Frequently Asked Questions

Also see Time Saving Tips, Bulk Storage, Freezing, and the Library of recommended cook books and books on food politics.

I paid for a Cook for Good ebook but didn't click on link to download it. What to do?

Please just send your PayPal receipt to support@cookforgood.com from the email address you used to place the order. I'll send you directions for downloading your copy. The trick was to click on the "Return to Cook for Good" button on the last PayPal screen to download your ebook, but it's easy to miss. Thanks for ordering!

What is "thrifty" or "regular"?

The thrifty, regular prices are for goods that you'd find in a standard grocery store bought with thrift in mind. No products contain transfats. Often the fruit and vegetables come from the farmers market and when the price is right, other items such as corn meal are local too. But these products make no claims of being organic, sustainably raised, hormone free, free range, or the like.

What is "green"?

The green prices are for goods that are bought with health, sustainability, and kindness in mind. The fruits and vegetables are organic or sustainably raised. The beans, flour, milk, and butter are organic. I prefer eggs from local, pastured chickens who roam around outside and eat whatever bugs or leafy things that they can get, plus whatever wholesome feed the farmer gives them. If these aren't available, the eggs come from the big suppliers who raise free-range chickens on organic, vegetarian feed. Organic cheese is still very expensive and hard to get, but the "green" cheese is at least free from Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), also known as Bovine somatotropin (BST). Update March 2009: I've been able to find and am now including in the prices organic versions of cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, hot sauce, and couscous.

Butter: salted or unsalted ?

Salted butter. There are good reasons to buy unsalted butter for high-end baking, but salted butter lasts longer and you don't have to buy two types.

Where do you get spices so cheaply?

For the green plan, I get spices in the bulk section at Whole Foods. Spices are amazingly cheap if you don't keep buying the bottles.  If you don't have Whole Foods or other store that sells in bulk, check out the ethnic groceries. At the regular grocery store, I always check the international section for good prices on spices.

How can I live without my coffee/wine/chocolate bars/salsa/etc.?

Don't! Give yourself a treat! Have home-brewed coffee every morning or a bottle of wine a week. Unless you are seriously following this eating plan for financial reasons and need every extra penny, you'll be able to afford to splurge a bit on something that really gives you pleasure. You'll have done so much good the rest of the day or week that you'll still be ahead of the game. Sometimes I buy a jar of my favorite salsa, especially in the winter. My strawberry shortcake gets topped with whipping cream in the spring.

Where's the beef? And the chicken or fish?

Well, there isn't any. People sometimes exclaim with shock that we "gave up meat" to do this, but we haven't eaten it at home for years. I'm a flexitarian for health, environmental, and moral reasons, eating meat only in social situations where not doing so would be rude. To me, good vegetarian meals like the ones featured here are simply more interesting and tasty.

But that doesn't mean that you can't add some meat. Especially when you first get started, you might want to roast a chicken once a week, then have chicken and rice one night, and then finally make chicken soup with the bones. Have a tuna sandwich or put some pepperoni on a pizza. Use meat sparingly as a garnish or as a treat for a special occasion, such roasting a turkey at Thanksgiving. Even if you just switch one meal a week from meat to beans, you will be saving money and doing good. If you can, use the money you saved to buy meat that has been humanely raised and not loaded with hormones or antibiotics.

Will I get enough nutrients on this eating plan?

I'm not a nutritionist, but this seems to be a balanced diet, providing enough protein and calcium for the average adult and having a good mix of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. I had a complete physical, including a blood workup, after our initial summer trial of this diet and passed with full marks.

Each "serving" is sized for a moderately active adult who has a lean body mass of around 150 pounds. Of course, some family members will eat more than others. In this way, your track-star teenaged son will get more protein and other nutrients than your elderly in-law or your spouse with the desk job. If you are a diabetic or have other special dietary needs, please consult a nutritionist or physician.

Protein — It provides enough protein for average adults (usually between 55 and 60 grams a day).How much is enough? Nutritionist Jane Brody answered that question for me on her New York Times blog:

The amount of protein you need each day is a function of your lean body mass (not your weight if you are overweight). You can calculate your need by multiplying your ideal weight in pounds by 0.36 to get grams of protein needed daily by an adult who is not pregnant or nursing.

So that would be 36 grams of protein a day if your ideal weight is 100 pounds, 54 grams if it's 150, and 72 grams if it's 200 pounds. Ironically, too much protein can actually lead to osteoporosis and other problems. According to Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating, digesting protein creates acid, which causes the calcium to leach out of your bones to neutralize it. Animal protein leaches more calcium than vegetable protein. Harvard's Nurses' Health Study found that women who ate the most meat were more likely to break their wrists than those who ate the least.

Calcium — The Cook for Good eating plan also provides around 600 milligrams of calcium every day. That's more than the 400 - 500 mg that the World Health Organization recommends to prevent osteoporosis. Of course, as with any diet, you need to get sunlight and exercise to put that calcium to work. On the other hand, the U.K. recommends 700 mg a day and the U.S. recommends 1,000 to 1,500 mg a day. Are these higher numbers there to make up for the bone loss in diets high in animal protein? Or to satisfy the active dairy lobby? Let me say again that I'm not a nutritionist. If you want to, add a multi-vitamin, a glass of milk, or a glass of calcium-fortified orange juice every day.

Dessert every day? Isn't that too much sugar?

In 2003, the average American consumed 142 pounds of sugar and sweeteners a year. On the Cook for Good plan, a person would eat just 23 pounds of sweeteners a year, plus a little more if eating sweetened peanut butter. And there is no high-fructose corn syrup, just sugar and honey.

The desserts are healthy, too. One day it might be two oatmeal-raisin cookies, made with whole-wheat flour, whole-grain oats, and raisins. Another day it might be a cup cake made with whole-wheat flour, carrots, oil instead of butter, and just glazed with ginger instead of loaded with frosting. In the summer menus, you'll see a lot more fruit being used. So it's a taste of sweetness, not an overload.

What about diabetics? Don't they need to eat a lot of meat?

Diabetics need to work with their doctors to make sure they are following the best diet for their individual cases. But diabetics don't have to eat meat. Here's what an endocrinologist from the Mayo Clinic says about vegetarian diets for diabetics:

Changing to a vegetarian diet probably won't cure your diabetes. But it may offer some benefits over a nonvegetarian diet — such as helping to better control your weight, reducing your risk of some diabetes-associated complications, and possibly even making your body more responsive to insulin.

The New York Times reported on a study that says eating beans and nuts is important for diabetics:

People with Type 2 diabetes on a high-fiber diet kept their blood sugar under better control when they ate foods like beans and nuts instead of the recommended whole-grain diet, researchers have found.

Where's the variety?

Some people ask about the variety in the Cook for Good menu plan, as if beans, pasta, pizza, and eggs cooked a variety of ways is any less interesting than meat cooked a variety of ways. I tried to create a lot of variety by working with the timing and presentation of basic dishes.

And the monthly menu plan for Cook for Good changes with the seasons. Indulge in strawberries and asparagus in the spring, because you won't be seeing them the rest of the year. in the summer you'll be eating peaches, blueberries, and tomatoes. In the fall and winter, find warmth in winter squash, greens, root vegetables, and apples.

It's true that the Cook for Good plan, even with seasonal variation, can’t compare to international dazzle you can find at a food court or the choices at a mix of fine restaurants. But it’s also a lot more variety than my former neighbor ever got, whose only (yes only) vegetable for his entire adult life was home-canned butter beans. Just wouldn't eat anything else. Lots of families when I was growing up had seven-day meal plans. Does anyone here remember “Meat Loaf Thursdays”? Maybe these days it’s “Big Mac Thursdays”!

Why don't you show green prices for yeast, sugar, and corn starch?

Organic versions of these items are available, but they are very expensive. I don't recommend buying organic versions of items used in small quantities that cost more than twice as much as the regular versions. In January 2009, for example, organic corn starch cost 575% more than regular corn starch. On the other hand, that's only 16 cents for organic instead of 2 cents for regular. If you have the money and desire to go organic on everything though, that's terrific.