Miss Yearwood and I have known each other for twenty-five years. We both moved to Nashville in the mid-1980s, we both signed record deals at the turn of the decade, and my first headlining tour was also her first tour. I have watched Trisha through many phases of her life, and I can tell you that she is in a great place right now. She is balancing her home life with her professional life, her cooking career with her singing career, and indulgence with intelligence. This book reflects exactly where Trisha is in her life. She has found the balance between food that is good and food that is good for you—and she is determined to make meals that are both.
After releasing her first two cookbooks, Trisha noticed a common theme in the questions she would get from people who owned them. Folks were very concerned when it came to the food they were serving and how it affected their family’s health. I would overhear women say, “My husband loves your dishes, but he has high cholesterol or high blood pressure.” Then they would ask the question: “Do you have any suggestions on how to make these dishes healthier without making them taste any different?” I would watch her walk with each woman and take her to different parts of the store and pick out products, read labels, discuss the options … it was really cool to witness. It was as if she were on a mission. Much later it finally hit me. The reason Miss Yearwood was on this mission was because she knew it would not be long before she was that woman, and the man she would be worrying about would be me.
So she decided not to wait until we were older, but to start planning for a healthier life now. What has happened in the past five years has been a miracle for me. I have always had problems with high cholesterol and high blood pressure … always. But on my last checkup, my doctor came in, put the results down on the desk, and jokingly said, “These results cannot be yours.” I smiled. I have not had a report like that in my life … ever. I know it is because Trisha has found ways to replace ingredients that create a more unhealthy experience with ingredients that, I believe, actually fight and repair the damage caused by my own poor choices—and I have yet to sacrifice taste! Once you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, your only enemies are time and the quality of life during that time. Miss Yearwood is trying to make our time the best it can be, and I am very proud to know she is doing the same thing for all of those you and I love.
Garth Brooks
(aka Mr. Yearwood)
