Welcome

Honestly, being told to change your eating habits to right your health sounds like a chore. Adding one more should to the overwhelming pile of shoulds that a cancer patient is facing can be a non-starter. One friend told the author that “Eat more veggies,” was the worst advice she’d ever heard…at that moment. “What about my comfort food that I need more than ever?” “My appetite is already off. I can’t give up things that still taste good to me.” “I’m too busy going to appointments, and I have no energy left.” Your doctor is right about the produce, but she can’t possibly take you to the farmers’ market, can’t teach you kitchen short-cuts or teach you recipes. You need some help here.

This book aims to make eating fresh, healthy food more like a delicious upgrade and less like a daunting slog (on top of all the other sloggy parts of cancer). It provides both usable, understandable information on what plant foods can do for you and delicious ways to enjoy them.

After a welcome to the author’s farm, some introductory basics and general tips like “Three Good Knives”, “I’m Supposed To Eat (fill-in the blank). How Do I Make It Not Suck?” or “I Can’t Just Eat Everything Raw Like A Rabbit!”, the book is organized by season, featuring helpful topics and uplifting scenes from the farm. In each chapter, cancer survivors provide some Real Talk, tips that worked for them (Ex: Best Smoothie I Ever Made, The Worst Advice I Ever Got, Mouth-Friendly Food That Doesn’t Seem Like Baby Food). Since your stamina for reading may be limited, sections are brief, so you can enjoy small portions whenever you like. There are explainers, tips, and reference sections. In between, there are farm photos that encourage a reader to picture themselves on a beautiful farm, take a breather and connect with nature, and get an appetite for luscious, vibrant food that comes from a place of wellness.
Note: this is best read on a larger tablet/screen!

About the Author:
Kerin Gould has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Health and a PhD in Native American Studies. (So she’s a doctor, but not that kind of doctor!) She has worked with food-related non-profits and taught a high school farm-to-fork program, but eventually focused on developing her own sustainable, non-toxic, wildlife-friendly farm and exploring a new way to connect vibrant fruit and veggies to those who strive to enhance their health with farm-fresh produce.

From the Author:
Since my dad passed away from prostate cancer, I have been teaching classes on veg-centric eating for folks facing cancer. The classes combine nutrition information (just enough), a cooking demo, and a bag of fresh produce from my farm. I have seen attendees sit down to eat together at the end of class, often wary of “health food”, only to be surprised and relieved. They end up saying “I can do this. I’m going home and make this for dinner.” Or, “Even my husband would eat THIS!”, and “You should write a cookbook!” But I wanted to create something more than a simple cookbook! I wanted to provide the how and why – how to make veggies taste great and why their benefits are helpful.

I’ve learned a lot from participants in my classes. For example, folks going through treatment face so many obstacles to eating well, or eating at all, that I’ve made all my recipes stupid-easy, madly tasty, and secretly healthy. I know that super-fresh produce provides the most flavor, color and joy, as well as the most nutrients, with the least amount of cooking fuss. Nothing exotic, no one-trick gadgets needed, no foo-foo soufflés to collapse and demoralize, nothing that tastes like twigs and dirt.As a fruit and vegetable grower, I want to share the flavor of fresh produce just for the joy of it, but as the daughter and friend of people who have gone through cancer, I also want to share its purpose: helping you resist cancer.