Preface

This book is my rallying cry to transform how we cook and what we eat. It is a collection of strategies, science-based advice, recipes, and kitchen tips that expand on the notion of good food. For years now, good food has been described as what tastes good and/or is good for us. That tells only part of the story. Defining good food in passive and self-centric terms such as how it tastes and how it affects our bodies is simply not adequate for our times.

When I first started writing this book, COVID-19 was the stuff of Hollywood movies and Robin Cook novels. The world has certainly transformed since then, and the impact of the global pandemic continues to be felt in every aspect of our lives. Along with the virus, we are facing climate chaos events in real life. Further, we’re only now uncovering how our social and economic systems were built upon generations of utter inequality and injustice.

The antidote to this feeling of helplessness is action: an urgent collective effort that will bring society forward; collective action that, like so many other wonderful things, begins around the dinner table.

During the pandemic, when many of us found ourselves at home for months on end, cooking brought joy and creativity into our otherwise repetitive and lonely routines. Cooking at home, a much-maligned and mundane task, was finally trending. This was the time most of us were unlearning old habits and adopting those that would keep us, and others, safe.

When meeting friends and family and people outside our bubbles became restricted, we truly appreciated gathering with our loved ones. With forests burning and the doomsday clock ticking closer to catastrophe (when I started writing this book in 2020, it was at 100 seconds to midnight; since then, it has paused at 90 seconds to midnight in 2023), we are finally seeing it is simply not enough to look out for ourselves and our families; we must also look after the planet.

That’s where this book comes in. Good Food, Healthy Planet reveals the secrets behind making good food that is delicious, good for us, and good for the planet. Using mainly shelf-stable ingredients that are within reach for most and following simple recipes and techniques, this book provides practical advice that is based on the latest scientific evidence on gut health and its connection with mental health, as well as the impact our food choices have on the environment. This book eases the burden of decision-making at home and shows us how we can prioritize our personal well-being and the prosperity of the planet, all at the same time.

Good Food, Healthy Planet is written for people and the planet, with the best interests of both at heart. I am deeply grateful for your attention and regard in picking up this book, and I invite you on this journey toward health, happiness, and prosperity for all.

What to Expect in This Book

Good Food, Healthy Planet is a celebration of good food and dishes that offer a feeling of plenty, even during times of constraint and shortages. Along with delicious flavours, here you’ll also discover robust, often overlooked ingredients that, my hope is, will inspire you to be creative in the kitchen. It’s not about small steps and incremental change anymore; instead, we need giant leaps toward good-for-us, climate-conscious habits to help us all make the best of what we have. This book is written for people who work hard to sustain themselves and their families every single day, who are thinking beyond what’s on their plate; it’s not only about flavour and personal well-being, but also about the long-term impacts of what we cook and eat.

In 2019, a team of top scientists from around the world came together as part of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health to investigate if a healthy diet could save the planet. The answer was a resounding “not if, but how.”

The book that you hold in your hands translates the science from multiple sources, including recommendations from the planetary health diet created by EAT-Lancet and the recent food and mood research. It is shaped by my Indian roots and lays out what I have learned in practical, climate-conscious strategies, recipes, and tips to change the way you cook and eat every day.

At the core of the book lies an accessible and achievable framework that I call Eating with Benefits, a practical and ridiculously doable approach that keeps the health of people and the planet front and centre.

Past the framework, you will find kitchen stocking advice—what you need to have on hand to cook and eat in this new way, a way that I’m glad to share doesn’t cost much and isn’t overly complicated either. You’ll see that I subscribe to the “power of less” principle even while stocking the kitchen. It’s about affordable, planet-friendly ingredients, a short list of kitchen essentials, and easy-to-follow practices that work for real life.

The recipe collection is the final section of this book. I’ve kept them, just like the recipes on my website, mapleandmarigold.com, easy to customize. It’s all about building delicious flavours with spices and ingredients, tried and tested recipes, and cooking creatively to double your veggies, love your lentils, boost your beans, swap out the meat, and more. You’ll also find my quick hacks and tricks scattered throughout the pages, with recipe notes and #GoGreen tips to connect you to the food and to soothe any confusion as much as possible.

Let this book be your guide. Once you have had a chance to read it, bring it back to your kitchen and store it in a drawer so it’s always within reach. Let it catch some battle scars—a few oil splashes and a turmeric stain or two—then show these scars off with pride. For there’s glory in home cooking. We’re the unsung heroes of boring, mundane routines who fight a rigorous battle in the kitchen every day. And when the kitchen is clean and the dishwasher is loaded, we emerge from the kitchen, victorious.

A final note, while I have you. Good Food, Healthy Planet is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2015, all the UN member states agreed to 17 goals in total that were created as a “blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” The three in particular with which my work and this book align are:

• SDG 2—zero hunger
• SDG 3—good health and well-being
• SDG 12—responsible consumption and production