There is nothing more vital to our very existence than food. Cooking, gathering, and eating have been essential to what makes us human since our ancestors began walking this planet. From lavish feasts to a modest meal served around a family table, food has always been central to human culture—used for celebration, tradition, healing, comfort, and pure pleasure.
Cooking and eating should connect us. Yet, in our modern society, we have turned something that should be simple, pleasurable, and delicious into a complicated matter ridden with guilt. Food has been stripped of nourishment and joy, replaced by regimented routines meant to induce shame if we can’t stick to a rigid plan. That’s where intuitive eating comes into play—an approach to becoming healthy and happy that completely leaves restriction and dieting behind.
Written and photographed by Emily Weeks.
Released in November 2020.
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble & IndieBound.
A Labor of Love: Behind the Book
As a Registered Dietitian, I wanted to create a resource designed specifically with families in mind to help you break free from the shackles of modern dieting. I poured my heart into every single page of Kindred Table, acting not only as the author but also as the food stylist and photographer. Every recipe in this book was developed in my kitchen, and every photograph was captured by me to show you just how beautiful, vibrant, and welcoming a peaceful family table can be.
What You’ll Find Inside Kindred Table:
Families today are overstressed and overworked, often resulting in a reliance on quick processed foods and drive-through meals. Family meals are happening less frequently, and the use of fad diets is increasing, especially among kids and teenagers.
An astonishing number of diets fail, leaving us feeling defeated and frustrated. But what if we could live a life free from dieting, restriction, and the suffering that goes along with it? Kindred Table discusses why restriction doesn’t work and why striving for a certain weight does more harm than good. Instead, it explains how to introduce your family to intuitive eating and, most importantly, how to enjoy healthy and happy family meals.
This beautifully photographed guide includes:
- Comprehensive Guidance: Tailored especially for families, with practical tips for introducing the intuitive approach to young children and teens.
- Gentle Nutrition: Learn how to eat healthier as a family without feeling deprived, restricted, or stressed.
- Peaceful Family Meals: Advice for trying new foods, coming together at the table, and reducing pickiness without a fight.
- Weight-Inclusive Health: Tools to help your family become healthier without focusing on weight or body size.
- Real-World Strategies: Information about navigating junk food and emotional eating as both children and adults.
- Nutritionally Balanced Recipes: Vibrant, family-friendly recipes for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, sides, desserts, and snacks—all photographed by me to inspire your next meal.