How to Eat Now

Lessons

• 01
  Introduction

  Meet your host and learn why you should start cooking now.

  This lesson introduces you to your host, Mark Bittman. He’s a food journalist, author, and recipe writer who wants to get you comfortable in the kitchen ASAP. Learn about his goals for this course, including how he wants to help you shift your mindset about cooking, food, and eating in a more healthy and sustainable way.

  Includes 2 action items

  
• 02
  The bones of cooking

  Discover why cooking isn’t complicated.

  In this lesson, you’ll learn why cooking is more approachable than you might think. Your host explains that cooking can really be boiled down to a few basic techniques. After you master the basics, you can start getting creative with flavors and ingredients. The number of things you can create in the kitchen is infinite!

  Includes 2 action items; The Basic Cooking Techniques; Roasted Anything (Almost)

  
• 03
  Playing with flavor profiles

  Learn how different flavors can change a whole dish.

  This lesson familiarizes you with the flavor profile, a fundamental building block of cooking. You’ll learn:

  • The basic flavors our palates recognize
  • The best way to develop your sense of flavors
  • How different cultures and regions introduce these different flavors
  • Why spices and herbs are complex ingredients

  Includes 2 action items; Building Flavor (guide); The Spice Lexicon; The Herb Lexicon

  
• 04
  Three master meals

  Learn to cook three foundational meals so you never run out of kitchen inspiration!

  This lesson helps you overcome the problem of deciding what to cook for dinner. If you’re stuck in a rut or overwhelmed with options, choose one of these three basic meals and make it your own, or get inspiration from the many regions where they’ve been popular for years:

  • Rice and beans
  • Chopped salad
  • Stir-fry

  Includes 1 action item; Chopped Salad Recipe; Rice and Beans, Three Ways; Stir-Fry Master Recipe; Recipe-Free Stir-Fry; Vinaigrette Master Recipe

  
• 05
  The poetry of whole grain bread

  Learn what good bread really is.

  In this lesson, you’ll learn why the topic of bread is so controversial and how you can select good bread for your kitchen. Mark will help you understand:

  • The history of bread in the United States
  • The difference between white flour and whole wheat flour
  • Whether or not you should eliminate bread from your diet
  • Which carbs to reject and which to embrace
  • The truth about gluten

  Includes 1 action item; Chapati Recipe

  
• 06
  Navigating a broken food system

  Find out why it’s so hard to get good, healthy food into your kitchen.

  This lesson teaches you about the broken food system in the US—and how you can eat well despite these challenges. Learn how to improve your diet by shortening the physical supply chain of your food, and understand why real change will require policy change from the top.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 07
  Dreaming of communal kitchens

  Learn how communal kitchens could fix our broken food system.

  Want a good, local, healthy meal cooked from a nearby farm? Communal kitchens could be the answer! This lesson describes:

  • How the concept of communal kitchens might work
  • One country that’s already successfully tried the idea
  • Why government support will be necessary for success

  
• 08
  What I learned by being (mostly) vegan

  Understand why being a part-time vegan could be a good idea for you and the planet.

  In this lesson, you’ll learn why it’s important for all of us to explore a more plant-based style of eating. Your host will recount his own personal experience as a part-time vegan as he teaches you:

  • How agriculture contributes to climate change
  • Why the diet that’s best for you is best for the planet
  • How the VB6 or “vegan before six” diet works
  • Why fads and temporary diets aren’t helpful

  Includes 1 action item; VB6 Sample Menu

  
• 09
  Taste bud rehab

  Train yourself to love the foods that are good for you.

  This lesson explores the history of human tastes, including how we came to love modern junk food and how you can reverse those taste preferences. You’ll learn to appeal to your taste buds with all sorts of flavors so that you begin to love good, healthy, whole foods.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 10
  Eating healthy: more plants, less animals, no junk.

  Learn the simple rules of a good diet.

  In this lesson, your host explains the basics of a healthy diet. The rules are well-known and flexible, so why are so many contemporary diets complicating things? Learn what you actually need to stay healthy and the policy and cultural shifts that need to happen for a nutritious, sustainable diet to become the norm.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 11
  Should you get that Impossible Burger?

  Learn why you may want to think twice about those trendy meat substitutes.

  This lesson dives into the topic of vegan burgers and other meat substitutes. You’ll learn:

  • What they’re really made of
  • If they’ve worked to decrease meat consumption
  • Whether they’re actually good for you
  • The pros and cons of incorporating them into your diet
  • What to choose instead

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 12
  Less (and better) meat now

  Learn how to choose better animal products.

  This lesson explains how, even if you don’t go 100% vegan, you can still choose to eat less meat and prioritize better animal products to benefit both you and the planet! Your host will teach you how to shop for affordable, quality animal products where you live.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 13
  Meal kits

  Learn about the pros, cons, and alternatives to meal planning subscriptions.

  In this lesson, you learn what meal kits are good for—and why you might consider meal prepping ahead of time instead. Your host gives you a few tips for planning and prepping your weekly meals, including some foods that do really well with advanced cooking.

  Includes 1 action item; Six-Day Meal Plan

  
• 14
  Cooking for friends, with Holly Haines

  Reflect on what it means to feed others.

  Food Instagrammer and recipe author Holly Haines joins this lesson to discuss her tips on cooking for others and what it means to feed people.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 15
  Philosophies of entertaining, with Holly Haines

  What’s your entertaining style?

  In this lesson, Holly Haines and Mark compare their personal entertaining styles and help you build confidence in your own hosting abilities! Whether you like a formal sit-down meal with menus or something casual where people just find a spot on the couch, there are lots of ways to make that magic happen when you have people over.

  Includes 1 action item; 6 "Rules" For Fun, Less Stressful Entertaining

  
• 16
  Cooking for friends: the vegetarians among us

  Figure out how to cook for guests with dietary restrictions.

  This lesson gives you a few ideas for accommodating guests with different eating preferences, particularly vegetarians and vegans. You’ll learn:

  • Steps for deciding what to cook
  • How to make vegetables the center of attention
  • How to provide an unfussy meat option for other guests
  • How to throw an empty-the-freezer party
  • Why your food will be perfect regardless of your plan

  
• 17
  Shopping your priorities

  Learn how and why your food priorities can shift.

  In this lesson, you learned about the many things to consider when selecting the food you eat: sustainability, carbon footprint, fairness, affordability, nutrition, safety, quality, and more. Discover why your priorities may shift as you begin to cook more and eat better—and why that’s perfectly okay! You’ll also learn the most important question to ask yourself when evaluating your food priorities.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 18
  Ingredients: you probably don't need that fancy olive oil

  Learn when you should (and shouldn’t) splurge on expensive ingredients.

  This lesson examines how today’s food media has taught us that high-quality, precious ingredients are super important. Our host helps you debunk that myth and teaches you how to decide when it’s a good idea to splurge on certain expensive foods… and when it’s not.

  Includes 1 action item; Stocking Your Kitchen Guide

  
• 19
  Organic: yea or nay?

  Learn if and when you should buy organic.

  This lesson explains why choosing to buy organic isn’t an all-or-nothing decision. Learn why selecting organic foods comes down to something called the “dirty dozen” and whether it’s convenient and affordable for you and your wallet.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 20
  Conclusion

  Reflect on the cooking and eating lessons you’ve learned so far.

  Happy cooking! This lesson recaps the most important lessons you learned about cooking and eating in this course. Your host leaves you with a few reminders and parting words of inspiration to keep you moving forward on your cooking journey.

  Includes 1 action item

  
• 21
  Bonus: The famous no-knead bread recipe

  Mark Bittman shares a famous recipe.

  Learn how to make whole grain no-knead sourdough bread! Your host shares why bread-making doesn’t have to be time consuming or labor intensive in this easy bread recipe. He breaks down each of the steps, including how to make a sourdough starter that you can use in breads and doughs for years to come!

  Includes 1 action item; Mark Bittman’s No-Knead Bread Recipe