Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World

“Disentangling ourselves from restrictive eating patterns and focusing on sustainable and enjoyable nourishment is liberating,” declares dietitian Feller (Southern Comfort Food Diabetes Cookbook) in this wide-ranging exploration of healthy eating. Her intention to decolonize accepted notions of mindful eating is clear from the start, and she includes dishes and practices from the African diaspora and other non-Western cuisines to spotlight the foods that “have often been left out of health and culinary conversations.” Feller enlists the help of seven expert chefs, offering creative dishes like savory French toast imbued with Indian spice and stuffed with cashew cream, or watermelon “steaks” treated to a marinade of beets, tamarind, and hibiscus leaves to intensify their color and add tart flavor notes. Her own Caribbean heritage is celebrated in several ways, including a coconut quick bread from Trinidad and Tobago and the vegetarian diet of Jamaica’s Rastafarians, whose Ital stew contains pumpkin, plantains, okra, split peas, corn, and habanero pepper. Sprinkled throughout are essays that explore histories of global cuisines and track the ways ingredients spread through trade and enslavement. A helpful chart of plant-based substitutions for meat and dairy ingredients adds to the richness of this well-researched guide. Those seeking healthy recipes and culturally diverse fare will be pleased. Agent: Josanne Lopez, Lopez Talent Management. (Jan.)