The key to good nutrition is balance and moderation. Don't get carried away by fad diets. Don't eat until you feel like bursting. Balance recipes that are higher in fat and sodium with those that are lower. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, cut down on meat, eat more fish and complex carbohydrates.
In other words, eat your starch, eat your vegetables and eat a lot of different kinds.
To maintain a dietary ideal of variety and moderation does not require that you eliminate any one food group from your diet. Since animal foods are higher in fat, especially saturated fats, it is important to balance their place in your diet with ample plant sources of protein as well. But in any case, look for meat, chicken and fish that have been healthfully raised.
Some individuals, some families, perhaps some populations are at a higher risk for high blood pressure caused by high-sodium diets. But a low-sodium diets hurts no one. About 1,000 mg a day are recommended. Processed foods contain lots of secret salt. Read labels. And when cooking, minimize salt by heightening flavors in other ways. Fresh herbs are a wonderful antidote to the tendency to salt food beyond what's necessary for flavor or recommended for health.
Regardless of who grows and processes your food, you are responsible for putting together meals that are a balance of the starches, vegetables and protein you and your family need to maintain health. The recipes collected in Natural Recipes for the Good Life have not been adapted to meet any particular dietary standard. We have developed and tested them so that you can easily assemble healthful meals from the ingredients you have easy access to in the stores. But when you cook from the recipes in this book-or any cookbook, for that matteralways apply your dietary needs to the recipe and the meal.

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