her own discoveries of the healing powers of foods led her to be a powerhouse in the kitchen and a true educator through her cooking classes, instructional videos, and role as a blogger. I became one of the fortunate who have experienced first-hand just how amazing her dishes are, after she came to my house and worked her magic in my kitchen. (Note to parents reading this book: even my then 3-year-old son loved every bite.)
Christy has an immense knowledge of good food and the health benefits it provides the body. This cookbook—sure to set your mouth watering—proves that when knowledge is paired with tried and true experience in the kitchen, the results are dishes that not only taste amazing, but are some of the healthiest recipes on the block.
In this cookbook, Christy takes you by the hand and eases you into her world by teaching you how to stock your pantry and the best kitchenware for your needs, how to cook in sync with the seasons, and integrate fresh, natural, unprocessed and unrefined foods into every meal. These elements, as Christy explains, are responsible for the nourishment of your mind, body, and spirit.
Who knew that healthy eating could taste so delicious! Diving into the world of vegan cooking may seem daunting at first, but Christy’s passion for bringing this cuisine into everyone’s kitchen makes it seem like a breeze.
I often hear people complain that they simply don’t have much time to cook. They also have this idea that cooking a plant-based diet is too time-consuming. The reality is that it’s no different than cooking any other kind of food—it just takes some preparation in the beginning and an open mind. Let Christy guide you through the wonderful world of plant-based cooking, and you will reap all of the benefits it has to offer. You might just find it was the lifestyle you’ve been looking for all along.
—Kim Barnouin, co-author of Skinny Bitch