Does the Spartan Diet Taste Good?
The industrial food system has taught the world that tasty food comes from too much fat, salt and sugar. The Spartan Diet tastes amazing because of ultra high quality ingredients and cooking methods.
A cursory glance at the restrictions, limitations and bans in the Spartan diet may lead some to conclude that this is a diet that sacrifices taste for health. But this is not the case. I fully reject the "deprivation cuisine" of yesterday's health food movement -- I believe every meal should be spectacularly delicious!
It's true that many common "comfort foods," junk foods, and mass-market food ingredients are not on the Spartan Diet. Gourmands may be horrified by my rejection of domesticated beef, pork, farmed fish or farmed seafood, sugar, deep-fried foods and unfermented dairy. Others may find the Spartan Diet rejection of industrialized processed foods and most store-bought prepared foods hard to swallow. There is no industrial ice cream on the Spartan Diet. There's no chicken, candy bars or fast food. But the Spartan Diet doesn't simply ban. We offer superior options that we believe are far more delicious, more deeply satisfying and more nourishing than the foods you may be eating now.
It turns out that the world's most healthy foods are also the world's most delicious. Healthy food by definition uses superior ingredients. Lamb, wild fish, venison, bison, goat, elk, rabbit and duck as well as sheep and goat raw cheeses, cultured butter and fermented milk foods and drinks are part of the Spartan Diet, for example, and they’re more delicious and healthy than their conventional counterparts.
The freshest organic extra-virgin olive oil is also the tastiest cooking oil you can buy, for example (you’ll need to avoid high heat to avoid burning the oil but cooking at low to medium heat in general is healthier). Properly and naturally leavened whole-grain bread (which most Americans have never even tried), tastes far better than white bread leavened with industrial yeast. Fresh fruits and vegetables are tastier than canned or processed, or industrially preserved foods. The highest-quality spices are both the healthiest kind and by far the best tasting. And as you’ll discover from all my recipes, Spartan Diet foods are spectacularly flavorful.
Tragically, "health food" has generally a bad reputation. Just about everyone has encountered the universally bland, off-putting, weird-tasting foods that are supposed to be good for you. When people think of "health food," the mind conjures things like grey-green smoothies, questionable veggie burgers with alfalfa sprouts, cardboard-textured cold cereals, meat alternatives like veggie sausages, fake cheese, flavorless salads, rice cakes, protein shakes and so on. If you think most common “health food” is unpalatable, I agree.
The problem is that the people who emphasize ingredient freshness and quality tend to be different people from those who emphasize health. So the gourmand foodies obsessed with flavor and presentation might buy the best olive oil, heirloom tomatoes and meat, then prepare those ingredients with unhealthy cooking methods, deep fry or fry it at high temperature and add unhealthy ingredients to achieve the desired taste at any cost. Meanwhile, the decades-long health food movement involves people who have developed a great deal of knowledge about vegetarian protein, sprouting grains and other techniques that enhance health, but they tend to put most of their emphasis on health, rather than flavor. The sports nutrition industry has cultivated knowledge on the links between fitness and recovery, but they also tend to lack skill with both taste and overall, long-term health.
The Spartan Diet is the first system ever that brings the best information from all these food approaches together into a single system. Spartan Diet recipes excel at using the world's healthiest ingredients in the world's most delicious meals.
The Spartan Diet is shockingly delicious and the most gratifying and happiness inducing food you can possibly eat. But, unlike junk food, its exquisite flavors, textures and enticing aromas come not from excess fat, salt or sugar. Spartan Diet foods taste good because they are genuinely good and they’re genuinely good for you and you’ll feel beyond great when you eat them.
Broadly speaking, the overall transition to a Spartan diet will involve a radical upgrade in the deliciousness of your food. You will have a new standard that will turn you into a true food snob (in a good way!).
And speaking of exquisite flavors, textures and enticing aromas, here comes this week’s recipe!
Recipe: Fermented Jalapeño Escabeche
Make your own naturally fermented jalapeño escabeche packed with super deliciousness and nourishment. It’s the tastiest and easiest way to bring more “culture” into your life!
This fermented jalapeños escabeche recipe is made with carrots, onions and garlic, making a wonderful and healthful addition to your meals. Delicious with pretty much everything savory, jalapeños in escabeche go especially well with Mexican food including tacos and quesadillas. I even love them over pizza, and, of course, they’re perfect for your homemade nachos.
