Many would argue , there is no one right way to eat. If there was, there wouldn’t be a billion-dollar industry of fad diets or our own constant tinkering with experiments in eating. Finding Balance is certainly an attempt to find a healthy, commonsensical approach to selecting, preparing, and eating nutritious foods.

More recently, however, I’ve written that shopping and cooking is every bit as important as eating. In the words of Ann Vileisis,

Not to know at large of things remote from use, obscure and subtle, but to know that which before us lies in daily life, is the prime wisdom.
– Milton, as quoted by Ann Vileisis in Kitchen Literacy

What is Kitchen literacy? It’s knowing what food to prepare and how, when it’s in season, and when it’s most ripe. It speaks to an intimate knowledge of your spice rack, your cooking equipment, and the ability to read a recipe. Kitchen literacy also means having some connection to the sources of the fruits and vegetables and other foods in our diet. Gaining that literacy, especially with family and friends, should be pleasurable — part of the cool-down for a day of any vigorous mental or physical activity.