The Taos Whole Foods Cookbook: Healthy Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle

In Taos last weekend, I was browsing through a local bookstore and stumbled across the Taos Whole Foods Cookbook. I couldn't resist buying it—especially in a town that knows what vegetarians and vegans are but doesn't necessarily prioritize them, the "450 dairy-free, sugar-free and egg-free recipes" really jumped out at me.

It's filled with nutritional information about vegetables, grains, and spices you know and some you don't, which can be a great way to start menu-planning if you're looking to get more of certain nutrients into your diet. (Calcium, for example, is a great one to get from plant sources—dairy actually isn't a good source for people, despite what the milk commercials tell you.)

There are recipes to meet every need and to fill every part of the day: there's a section for drinks and for breakfast, for salads, sauces & condiments, lunch, vegetables, entries, breads, and desserts—there's also a backpacking section to help prepare a menu for your next outing, or tell you what foods or herbs will help your next bee sting (paste of baking soda and water. Blister? Try a goldenseal-clay paste).

There's a wealth of creative and actually tasty-sounding recipes, and the book has enough variety for long-term use. It also covers enough basics, like homemade salad dressings and veggie burgers, that it can serve as a great transition aid to a healthier diet, even if you're not ready to give up refined foods full-time.

I called Harriet Greene, the cookbook's co-author, when I got home to learn a little more about how and why she made the (self-published) book. She said it "started out with certain health things that I wanted to cure naturally, and it just mushroomed into a life thing." She said she only eats organic, fresh food, and has been doing so since 1973. She loves sugar and junk food, but doesn't like how she feels after she eats those foods—so she doesn't. And she doesn't eat dairy, she said: "even though I love cheese, I have given it up more or less."

She made the book because when she and her family were moving several years ago, they had to cut down on all the stuff they'd accumulated, including hundreds of cookbooks. She had scraps of her favorite recipes, so she decided to put them all together into one consolidated cookbook—and it's now the only one she uses. (Visit her site to learn about her other work as an artist, including her current project, Sculpting for Peace.)

The book is definitely for people who are striving to be a little healthier—it's not a vegetarian cookbook for meat addicts filled with fried fake chicken and that sort of thing. But if you're looking to eat a little healthier, or if you're like me and want to eat more of certain foods but don't know what to pair them with, this cookbook comes in really handy.

To order the book, email Harriet at backroadspr@gmail.com.