Passport To The Good Life

You are in for a treat. A cornucopia of original dishes fit for the most discerning palate were created by our food editor, the Kitchen Shrink. Mixed in with them are secret family recipes the FreeRangeClub crew were ‘persuaded’ to divulge (promise! no thumbscrews or truth serum were involved). FreeRangeClub fans scoured cookbooks dedicated to healthy eating and selected some excellent recipes for us—which we, of course, had to tweak a bit, then test in the kitchen, to make sure they conformed to our health-nutty standards.
So dive in. Browse to your heart’s content through the recipes selected for your enjoyment and good health.Choose favorite foods–or toss caution and old habits to the winds and go for exotic new flavors.
Recipes come with humorous anecdotes and historical pedigrees of dishes and ingredient—for you to chuckle over, and show off with at dinnertime. Culinary advice and conversation topics in the same place—pretty cool, eh?
To start, let FreeRanger shortcuts make your grocery shopping a breeze by leading you directly to wholesome, taste-buds-thrilling foods that energize body and mind. Huge time-saver: We read labels—fine print and all—to help you avoid the minefields of toxic additives, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, trans-fats, genetically engineered grains and processed foods—which have as much nutritional value as an old sock. Knowledge is power. Take charge of your life with the help of constantly updated information (collected from reliable sources and analyzed by independent researchers) about the safety of our food supply.
Find out which foods are best for you—and in what combinations. (See Dr. Carolyn Mein’s http://www.bodytype.com)
We invite you to talk back to us, brainstorm, correct mistakes, argue or voice your disagreement with any FreeRanger’s posted information. Contribute your own information and opinions, making them credible and convincing by adding your reasoning, as well as your sources. In short, let’s make a helpful and ever-expanding forum for the development of scientific and experience-based information about the role that foods play in helping us protect our health, enhance our energy levels and live long and productive lives.
In spite of our enthusiasm, we’re not here to twist any arms… Feel free to choose whatever you find useful—and skip the rest. Or return for more, if and when you are ready. The Healthy Gourmet Train picks up anyone who is sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Or sad, for that matter—since depression, too, is often linked to what we put into our mouths. Of course, the thought of making even moderate changes in one’s eating habits can seem more terrifying than skydiving without a parachute. It certainly was to the founders of the Free Range Club–and we suspect it to be for some of you.
But here’s the thing—tried and now repeatedly tested: Terror is instantly replaced by a sense of wellbeing when a rejuvenating salad or other nutritious fare is substituted for some deep-fried ‘delicacy’. It may come as a shock to salt-, sugar- and fat-addicted taste-buds to be confronted with the flavors of fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and other goodies, but they do adjust. In fact, you might be confused by how quickly you’ll play catch-up to your body, as it directs your eyes to the heart-healthy part of menus, and your legs to supermarkets’ organic shelves. Feeling well is the carrot that makes the journey painless. The memory of bloat and looming disease is the stick that keeps the traveler on the straight and narrow.
Still, breaking the junk food addiction is no picnic. Let’s face it, few things are more nerve-wracking than a tug of war inside every cell of your body, during which the withdrawal-crazed half is screaming “I want what I like—NOOOW!”—while the scared-healthy half tastes the garden-fresh produce and exclaims with relief, “Hey! This isn’t bad at all…” And as the fragrant herbs and palate-tickling spices burst through any remaining resistance, here come the ‘oooo’s and ‘mmm’s—followed by a surge of energy (“Wow! I feel jazzed!… Let’s go for a walk!”). Be advised: This could be quite unnerving for someone accustomed to the post-meal lethargy of a beached whale ready for its nap.
The good news is that even backsliders eventually find themselves metamorphosing from wimpy caterpillars to energized butterflies, ready to live life in full flight.

Dina Eliash Robinson