Fit Food Fast and Real Fresh Food

 

 

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As a keen cook and collector of cookery books I'm always interested in the latest trends to appear on bookstore shelves. As a new decade begins, fast fresh food is all the go and two such paperback offerings are to hand.

Fit Food Fast: Healthy Food for Families on the Run (Random House, RRP $29.99) is not a title to inspire confidence; the mere thought of all that dashing about at meal times is enough to get the gastric juices churning. Still, the recipes are simple enough, the nutrition advice is useful, the layout is a breeze to follow and the photographs are mouth-watering. So why the reservations?

With the authors' emphasis on speed there is no suggestion that a diet of both fast and slow food might achieve a better balance. Constant eating on the run robs us of the pleasure of enjoying each other's company over a leisurely meal.

And, more to the point, what's so healthy about leading such incredibly busy lives? Most of the recipes contain one or two Nestle products, which to my mind makes the publication – a joint effort of the giant food corporation and the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health – little more than a glossy advertorial.

Idon't know about you, but I would rather go to the dentist than eat couscous flavoured with onion soup mix or add pre-packaged mint gravy to fresh lamb mince.

A dozen elite Kiwi athletes "share their healthy eating strategies" with us. Perhaps the idea is to inspire us with what the likes of Valerie Vili, Moss Burmester or Michael Campbell eat for breakfast. Personally, I couldn't give a toss, but at what point does their need for a specialised high-energy diet intersect with the nutritional needs of the average family?

By comparison, Real Fresh Food: Healthy Meals for Busy People (by Anna and Roger Wilde, New Holland, RRP $39.99) is on firmer ground.

With less emphasis on quick prep and cooking and more on fresh ingredients, it presents a host of imaginative recipes, a few of which I shall try. I was put off, however, by the finger-wagging advice about healthy lifestyles that opens the book, not to mention the number of exotic ingredients called for. Think quinoa, bee pollen, buckwheat flour, flaxseeds, pomegranate molasses, unhulled tahini, spelt flour, stevia powder, spirulina, whey protein powder, puha, miso, tamarind paste, shoyu, black sesame seeds, tamari, karengo, kelp powder – and we've only reached page 44.

Most recipes are touted as gluten-free – a plus for the few among us with a genuine gluten intolerance – and some are accompanied by info that threatens to spoil our eating enjoyment.

Do we really need to know that fresh coriander is a "powerful detoxifier" (whatever that means)? I love it for its fabulous flavour.

A recipe I will never prepare is the authors' version of coriander pesto, ruined in my opinion by the omission of any kind of cheese and the bizarre addition of dried coconut, pomegranate molasses and chilli sauce.

In short, a "health-nut" feeling pervades the book, and where's the fun in that?

- © Fairfax NZ News