Author’s Philosophy
My goal when starting this project was to focus on presenting a broad and
inclusive plan for healthy, nutritioous and satisfying eating, that was also simple
and tasty rather than focusing on one particular narrow path. We live in a world
with many available resources for individual preferences and I hope that through
awareness and the joy of exploration and experimentation, you will be inspired
to try new ingredients and discover healthy foods and recipes that are creative,
visually appealing, and easy to prepare while at the same time tantalize your
taste buds. Although I emphasize and fully support the use of organic, grass fed,
free-range, local, fresh food, which is prepared without preservatives, colorings
or artificial ingredients, it is my hope that you will be encouraged to make healthy
choices, there are no hard and fast rules. It is not my intention to persuade you
to embrace all suggestions or change your eating habits in ways that are not right
for you or are impractical for your lifestyle, but rather to bring awareness to other
possibilities. For what is more important is that you continue to enjoy your meals
and look forward to mealtime as one of life’s daily pleasures.
For many years, I have been fortunate to have my husband play music while I
prepare dinner. It is like receiving a beautiful gift that elevates me to another
place as I cook. This year, my friend Beth and I started a new tradition. We attend
a Zumba class, shop at Philbrick’s Fresh Market, and then head to our house to
cook and be serenaded by Steve’s music. Together we’ve cooked several recipes
from this book, and I can say the whole experience has been the highlight of our
day and evening. This got me thinking that I wanted to pass on our experience to
others. So to help make meal preparation more enjoyable, you will find a CD of
original music composed by my husband, Steve Carter, to listen to while cooking,
and then another CD, to be enjoyed once the meal is complete as you sit down to
eat and enjoy the fresh, healthy, food you have prepared.
You will find that many recipes note “Cook’s choice” which indicates ingredients I
have used followed by suggested alternates. In this way, it is your choice whether
you try something new or not. For the most part, the recipes can easily be adapted
to make with ingredients you have on hand or prefer to use. I know change
doesn’t come easily or instantly, so I suggest you keep an open mind to think
about trying some alternate suggestions at some point.
Wishing you all happy, healthy, simple eating as you use No Fret Cooking!
- Marilynn