by Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel
Arsenal Pulp Press
10/13/2015, paperback
SKU: 9781551525921
"More than just a cookbook, Decolonize Your Diet redefines what is meant by "traditional" Mexican food by reaching back through hundreds of years of history to reclaim heritage crops as a source of protection from modern diseases. Authors Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are life partners; when Luz was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, they both radically changed their diets and began seeking out recipes featuring healthy, vegetarian Mexican foods. They promote a diet rich in plants indigenous to the Americas (corn, beans, squash, greens, herbs, and seeds), and are passionate about the idea that Mexicans and Latinos/ as living in the US and Canada need to ditch the fast food and return to their own culture's food roots for both physical health and spiritual fulfillment.
This vegetarian cookbook features 109 colourful, delicious recipes inspired by indigenous ingredients and knowledge, such as Red Pozole with Medicinal Mushrooms, Healing Green Chileatole, Amaranth Corn Tortillas, and Prickly Pear Chia Fresca. Steeped in history, but very much rooted in the contemporary world, Decolonize Your Diet will introduce readers to the energizing, healing properties of a plant-based Mexican-American diet."
Reviews:
“The cookbook combines ancient wisdom with modern-day conveniences, using lesser-known ingredients such as jicama, nopales and chayotes in creative ways. But it’s more than that…The book is also a well-researched ‘love letter’ to all the abuelas (grandmothers) out there, who have kept alive these culinary traditions for thousands of years.” - UC Food Observer
"Part cookbook, part manifesto, Decolonize Your Diet is as much about recipes as it is about justice centered analysis of food and health ... Decolonize Your Diet honors and respects the humble pot of beans and homemade tortillas to the same degree they do more 'difficult' chef-like meals, like Huaraches de Nopal, or Mole." -- Global Comment
About the Authors:
Luz Calvo is a professor of Ethnic Studies at Cal State East Bay. Luz and their partner Catriona Rueda Esquibel live in Oakland, CA, where they grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs on their small urban farm as they study traditional Mesoamerican cuisine.
Catriona Rueda Esquibel is an associate professor in Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University. Catriona and her partner Luz Calvo live in Oakland, CA, where they grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs on their small urban farm, as they study traditional Mesoamerican cuisine.