A book of food explorations to take care of oneself, loved ones, and the planet
When we founded Darwin Nutrition in 2019, we never imagined that two years later, we would have more than 100,000 readers per month and publish a book about beneficial foods!
We are not doctors or nutritionists, but we are curious and believe that to (re)discover a food and integrate it into one’s diet, understanding its origins, production methods, cultural and medicinal uses is just as important as knowing its health benefits.
The 50 foods we have selected in this book have one thing in common: their exceptional nutritional qualities. Rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, immune-boosting, energizing, detoxifying, stimulating, anti-inflammatory…
Some are always in your kitchen (garlic, cabbages, lentils, walnuts, apples…), others are still unknown to the general public (hemp, spirulina, lupin, shiitake, kombucha…).
The Beneficial Foods – 50 Treasures of Nature for Our Health is the fruit of our meetings with small producers and the desire to democratize knowledge about healthy eating, by sparking curiosity, without dictation.
Vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, seeds, mushrooms, spices, algae: treasures of nature whose benefits are sometimes unknown, even though they are readily available and often locally produced.
They are varied, delicious, essentially local, and their cultivation can be sustainable, even beneficial for the environment. This is particularly the case for legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas…), which help us reduce our meat consumption and enrich the soil.
Benefits, recipes, anecdotes, reports, tips for sustainable consumption illuminate them throughout the pages.
For each food, we conducted historical, geographical, and sociocultural research to learn how they have evolved through migrations, exchanges, cultural appropriations to our globalized era.
Along with the downsides this might have today, which we also highlight.
We enlisted Valentine Cabanel, PharmD and Naturopath, for her expert advice. In each chapter, she provides an expert opinion on the benefits of the food in question in the “Naturopath’s Opinion” section.
To incorporate them easily into one’s diet, our friend and chef Jeanne Cottet devised creative recipes that are healthy and delicious.
Isabelle Autissier, Honorary President of WWF France, agronomist engineer, writer, and great navigator signs our preface, and we are proud of it!
Just like having collaborated with Mango éditions for this first book, the reference publishing house in cuisine, health, and well-being.
We hope this book will please you, allow you to take care of yourself, your loved ones, the planet… by preparing food!
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The Authors
Charlotte Jean is Franco-Peruvian. Her Amazonian mother passed down her taste for Peruvian foods such as cacao, which her father now grows in the upper Amazon basin. Passionate about art and history, after studying at the Louvre School, she became a journalist for Beaux Arts Magazine. She currently writes for various media outlets, works on creating raw and healthy chocolate, and will focus on Amazonian legends in an upcoming book.
Quentin Molinié started his first company at the age of 22 during his studies at EMLyon. After eight very busy years in Paris, he decided to change course to focus on his well-being and devote himself to the development of Darwin Nutrition. Athletic and a food lover, he discovered the pleasure of cooking a wide variety of nutritious foods to delight his taste buds while benefiting his body and preserving the planet.
Valentine Cabanel is from the south of France, where she grew up in a natural, sunny environment close to the sea. This likely influenced her view on the role and benefits of nature on the body. She is now a doctor in pharmacy and naturopath specializing in micronutrition. Her goal is to enhance vitality and sustainably maintain the health of her patients by addressing their needs and issues through natural means.
Jeanne Cottet is a chef. After training in art history and several years working in the fine books publishing sector, Jeanne decided to pursue her passion for cooking as her new profession. With a culinary CAP (Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle) in hand, she created Ficelle, a culinary events business. For her, the most important thing is to know the products she uses in her culinary creations, including their history, origin, and virtues. Her cuisine is simple, delicious, and seasonal.
Technical Sheet
- Beneficial Foods – 50 Treasures of Nature for Our Health
- Mango Editions
- Published on 14 / 05 / 2021
- 19 x 26 cm 176 pages – €16.95
