The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods [120 Recipes for Vitality and Optimal Health]

256 Pages·2013·1.27 MB·English

by  Rebecca Katz

The information contained in this book is based on the experience and research of the authors. It is not
intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other health-care provider. Any attempt to
diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a health-care professional. The
publisher and authors are not responsible for any adverse e�ects or consequences resulting from the use
of any of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book.
Copyright © 2013 by Rebecca Katz
Photographs copyright © 2013 by Leo Gong
Foreword copyright © 2013 by Andrew Weil, MD
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Discovering Your Culinary GPS was originally published in di�erent form in The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen
by Rebecca Katz published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of
Random House, Inc. in 2009.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on �le with the publisher
eBook ISBN: 9781607742951
Hardcover ISBN: 9781607742944
Food styling by Jen Straus
Prop styling by Christine Wolheim
v3.1
For my husband, Gregg, who adds so much to my life.

Contents
Foreword by Andrew Weil, MD
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: Food, Nutrition, and Your Body
CHAPTER 2: The Healing Power of Food
CHAPTER 3: Making the Most of This Book
CHAPTER 4: Life-Enhancing Soups and Broths
CHAPTER 5: Vital Vegetables
CHAPTER 6: Generous Grains
CHAPTER 7: Protein-Building Foods
CHAPTER 8: Nibbles and Noshes
CHAPTER 9: Dollops of Yum!
CHAPTER 10: Invigorating Tonics and Elixirs
CHAPTER 11: Sweet Bites
Resources
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
Foreword
I want to take a moment to tell you about two of the most
important healing tools I rely upon: my garden and my kitchen.
I make it a priority to spend time in both of them, no matter how busy I am. As
a physician, I believe we live in perilous times, especially with regard to aging
gracefully—that is, with strength and vitality keeping pace with our internal
calendar. In the last hundred years, medicine has taken us farther,
chronologically, that at any time in human history. If you had been born in
America in 1900, your life expectancy would have been just over forty-eight
years. Jump forward a century, and a tiny bundle of male joy born on the �rst
day of the second millennium can expect to live to reach seventy-�ve, while his
twin sister can expect to reach eighty!
It should be a time of celebration, but for many people, the expectancy of
those extra twenty-�ve to thirty years is tinged with trepidation. Medicine may
have given us years, but it has also disconnected us from all that gives us
personal control over how well we age. What’s happened to us, including an
increasing sense of helplessness as we age, is a conglomeration of unintended
consequences. Longer lifespans led to longer work lives, greater stress, less
time for self-care—such as a nourishing, home-made meal—and less societal
patience for those who would “indulge” in such things as family over work.
Our dependence on modern medicine has led us to abdicate responsibility for
our own personal maintenance.
Our parents—and our grandparents even more so—ran their own kitchens,
had their own workshops, and were generally more self-reliant. Medicine was
originally rooted in nature, drawing on the healing powers of herbs, spices,
and food. Both the Latin and Greek roots of the word physician relate to
knowledge of nature, while the Latin word for “doctor” means “teacher.”
You’ve heard the phrase “Physician, heal thyself!” Most likely it was an
admonition to physicians to inspire their patients to take care of themselves by
setting a good example.
We are at a critical moment in terms of societal health. I’ll be blunt: we’ve
reached the top of this rollercoaster ride, and if we don’t relearn how to really
take care of ourselves, the plunge towards chronic illness is not only going to
be steep, but will begin earlier in life. It’s one thing to consider a long, vital life
with a quick denouement, another to face the reality of ten, twenty, or thirty
years or more of chronic impairments. It’s already beginning; lifespans are on
the verge of shortening, with obesity and type 2 diabetes now threatening the
entire population, including the very young.
But this doesn’t have to be our collective fate. With my long experience in the
garden, I’ve devoted much of my professional life to educating people about
how they can use great foods, deliciously prepared, to create a sense of well
being that they can enjoy every day and nurture them across a lifetime. It is a
philosophy that my colleague and kindred spirit, Rebecca Katz, embraces with
her heart and soul, and whose essence is imprinted in every page of this
inspiring, informative cookbook. Rebecca and her co-author, medical writer
Mat Edelson, have delectably fused together a blend of taste and science that is
irresistible to the palate and the mind.
Rebecca’s enthusiasm is impossible to miss; it makes you want to jump over
the countertop and get behind the stove. Reading this book, you get the very
real sense that she’s right beside you with a smile of encouragement. Those
new to the kitchen will love her embracing style, while veteran home cooks—
and I can say this, being one of them—will marvel at her easy-to-learn
techniques to enhance taste and �avor.
In a time of crisis—the vast majority of Americans no longer know how to
cook—Rebecca’s book is literally a lifeline to longevity. It meets readers
wherever they are along the cooking/nutrition spectrum. That’s the key to
creating a rapport. The delight in these pages is that for those who just want to
eat delicious and healthy food, any recipe in this book will accomplish that.
But inevitably, that �rst encounter will draw you in deeper. Believe me, the
experience of your taste buds and the way your body feels after eating this way
create a soul-level desire to know more. The information is all here, written in
entertaining language accessible to both the layperson and wellness
professional. I appreciate the depth of scienti�c information in this book—
every ingredient’s link to longevity and wellness is covered—and its
presentation in a way that is incredibly accessible.
Rebecca has a phrase that encapsulates the message I’ve always used to
encourage people to eat well. She says, “Great nourishing food and great taste
can joyfully coexist at the dinner table.” I say, “Good health begins in the
kitchen.” Life is too short—and eating too regular—to not make every meal
both healthy and delicious. You can learn to live and thrive this way,
throughout all your years.
All you have to do is peer inside this book.
Andrew Weil, MD
Tucson, Arizona
Acknowledgments
The Longevity Kitchen was graced by a community of people who
gave fully of their time and talents to make this book all that it
could be. Together we’d like to thank:
Andrew Weil, MD, you have our eternal gratitude and appreciation for your
support and encouragement during this project and for your inspirational
foreword.
Joseph Pizzorno, ND; Cynthia Geyer, MD; Colleen Fogarty Draper, MD, RD;
Kathie Swift, MS, RD, LDN; Dale E. Bredesen, MD; Stephen Sinatra, MD;
Jeanne Wallace, PhD; and Annemarie Colbin, PhD. We are blessed and grateful
for your singular and cumulative expertise, which have informed and enhanced
these pages.
Jeremy Katz, our wonderful agent and friend who provided savvy guidance
during all aspects of this project, and his son Simon Katz for his inspiring
culinary concoction.
Julie and Stan Burford, along with their pooch Josie. A huge culinary hug to
all of you (and a special belly skritch for Josie) for buoying up Mat and myself
with nourishing meals, wisdom, and a major dollop of moral support.
The fantastic folks at Ten Speed Press: talk about a dream team! We thank
publisher Aaron Wehner and editorial director Julie Bennett for their
dedication to this project; Melissa Moore, editor extraordinaire, for using her
razor sharp editorial eye to sculpt the manuscript into its current form and for
sheperding us through the editorial process with calm certainty; Chloe Rawlins
for delivering yet another masterful and beautiful design; Toni Tajima for
lending us her art director’s keen eye during the photo shoot; Jasmine Star for
her extraordinary copyediting; Jean Bloomquist, our proof reader, for crossing
the T’s and dotting the I’s; Patricia Kelly, Michele Crim, Ali Slagle, and Ashley
Matuzak for their sales and marketing expertise; and Kara Van de Water for her
public relations wizardry.
So many people have told us how important beautiful photography is
towards setting an uplifting tone. We are continuously smitten with the talents
of photographer Leo Gong and his fantastic team, including food stylist Jen
Straus, who created the beautiful, tantalizing, and sumptuous images that
grace the pages of this book. You guys are amazing! Thanks also to Jen’s
assistant Alexa Hyman; Leo’s wife, Harumi; and mascot Samantha the
dachsund for support during the photo shoot.
If you’ve never heard of Gene Kranz, look him up; he brought safely home
every NASA �ight he directed. “Failure is not an option,” was his motto, and