Eating On The Wild Side

Starting with the nutritional history of our most common fruits and vegetables, Robinson explains how nutrition has slowly been bred out of our food. Comparing wild fruits and vegetables to what we currently grow on farms and in gardens, she illustrates how little nutrition we are getting from our cultivated crops. To eat on the wild side, is to discover which of these foods has the most nutrients, what kind of nutrients, and how to cook your food to get the most nutritional benefit from it.

I found that even the explanations that were in scientific terms, were easy to follow. The book is organized in a clear way, so if you want to review before you go to buy your produce or cook it, it is easy to find the relevant information. There are charts at the end of each chapter that make it easy to use the information talked about in the chapter for making decisions about which produce to buy.

I liked that for each section there was a recipe that used the healthiest kind of each ingredient, but it used methods Robinson suggested to increase the nutritional value of the food. Some of these suggestions were as simple as: baking your potatoes the day before you eat them and storing them in the fridge to decrease the spike in your blood sugar, eat your broccoli the day you buy it to preserve the natural sugars and cancer fighting properties, or press your garlic ten minutes before using it. I tried out two of her recipes in the book. One was an Armenian Lentil Soup. I was surprised how much I actually liked it. I am not a fan of lentils, but have been trying to eat them more as they are very healthy. I served the soup with homemade flatbread, and it was delicious! I also tried the Kale Chip recipe. Every recipe I had tried before had been too salty or very oily. These were perfect! A great replacement for potato chips.

Kale Chips I made with the recipe from the book

A common reason people give for not eating well is the cost. If this concerns you, I would recommend reading this book. It will help you understand how to get the most nutrition for what you are buying. I also liked learning why certain foods are more nutritious than others. The history of how some foods became such a huge part of our diet, and why they are no longer as good for us was very enlightening. I also liked how she encouraged people to eat locally or grow their own gardens, as the fresher your fruits and vegetables are, the healthier they are for you.

I heard an interview with this author about this book on the radio. I was immediately intrigued. I am very interested in trying to eat healthier, and in learning more about the food I eat to help me make the best choices possible, so I can live a healthy life. I found this book to be very informative, and helpful towards my goal of improving my food choices.

If you care about what you eat, and want to be healthier, I recommend reading this book.