My SECRET to plant-based success, and how I cook healthier a little at a time
September’s Cookbook is bringing a little more joy - and health - to my kitchen
There are hundreds - maybe thousands of things to consider when you’re trying to eat better.
It’s overwhelming. Where do you begin?
Oh, do I remember going through that process. You learn one thing at a time. Implement. Repeat.
For me, it started with red meat. I made a commitment to myself to never bring red meat back into my kitchen. That’s a promise I’ve kept for 31 years.
And I’ve moved on from there.
Over time, I’ve learned so many things. And with every new piece of knowledge, I’ve incorporated it into my daily life. My daily habits.
Like when I discovered that the American cereal addiction isn’t actually healthy for you. Even if you eat “healthy” cereals like granola. Ultimately, many of the granolas you can buy at your local grocery store contain lots of added sugar, plenty of “natural” additives and flavors, and more calories than anyone needs for breakfast.
Or the fact that microplastics are everywhere, and they are causing all kinds of problems with our health. I didn’t remove them from my kitchen immediately. Instead, I worked at it slowly over time. Like ditching plastic cutting boards, then eliminating plastic utensils.
Doing everything all at once isn’t sustainable. That’s where overwhelm comes in.
But if you change things one at a time, you learn from it. Implement it. And actually fit it into your life.
Which is how I came to this month’s cookbook.
Why Sourdough?
I’m not going to try to convince you that bread is healthy. Yet it also gets a bad rap in the media today because of the way we’ve handled bread over the last few decades.
Traditionally, bread is nothing more than flour, salt, and water. Look at anything on the grocery shelves today, and you’ll likely find preservatives, artificial ingredients, added sugars, and more.
There’s also the problem of wheat.
Way back, Big Food determined they wanted as much output as possible from the wheat they grow. So they changed it. They use lots of chemicals and processing in order to make wheat “better.”
“Better” is in the eyes of the beholder.
Monocropping. Glyphosate. There is so much wrong with our current system. It’s even impacting organic wheat at this point. Did you know that when farmers harvest wheat, they cut it and leave it in the field to dry, and use glyphosate as a desiccant to speed the harvest process?
That potentially is adding to the widespread celiac disease problem we’re seeing.
Okay, pulling back from that rabbit hole, baking your own bread allows you to make healthier bread using the ingredients you select. No additives or preservatives.
And sourdough adds even more benefits because of the sourdough fermentation process. In short, sourdough fermentation creates a more digestible bread and provides beneficial prebiotics. It breaks down starches and gluten, making it easier for your body to process.
We’re a bread family. I LOVE high-quality bread. I have several bakeries around town that I head to every week to buy bread for dinner. And there’s always a stand or two at our local farmer’s market.
But I really wanted to learn to make it myself. And like anything, it’s a process. You have to prioritize it to do it. And once it fits into your schedule, it’s an easy process.
I started that process on a recent getaway.
I’m taking it a step further with this month’s cookbook.
The Sourdough Bible
By Elaine Boddy
I looked through several “sourdough bibles” before settling on the one I’ll keep in my kitchen. I knew this was the one just by flipping a few pages.
I love the step-by-step guides throughout this book. She has photos of what your starter should look like each day. She walks you through the entire process of every master recipe she includes - again, with detailed photos.
And I love how she has multiple master recipes, such as:
Oval Artisan Loaf
Sandwich Loaf
Flatbread and Pizza
Round Rolls
Focaccia
Then, within each master recipe, she breaks it down even further to give you variety. For the Oval Artisan Loaf, it breaks down to:
Cider and Apple Loaf
Cheese and Jalapeno Loaf
Whole Wheat Oval Loaf
Cranberry and Hazelnut Loaf
And so much more!
She has tips and tricks for mastering the sourdough baking process. And her recipes …
She walks you through the “prepare your dough” process in step format - and gives you a schedule to help keep you on track. Quite honestly, I just love how user-friendly she’s made this cookbook.
So … it’s time to get busy. Want to join me?
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