Synopses & Reviews
A perfect and irresistible idea: A cookbook filled with delicious, healthful recipes created for everyone on a tight budget—and a cookbook with a strong charitable component: With every copy of Good and Cheap purchased, a second copy will be given to a person or family in need.
While studying food policy as a master’s candidate at NYU, Leanne Brown asked a simple yet critical question: How well can a person eat on the $4 a day given by SNAP, the U.S. government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program informally known as food stamps? The answer is surprisingly well: Broiled Tilapia with Lime, Spicy Pulled Pork, Green Chile and Cheddar Quesadillas, Vegetable Jambalaya, Beet and Chickpea Salad—even desserts like Coconut Chocolate Cookies and Peach Coffee Cake. In addition to creating nutritious recipes that maximize every ingredient and use economical cooking methods, Ms. Brown gives tips on shopping; on creating pantry basics; on mastering certain staples—pizza dough, flour tortillas—and saucy extras that make everything taste better, like spice oil and tzatziki; and how to make fundamentally smart, healthful food choices.
The idea for Good and Cheap is already proving itself. The author launched a Kickstarter campaign to self-publish and fund the buy one/give one model. Hundreds of thousands of viewers watched her video and donated $145,000, and national media are paying attention. Even high-profile chefs and food writers have taken note—like Mark Bittman, who retweeted the link to the campaign; Francis Lam, who called it “Terrific!”; and Michael Pollan, who cited it as a “cool kickstarter.” In the same way that TOMS turned inexpensive, stylish shoes into a larger do-good movement, Good and Cheap is poised to become a cookbook that every food lover with a conscience will embrace.
Review
“[A] beautiful book full of recipes that fit a food stamp budget.”
—@michaelpollan
“This cookbook isn’t just full of delicious recipes; it will bring good, cheap meals to those who need them the most.”
—Food and Wine
“Could change the way you shop, cook, and eat [by] busting up the myth that eating healthfully entails spending a ton of money.”
—Time.com
“Unfussy recipes [that] go way beyond predictable.”
—Oprah.com
“…we’re loving Leanne Brown’s cookbook Good and Cheap. Her easy meal ideas fit a food-stamp budget (about $4 a day per person) but spare nothing in flavor.”
—Dr. Oz Magazine
“Squad goals: Have everyone over for dinner and enjoy an insanely impressive meal together without spending a lot of time or money. We hit up Leanne Brown’s Good and Cheap: Eat Wellon $4 a Day for a make-ahead, fun party feast that will blow them—but not your budget—away.”
—Cosmopolitan
About the Author
Leanne Brown wrote Good and Cheap as the capstone for her master’s in food studies from New York University. She and her husband live in New York City.