Everything's there, ready to to enrich bodies, create new energy and vitality, probably to change the way people feel and how they think about the world. Maxine Atwater on shopping at natural food markets, 1972

{HISTORY}

Written for home cooks entirely new to the fundamentals of working with organic, vegan-friendly and non-processed foods, this all-natural cookbook introduces over 100 healthy recipes for all meals of the day. Growing homemade sprouts, making mayonnaise from tofu, hand-milling flours, swapping honey for sugar, working with nutritional yeast - these are examples of some of the information shared by author Maxine Atwater in her 1972 Natural Foods Cookbook.

Published by Nitty Grity Productions - an independent publishing house that produced over for dozen cooking, novelty and craft books, Natural Foods Cookbook is delightfully presented. Printed on textured brown craft paper (also known as extensible craft) and illustrated by Nitty Gritty's in-house graphic designer Craig Torlucci, it's a handsome representative of the natural food movement that bloomed in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

Interesting variations of typical family favorite fare are creatively adjusted here by swapping commercial ingredients with all-natural ingredients. For example,  pizza dough is homemade with whole wheat flour, milk, yeast, and peanut oil.  Cans of ready-made baked beans are replaced with a homemade version that includes soybeans, apple juice, bean stock, curry, vinegar and molasses. Store-bought syrup for pancakes is replaced with a recipe Sherry Sauce that includes arrowroot, honey, sherry and lemon rind among other ingredients.  Chocolate Pudding is made with carob powder.

The substitution guide is most helpful at the beginning of the book to guide home cooks into not only readjusting their traditional thinking about ingredients but also to introduce new ones that aren't typically found in many Americana recipes. Yano replaces coffee, soy grits replace bread crumbs, and tamari replaces bouillion or soy sauce.

Anyone who is already using such ingredients in their daily meal preparation will find lots of variety in the recipes here. New cooks will enjoy the adventure of preparing food in new ways. Please note while this cookbook is vegetarian-friendly, there are recipes that include dairy, meat, poultry fish and alcoholic beverages.

Interesting recipes include Spiced Avocados Over Rice, Nut Stuffed Cabbage, Ricotta Pancakes, Baked Cheese Fondue, Cream of Chestnut Soup, Caraway, Blue Cheese Wafers, Cherry-Wine Soup, Egg Foo Yung Canapes, Red Cabbage with Vermouth, Lemon Pie in Walnut Shell, Filet of Sole Florentine and Mongolian Hamburgers.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- Published in 1972

- 178 pages

- Illustrated throughout by Craig Torlucci 

- Paperback binding

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition,. This cookbook contains no spots, stains or notations. The exterior spine has faded slightly from sun exposure. The illustrations are bright, crisp and clear. The spine is tight and all pages are intact. 

{SIZE}

Measures 5.25" inches (length) x 8.25" inches (width) x .75" inches (thickness) and weighs 9 ozs

{MORE HEALTHY OPTIONS}

Find more vintage natural food cookbooks here.