Edible Explorations Book Club: Food Matters by Mark Bittman

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, by Mark Bittman, is just plain fun to read. His writing is very accessible, flows well and his recipes are easy to follow, often lending themselves well to customization. The first half of the book is a general overview of Bittman's healthy eating plan - how he changed his way of eating and why. He discusses the sordid details of the meat industry, the American diet, and how this has changed for the worse in recent history. Bittman offers not a diet, but a lifestyle change, and makes it sound easy and fun. This is a great book for someone looking to change how and what they eat, but who doesn't quite know where to begin. He even offers a sample meal plan for a month.

As previously alluded to, the wonderful thing about this book is that it is completely pliable for each individual. Bittman's plan is very general and flexible. Each reader can adjust to his/her personal tastes. In line with this, the second half of the book provides 75 recipes, divided into each meal of the day. These are general, with ideas for substitutions and customization. This section includes some great ideas on how to incorporate whole grains, small amounts of meat and increased amounts of fruits and vegetables into your diet.

I highly recommend giving this book a read. It is very informative in terms of the food industry in this country as well as personal nutrition. My only criticism is that Bittman is sometimes too general when specifics would benefit his readers. For instance, in the section on stocking your kitchen, he doesn't give specific ideas about what ingredients are best to keep around (spices, specific grains and vegetables, etc.). For people who have not cooked much previously and are looking to start fresh, it would be a good idea to give more information.