Newsletter Update: French Macarons & More Nutritious Eats
What's coming up next and a little weekend food reading.
First, a warm welcome to new subscribers and humble thanks to all my lovely readers. You inspire me to persist. I am excited to share what I’ve had simmering on the back burner for you…
But first, please indulge me by taking a quick poll:
Two New Series
Now on with the show. Next week, I will launch two new sections and additional weekly digests for paying subscribers. My half-from-scratch recipe newsletter, sent on the first Friday of every month, will always be free for everyone and free from influence.
#1. French Macarons: Simplified
This is a freshly updated online version of my original email series, which is how many of you initially subscribed. The expanded, six-part tutorial will debut Monday and is like baking macarons side-by-side with me in the kitchen. I learned from decorated pastry chefs—one at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris—and love helping ambitious home bakers become macaron mavens. I cover only what you need to succeed and nothing you don’t.
With an upgraded subscription, you can email me anytime for troubleshooting advice. You will also receive a new monthly macaron recipe, more of my infamous myth-busting, and a virtual Macarons 101 class (pending collective interest).
#2. Notes from Culinary Medicine
My colleagues and I agree that “culinary medicine” sounds clinical and unappealing. But it boils down to age-old wisdom:
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
-Hippocrates
In other words, food is the key to unlocking good health, and that doesn’t mean bland, boring, or tasteless cooking. I'll simplify nutrition concepts and explain ways to dial down salt and saturated fat without sacrificing flavor.
With a paid subscription, I’ll remix one of your favorite meals for a dietary need, such as low sodium or allergen avoidance.
The background. Chefs and doctors can earn certifications through the accredited American College of Culinary Medicine (my final exam = early 2025). The evidence-based program focuses on diet changes to prevent and improve chronic conditions like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Surprisingly, even doctors who graduate from top-ranked medical schools receive little nutrition instruction. This program fills the gap.
What to Expect
Nothing will change unless you upgrade. In addition to the two new series, contributing subscribers will also receive:
Weekly newsletters with recipes or food literacy tidbits
My email to ask me anything
Full access to archives
If you pledged a subscription, you will receive an automated notification from Substack soon when your first payment activates. Thank you sincerely for being a founding supporter!
If you choose to upgrade, please enjoy the link below for the steepest discount Substack allows. In a year, it works out to the price of a cookbook. But you get so much more than recipes.
Annual subscriptions support efforts to end hunger. I will donate 10 percent of every yearly subscription (paid in full) to World Central Kitchen or Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry. If you prefer one organization over the other, please email me.
Why I Do This
I see a real need for unbiased information about what to eat, how to cook effortlessly, and what food to buy (or avoid). Too many headlines and commercials make misleading claims, and many popular recipes and celebrities glamourize mountains of sugar with little flavor.
Unlike corporate platforms, “influencer” dieticians, and countless bloggers, I take no money from brands and write candidly. I am a private chef on most days and an independent food journalist by night.
Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to support this newsletter and all it stands for. I am ardent, and perhaps naive enough, to believe we can improve our health landscape through food, honest communication, and cooking.
Whisks at the ready. Much more to come.
Eat + be well,
Christina
P.S. The discount below will only be available until I reach 100 paying subscribers (hopefully, the time frame won’t prove embarrassing). I would love for this community to earn an official Substack check, a show of strength for trustworthy food writing and ad-free online recipes.
Weekend Reading
Impartial information about our health and food systems is accessible to everyone - if you know where to look. Here are a few articles I wanted to share because I think they could help inform anyone who eats. Take each one with a grain or two of salt.
Happy reading!
Our Ice Cream Enthusiasm is Melting, Melting…
Apparently, we’re all eating less store-bought ice cream—a win! As I wrote about last summer, most of it is artificially flavored, sugary skim milk posing as the real deal. This article is about how the food giant Unilever plans to separate its ice cream brands from the rest because they’re hurting profits. In other words, Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked and Chunky Monkey are getting kicked out for not paying their rent. Courtesy of the Marketplace podcast, one of my daily habits.
“Unilever is planning to spin off its ice cream assets” by Sabri Ben-Achour
On Processed Foods & Addiction
If you ever fell victim to an entire bag of chips (or crisps), this article explains why. The source, U.S. Right to Know, is an organization that advocates for transparency in our food and health systems. The reporter delves deep into how Big Tobacco helped food brands develop more additive products, which I briefly touched on last year.
“Some ultra-processed foods are as addictive as cigarettes and cocaine” by reporter Mikaela Conley
On Mystery Ingredients
Phrases like “natural flavors” and “spices” on a food label might seem straightforward, but they are not. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is one of my go-to resources for what to avoid in packaged foods. This new report does a great job explaining how companies can legally hide what’s inside the box; including loopholes that allow thousands of chemicals - some banned in Europe - to permeate our food. It’s long, but reading even one or two pages can help you make healthier choices.
“Flavor Report: Hidden ingredients” from the Center for Science in the Public Interest