Megan Kimble

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Megan Kimble, Author of Unprocessed

Unprocessed: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food by Megan Kimble


 

In the tradition of Michael Pollan’s bestselling In Defense of Food comes this remarkable chronicle of a young woman’s year-long journey of eating only whole, unprocessed foods—intertwined with a journalistic exploration of what “unprocessed” really means, why it matters, and how to afford it.

In January of 2012, Megan Kimble was a twenty-six-year-old living in a small apartment without even a garden plot to her name. But she cared about where food came from, how it was made, and what it did to her body: so she decided to go an entire year without eating processed foods. Unprocessed is the narrative of Megan’s extraordinary year, in which she milled wheat, extracted salt from the sea, milked a goat, slaughtered a sheep, and more—all while earning an income that fell well below the federal poverty line.

What makes a food processed? As Megan would soon realize, the answer to that question went far beyond cutting out snacks and sodas, and became a fascinating journey through America’s food system, past and present. She learned how wheat became white; how fresh produce was globalized and animals industrialized. But she also discovered that in daily life, as she attempted to balance her project with a normal social life—which included dating—the question of what made a food processed was inextricably tied to gender and economy, politics and money, work and play.

Backed by extensive research and wide-ranging interviews—and including tips on how to ditch processed food and transition to a real-food lifestyle—Unprocessed offers provocative insights not only on the process of food, but also the processes that shape our habits, communities, and day-to-day lives.


Praise for Unprocessed

Andrew Weil

Andrew Weil, M.D.

A very personal and honest report of her year-long effort . . . and many practical tips for improving our ways of eating without spending a fortune. An engaging read with valuable information.

Andrew Weil, M.D., bestselling author of True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure

UNPROCESSED: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow, Paperback, on-sale June 23, 2015, ISBN: 9780062382467, $15.99)
2015-06-01T05:22:07+00:00

Andrew Weil, M.D., bestselling author of True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure

Andrew Weil
A very personal and honest report of her year-long effort . . . and many practical tips for improving our ways of eating without spending a fortune. An engaging read with valuable information.
http://megankimble.com/testimonials/andrew-weil-m-d/
Lisa Leake

Lisa Leake

I love how Megan effortlessly intertwines her story with all that she learned about the food we eat and how it’s processed … a refreshingly simple approach on where to draw the line.

— Lisa Leake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 100 Days of Real Food

UNPROCESSED: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow, Paperback, on-sale June 23, 2015, ISBN: 9780062382467, $15.99)
2015-06-01T05:14:49+00:00

— Lisa Leake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 100 Days of Real Food

Lisa Leake
I love how Megan effortlessly intertwines her story with all that she learned about the food we eat and how it’s processed … a refreshingly simple approach on where to draw the line.
http://megankimble.com/testimonials/lisa-leake/
Tamar Adler

Tamar Adler

In Megan’s thorough and lively search for a diet of real food, she delivers an important lesson in the processes that have led us away from our old nourishing ways. A meaningful and timely tale.

Tamar Adler, author of An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace and contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine

UNPROCESSED: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow, Paperback, on-sale June 23, 2015, ISBN: 9780062382467, $15.99)
2015-06-01T05:21:05+00:00

Tamar Adler, author of An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace and contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine

Tamar Adler
In Megan’s thorough and lively search for a diet of real food, she delivers an important lesson in the processes that have led us away from our old nourishing ways. A meaningful and timely tale.
http://megankimble.com/testimonials/tamar-adler/
Marion Nestle

Marion Nestle

Confused about why nutritionists like me advise eating relatively unprocessed foods? Megan Kimble spends a year taking a deep dive into the meaning of processing by trying to live an unprocessed life, and on careful budget yet. Part memoir, Unprocessed takes us through Kimble’s evolving understanding that that we have real choices about the way we eat and that these choices greatly matter for our health, economics, and sense of community.

Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, and author of What to Eat

UNPROCESSED: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow, Paperback, on-sale June 23, 2015, ISBN: 9780062382467, $15.99)
2015-06-01T05:20:20+00:00

Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, and author of What to Eat

Marion Nestle
Confused about why nutritionists like me advise eating relatively unprocessed foods? Megan Kimble spends a year taking a deep dive into the meaning of processing by trying to live an unprocessed life, and on careful budget yet. Part memoir, Unprocessed takes us through Kimble’s evolving understanding that that we have real choices about the way we eat and that these choices greatly matter for our health, economics, and sense of community.
http://megankimble.com/testimonials/marion-nestle/
Deborah Madison

Deborah Madison

Well-told story of a quest that has the power to change far more than the author’s life. It’s an important book for all of us who live and breathe and eat in America. I thought I knew this material, but I couldn’t put the book down and I came away from it recharged and better informed … fresh and smart, but also wise.

Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy and The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

UNPROCESSED: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow, Paperback, on-sale June 23, 2015, ISBN: 9780062382467, $15.99)
2015-06-01T05:21:43+00:00

Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy and The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Deborah Madison
Well-told story of a quest that has the power to change far more than the author’s life. It’s an important book for all of us who live and breathe and eat in America. I thought I knew this material, but I couldn’t put the book down and I came away from it recharged and better informed … fresh and smart, but also wise.
http://megankimble.com/testimonials/deborah-madison/
Gary Nabhan

Gary Paul Nabhan

Megan Kimble is the freshest voice in literary food writing since Dan Barber and Tamar Adler have come on the scene. Unprocessed is a stunning debut by a perceptive observer of how our food systems actually work, but it also reveals the hidden faces, processes, and values hidden in our food supply chains in disarmingly graceful prose that will stay in your memory for years to come.

Gary Paul Nabhan, author of the award-winning Growing Food in a Hotter Drier Land and Coming Home to Eat

UNPROCESSED: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow, Paperback, on-sale June 23, 2015, ISBN: 9780062382467, $15.99)
2015-06-01T05:41:29+00:00

Gary Paul Nabhan, author of the award-winning Growing Food in a Hotter Drier Land and Coming Home to Eat

Gary Nabhan
Megan Kimble is the freshest voice in literary food writing since Dan Barber and Tamar Adler have come on the scene. Unprocessed is a stunning debut by a perceptive observer of how our food systems actually work, but it also reveals the hidden faces, processes, and values hidden in our food supply chains in disarmingly graceful prose that will stay in your memory for years to come.
http://megankimble.com/testimonials/gary-paul-nabhan/

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Buy the Book!

Unprocessed My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food on Indiebound
Unprocessed My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food on Barnes & Noble
Unprocessed My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food on Harper-Collins
Unprocessed My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food on Amazon.com

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