Savor Every Bite: Mindful Ways to Eat, Love Your Body, and Live with Joy (Lynn Rossy)

Review by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau

Available for purchase here.

Talking with Lynn Rossy about her book, Savor Every Bite, Mindful Ways to Eat, Love Your Body, and Live with Joy, made me think of the many ways we approach food. It is comfort and sustenance, it embodies our family stories, culture, religion, and more. It’s the “and more” that sometimes trips us up. And I would argue we all get our relationship to food a little off at times. Rossy knows how to break this down into a simple, step-by-step guide to transform how we relate to all those tasty plates.

This clearly written book investigates how to transform your sense of the world and yourself through how you engage with food. Rossy offers short practices readers can try at home right away, and that immediately influence how you might respond to your inner voice the next time you want, say, a chocolate chip cookie. Spoiler: eating a chocolate chip cookie is not a bad thing; it’s what you tell yourself about eating it that can be revolutionary.

I love this approach. I love the practical, inviting tone of the writing--its format mirrors the way habits are formed after all, encouraging readers with accessible actions to be repeated. A great read for anyone who appreciates mindfulness, generosity, kindness, and wants to apply these to themselves as they move through our sense-driven world.

For more from Lynn Rossy, visit her website.

Lynn says pesto is not just for pasta: “I use pesto as a dip with vegetables, chips, and crackers; on grilled meat, fish, or chicken; on fresh sliced tomatoes and mozzarella; on crostini; as a salad dressing (add more olive oil); on top of hot vegetables; as a sandwich spread; as a pizza topping; and on scrambled eggs.”

Lemony Pesto Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Lynn Rossy

Serves: Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves

• 5 -10 fresh garlic cloves

• ½ cup nuts (pine or walnut)

• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• ¼ to ½ cup olive oil

• Pepper to taste

Instructions:

Blend the basil, garlic, nuts, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Next, keep blending as you drizzle in the lemon juice and olive oil. Add pepper to taste at the end.

Note from Lynn: You can adjust the balance between the lemon juice and olive oil as desired. I do about half and half and love the lemony balance of the sauce. My favorites are pine nuts or walnuts. You can also use any other nut you desire.

Tip: To serve over pasta, save some of your salted pasta water to pour into the pesto to help coat the pasta with pesto. It works wonderfully!