Eating in Color by Frances Largeman-Roth

The angle: Monochrome is boring; eat in full color.

Recipes for right now: Hibiscus-Tangelo Iced Tea; Cherry Tomato, Sausage, and Quinoa Tart; Golden Beets with Parsley Pesto and Fregola; Fennel and Grapefruit Salad with Chamomile Vinaigrette; Scallops with Bacon and Linguini over Arugula

Who would enjoy this book? Cooks who just signed up for a CSA, anyone with a “reluctant eater” in the house (young or old!).

• Who wrote it: Frances Largeman-Roth

• Who published it: Stewart, Tabori & Chang

• Other highlights: “Eat the rainbow” is one diet that I can totally get on board with. It just makes sense to me — the most colorful foods are often the most nutritious, and mixing them on your plate is not only healthy but fun! Frances talks about how she convinced her daughter to start eating fruits and vegetables by linking them to the colors she was learning about in school. I love that!

Although I don’t need much convincing to eat colorful foods, Frances’ recipes also gave me a new way to think about ingredients — foods that look good together quite often taste good together. Basil and tomatoes, fennel and grapefruit, salmon with black rice and bok choy.

The real treasure of this book, I think, is the ingredient spotlights. Almost every other page is a description of a vegetable or kind of grain or another healthy ingredient with a full description of how to pick, use, and store that ingredient. My only quibble here is that I wish all the ingredients were grouped together in one section, which would make them easier to locate as I’m assembling a shopping list or trying to figure out how to use a new ingredient. It was also a little strange that the ingredients aren’t necessarily close to a recipe that uses them — this made the organization feel a little confusing and random.

Although Frances is a nutritionist and healthy eating is definitely a theme of this book, it also doesn’t feel intrusive or overly nutrient-focused. The idea here is more about developing instincts and healthy habits more than memorizing which foods give you which nutrients.

Find the book at your local library, independent bookstore, or Amazon: Eating in Color by Frances Largeman-Roth

• Visit the author’s website: Frances Largeman-Roth

Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.