Ditching the Drive-Thru

Ditching the Drive-Thru by J. Natalie Winch was a slight disappointment to me as I was looking forward to reading a book that focused more on recipes and less on dogma.

Ditching the Drive-Thru contains numerous chapters explaining how the American food industry works and how the American consumer can buck the system by planning and implementing a new lifestyle.

If you enjoy books with more dogma than practical recipes you will love this book. I will add the book does provide some recipes, and several graphs you can use to create your crossover to ditching the drive-thru.

Some of the recipes you’ll find in her cookbook include:

*Sweet Tomato Jam (No processing times that I could find for this recipe)
*Grape Jelly (No processing times that I could find for this recipe)
*Heart Stew

You will find a list of sources and resources at the back of her book.

Recommend with caveats given.

A very interesting and revealing book, although I suspect for the most part the author will be preaching to the converted. I know a lot of foodlovers who (like myself) read books of this nature in order to give themselves a smug little pat on the back when they read about how poor other people's diets are compared to their own. The impact of the cover and title may help to drive this book towards those who really need to be reading it, but even people of cult status like Jamie Oliver find that their message tends to fall on deaf ears. However, if the book helps just a few people to understand the nature of mass produced processed food and start to move away from it, it is worthwhile. I was rather surprised by a couple of things - firstly that while the author introduces herself by looking at her Jewish family background, very early in the book she describes how to render pork fat down into lard! And secondly, that while saying that eating unprocessed foods doesn't need to take a long time, the first two "recipes" she includes are the lard, above, and the lacto-fermentation technique. Neither of these would inspire a fast food junkie to switch to cooking their own! Having said that, I'm going to try both techniques myself - and soon!

Definitely informative. Not sure I am ready for a half cow and freezer. Nice information for further reading. Some of the information about csa farming I already new about. Only 4 stars because of the recipes included. Don't think I would try any of them.

Ditching the Drive Thru is both an invitation and a guide to eating healthier. Author Winch breaks down the problems with store bought groceries and fast food - then provides a roadmap to farm fresh and whole foods. The perspective here is a bit different since we don't have a nutritionist or doctor doling the advice; rather, this is a teacher who slowly transitioned her family into healthier eating habits, one step at a time. She draws upon her experiences to help others do the same.

The book breaks down as follows: Part 1: The call for change: modern America's relationship with food (food culture, and perception, diet mythology, the food maze, seeing the boundaries, corporate marketing manipulation, reading the compass/making informed choices). Part 2: Embarking on the journey: How to make a change that lasts (the value of farm-fresh, agri-cabulary, navigation/keeping sane on the journey, perpetuation/creating and maintaining good habits, taking the first step/turning theory into practice. Included are an epilogue, appendixes (30 month plan and food preservation and recipes), resources and index.

Winch's tone is very encouraging and she isn't espousing an 'all in or nothing' approach. Rather, suggestions include starting to buy farm fresh (CSAs) for a few months, weaning away from packaged or processed foods, and slowly but surely moving away from supermarkets and restaurants. Since she is located in New Jersey, there is an appreciation that farm fresh isn't available in the Winter months and so suggestions are given for that time of the year as well.

There are some minor expenditures that might be needed for this new way of eating; e.g., if you are going to buy a whole cow and bring it home, you'll need an additional freezer. Other things like a blender or dehydrator, canning supplies, etc., will also be useful/helpful/needed. But there are interesting savings comparisons that support the decisions and choices made in the book.

There are a few recipes in the back for some items that you might not find in most cookbooks/are useful in a variety of ways (e.g, cooking a heart or creating a successful broth) but they are meant as a starting point and not a one-stop resource. Indeed, resources for recipes and more are given at the back of the book.

Books like this, with a very driven author, can either be useful or useless - depending on whether that author can translate their success/story in a useful way to a different type of audience who doesn't share their drive. With Ditching the Drive-Thru, Winch isn't caught up in her own story and has taken time to see from the perspective of readers and all their various reasons why they haven't taken the time/effort to change their own unhealthy lifestyles. As such, it is a book that can be read quickly but with profound consequences: useful/usable tips and a better understanding of the food industry and how it affects/confuses/fools the consumer. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Ms. Winch has written an enlightening, informative and useful book about changing from the typical "industrial" modern American to the more nutritious and healthier diet of our immediate ancestors. She describes how the industrialization of American food has led to health problems and provides a gradual program for healthy dietary change, for one person or many.

I found her book to be cogent and well-written and amply supported by strong data. She has a nice educational tone without being condescending or patronizing. And especially not preachy. I learned a lot from her book.

We can all do more to be healthier, though probably not to the extent of growing our own food and preserving it through canning, pickling, smoking, etc. There is something for everyone in this book, and following her program will certainly lead to better health.