It was a stark realization, after I had my babies, that the food offered on the shelves in the grocery stores was what I was to call forever after, 'non-food'. As a mother it meant that, to feed my children properly and nutritiously, I had to make everything from scratch. I felt a gross deception was at play on those shelves, duping young and old alike, leading the public to believe that, since it was for sale as food, it must be so. I watched as fat, beer-bellied bachelors filled their carts up with hot dogs, processed meat and buns and observed young mothers hauling away boxed cereals, juice drinks made up of a cocktail of sugar, artificial flavors and more sugar, tinned, over-salted and over-sugared fruits and vegetables, frozen prepared foods such as pizza and fish sticks, boxed non-foods such as crackers, cookies and cake mixes, bags and bottles of chips and dips and salad dressings and on and on. This lie, that these products are food, is a travesty paralleled by none other in modern day society..
The words of Hippocrates ring as true today as they did 2,500 years ago, "Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food". He believed any ailment could be traced to poor nutrition and bad eating habits. It was my observation that Hippocrates' belief was correct and that we are slowing killing ourselves with this junk we are putting into our bodies. Just a brief glance at industrialized countries around the world, countries who can afford all this industrialized non-food and one can see that not only do they have the most hospitals, but these hospitals are full of sick people.
It was this awareness that inspired me to write my cook book, 'The Happy (healthy) Cooker'. The fundamental concept is that one can, and should, eat real food. If it grows, it is food. If it comes in a box with a list of ingredients, it is a non-food. 'The Happy Cooker' covers main meals, scrumptious breakfasts, wonderful dressings for salads and dips, easy to make soups and there is even a section, a tiny section, on soul foods.
'The Happy Cooker' is a knowledgeable resource for those starting out in the kitchen and it holds many quick and easy tricks for the seasoned chef. To order your copy, email Christine at christinefripp@gmail.com.
