In the kitchen with 2 Chainz
I have not purchased a cookbook in years. I think the last one I got was a Jamie Oliver book in a White Elephant game at Christmas one year.
Back when I was first out of school, I bought up every cookbook I could find and tried everything. I really love ethnic food, exotic stuff from Ethiopia and Afghanistan – they are so unique and full of flavor that I could see expending calories on them.
Even after becoming a vegetarian and then a vegan, I still bought cookbooks, especially for pastries, pies, breads. I love carbs unfortunately.
Now I eat such a simple diet that it doesn’t require any brainwork and I don’t do any of the cooking now anyway, so why buy a cookbook? Also I have so many fantastic apps for this and of course, every recipe is just a couple of clicks away any time we want. I wonder how anyone does actually sell a cookbook nowadays, come to think of it.
IMAGE: FIRST WE FEAST BY © COMPLEX MEDIA
So, when I was channel surfing I ran across someone interviewing rapper/hip hopster 2 Chainz talking about his healthy diet and the fact that he loves to cook and is really careful about what he eats. I have never heard one song that he has performed, ever, but apparently he must be doing well because he has a personal chef who travels with him (I do too, but 2Ch has to pay for his, LOL).
So, I thought I would go pick up his cookbook on Amazon. But, bummer, you can’t just buy it separately. You apparently get this cookbook with his latest album. You can listen to the MP3s and see if this is your kind of music (not really mine and I prefer not to know the lyrics, thank you).
The recipes look good (they are not vegetarian or vegan) and 2 Chainz claims they are all made while speeding the freeways between gigs.
Check it out:
http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/09/best-lines-from-the-2-chainz-cookbook.html
Sea bass ala 2 Chainz – Photo: Island Def Jam
The reason I would even consider talking about this is because of the philosophy he has about this food, his enjoyment of it, the freshness aspect, the care of what he puts into his body (at least according to what he said during the interview – he has an ulcer and it has changed his way of eating).
To improve one’s diet you should really go step by step. You don’t do it all overnight. But fresh, local, organic, food with interesting seasonings that is still simple and quick to prepare is pointing in the right direction. For ten bucks you can get the album and the recipes. If they can be whipped up on a bus, they sound like my kind of dishes.
Food for thought :-).
Beth Byrnes 
When I had to go gluten-free, I pretty much lost all interest in cooking and eating. I was on a pretty healthy diet up until that point but for some reason, I just gave up when I went gluten-free. Maybe it’s because everything I knew how to and enjoyed cooking had wheat and I was not able to find practical and edible alternatives. I miss bread and flour tortillas to a ridiculous degree, and there really isn’t a decent substitute out there. So I just started eating crappy again to make up for it. I guess I should get over it at some point and try again but as of yet, I haven’t.
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That is hard. I like corn tortillas, personally but who knows when they slip wheat in there. For me, the way to keep my weight where it has always been is to eat a consistent diet. Also, of course, not eating animal products means avoiding things that have them. But really, for me it is laziness. Once I figured out I could cook, I felt I had that skill so why belabor it. We just cook for us, and when we want something else, we order in or go out. I just don’t get excited about cooking because it is a lot of work and adds heat to an already overly hot place. I assume you know about DeBoles pastas made from quinoa? To me they taste just like regular pasta.
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Honestly, tsingtao is better for pasta!
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Oh? Oh great. Have to give that a try. Less or no gluten is better for all of us. Thank you!
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Great post… thanks beth for sharing… will take a look at the link….
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Thank you Barbara. I think it is just a little bit of fun. 🙂
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and believe me that’s what we all need if we aren’t to be swept away by all the craziness around us…. Have a lovely fun day… Barbara
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