August/September 2005
Cultivating
Relational Intelligence
Nina Simons
Crimes
Against Democracy: An Interview with Thom Hartmann
Jim Guiness
Rebirth
in the Forest
Will Sears
Right
Living, and Surviving, After The Age Of Oil
John Darling
Permaculture
and Place
Steve Gabriel
Think
of Local Food First
Wendy Siporen
Sustainable
Living at Solviva
Anna Edey
Year-Round
Gardening in Home and GreenHouse
Jeffrey M. Smith
The
Greening of Cuba
Caroline Whyte
A
Path of Peace, Kindness and Compassion
Jody Woodruff
From
Hurt to Heart
Eryn Kalish
Epictetus'
Handbook Revisited
Gay Hendricks & Phillip Johncock
The
Sky of Now
Katie Davis
The
Complete Book of Raw Food
Reviewed by Rachel Bendat
Whole
Foods Companion
Reviewed by Rachel Bendat
Cosmic
Calendar
Salina Rain
Whole
Foods Companion
Reviewed by Rachel Bendat
Dianne Onstad’s Whole Foods Companion is an excellent reference book of plant-based foods. The foods are organized by category and then organized alphabetically within each category. Each entry contains information on the plant’s botanical name and the food’s history, folklore, buying tips, culinary uses, health benefits, and nutritional data.
In the introduction Onstad explains that the nutritional composition tables provide only an estimate of each food’s fat, carbohydrate, protein, vitamin, and mineral content. Nutrient values of foods may vary widely depending upon the conditions of the soil, weather, storage and preparation.
The first section is devoted to well over one hundred fruits. The English word fruit comes from the Latin verb frui. Not surprisingly, that verb means “to enjoy or take pleasure in.”
Throughout history people have enjoyed apples. There are over seventy-five hundred varieties of cooking and dessert apples, and you can learn about more than forty of them in this book. Under buying tips for apples, Onstad writes, “To Henry David Thoreau, ever the grouchy purist, an apple had no spirit if not eaten under the tree from which it was picked. Nevertheless, most of us will continue to shop for apples.” Many of the food entries begin with a quote or verse, which are like little sparkling jewels throughout. Here are two examples:
“One of the most astonishing of recent trends in science is that many top physicists and cosmologists now defend the wild notion that not only are universes as common as blackberries, but even more common.” - Martin Gardner
“Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.” - Wendell Berry
In addition to inspiring quotes, many of the entries also contain fascinating stories about the food’s history in the cultures of the world. One legend tells of a radish in Judea which was so large that a fox hollowed it out and made it his home. Later the people weighed the radish and found it to be almost one hundred pounds!
Did you know that quinoa, the sacred grain of the Incas, is a high-energy food with high amounts of protein and calcium? Or that there are over seven thousand varieties of rice? One story in the Lore and Legend of rice says that in Malayan tradition, rice has a soul similar to humans and is presided over by the great Rice Mother. Therefore, flowering rice is treated with the same respect accorded to pregnant women.
Legumes or beans are a staple food throughout the world. They are so ancient and have been so necessary to humanity, that the original root word for beans was probably associated with the Sanskrit verb “to eat.”
The last two sections cover Nuts, Seeds, Oils, Herbs, Spices, and Other Foods. How can you tell if an oil is good or bad? Onstad writes, “Within seconds of swallowing a teaspoon of vital oil, your mouth feels fresh and clean. It’s as if your body, knowing that good oil is indispensable, invites it right in.” She also writes that coconut oil, used in the Ayurvedic medicine of India for over four thousand years, contains one of the few significant plant sources of lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA), which is also found in human breastmilk.
In addition to being a great reference book the Whole Foods Companion brings awareness to the sacred quality of all food and can be a useful tool in exciting children and teenagers about whole foods.
After reading about the lore and legends of foods, the next time I eat I will remember that somewhere, sometime in the history of human beings on the earth, someone has revered this food. As I eat a handful of sunflower seeds, I’ll think of the Plains Indians placing ceremonial bowls of sunflower seeds on the graves of their dead. And, when eating a fresh apricot, will contemplate why the nectar of that fruit was the preferred drink of the Greek and Roman gods.
Rachel Bendat is an Ashland writer, certified postpartum doula, and mama of two wonderful boys, Zachariah and Gabriel.
Whole Foods
Companion
A guide for adventurous cooks, curious shoppers, and lovers of natural
foods.
By Dianne Onstad
2004, Revised and Expanded Edition
Chelsea Green Publishing
533 pages, $35
Reviewed By Rachel Bendat
