Introduction
Hello Fellow Food Lovers!
I have always loved food.
I remember my Dutch aunts being delighted with me and my wonderful appetite as a very young child. And my mother, an excellent cook, always made sure I ate well at home. I connected good food with love as both came in great quantities from the people who cared for me.
When I left home as a teenager I discovered that I liked to cook for others as well as enjoy food myself – even though I had adamantly refused my mother’s offers to teach me how to cook. And so the adventure began…
When I was 21, a friend and I decided to eat a vegetarian diet for three months. Our decision was based on our reading of “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappe. I discovered that I liked eating that way and stayed a vegetarian for several years.
I eventually added fish to my food plan, for social reasons (I thought at the time), but really it turns out I just like fish. I continued along this vein, convincing my various roommates and even my husband to eat the way I liked… until my sons started going to daycare and playschool. Sad to say, I succumbed to time and social pressures and added chicken back into my cooking regime. And then came fast foods, soccer practices, you know – the constant juggling act that is part of raising children, working and hopefully playing.
For me, I became sicker and sicker, losing energy; gaining weight, having increasingly frequent migraines and a steadily weakening immune system.
I discovered I had food sensitivities; that my migraines were caused primarily by an allergy to dairy and that my poor food choices exacerbated my mood swings. As struggled to change my food choices I discovered that I’m not ‘into’ deprivation AND that there are a lot of options for people like me if we are creative about our food selection and preparation.
In this booklet I have put together some of my favourite raw recipes, recipes for cooking light, and I’ve added some tricks to ‘green up’ traditional fare as well. I am constantly searching for and adding in more nutrition and taste to my food repertoire.
I aim for the highest value of good, healthy food with the least fat or empty calories possible – and the most delicious flavours. I search out organic foods with no or little processing, grown as close to me as possible.
I hope you enjoy trying these tips and recipes as much as I’ve enjoyed researching (and eating) them.
Jan Jensen
Here is a sample recipe from the book: