23 | December | 2013 | Indoor Air Quality Lab

Don't you just love when someone gives you a gift that just FITS? I recently received the cutest 'Secret Santa' gift from my coworker that just fits me so well, I wish I had written it myself. Alas, The Culinary Cyclist was written by Anna Brones and adorably illustrated by Johanna Kindvall. And it might just be the perfect gift for the foodie and/or bicyclist on your list! Buy those super last minute books here!

Part cookbook, part guide, and part biking love story, The Culinary Cyclist connects the dots between a love of local, lovingly prepared foods and the joy inspired by the bike riding. According to Brones, these two ideas are intimately connected and both are important on the road to the good life. Like Michale Pollan's healthy eating manifesto, Brones has similar, simple guidelines for us to follow:

"The rules for living well, if you can call them that, are simple and a pleasure to follow. Eat local and mostly plants. Ride your bike, even on rainy days. Say yes to dinner invitations. Always bring your signature desert. Invite people on picnics. Bike in the sunshine. Follow a morning ride with a strong French press. This might all sound like a utopian hipster dream, but the bicycle and food are two of the simplest things we have at our disposal [despite the fact that] committing to a healthy eating habits and a two-wheled lifestyle are often devalued in the face of speed and stress."

The recipes in the book are simple and sweet. All gluten-free and mostly vegetarian, they are the types of recipes meant to become quick favorites; your new go-to dessert, quick breakfasts and easy salads for those bike-ride picnics. She shares simple instructions for stocking a healthy pantry, choosing quality coffee, and guides us through the bulk aisle and shows us tips for packing all this food on two wheels (hint: go to the store more often for fresher produce and reduced loads!). Everything about this book is just so terribly adorable. I just got it a few days ago and have not yet made the recipes yet, but the Chocolate Sea Salt Cake and Cardamom Currant Scones will be the first on my list.

And no doubt the recipes will be amazing– Brones is one of the founding members of Foodie Underground. Foodie Underground was created so that you can find "a space where food is simple yet conscious, where loving kale and quinoa doesn’t make you pretentious and where the conversation about food is open, honest, sometimes snarky and at all times inclusive." Like in the book, recipes on Foodie Underground are simple and straightforward. Some of the recipes and posts that caught me eye:

Carrot Top Pesto (Sounds like a perfect homemade food gift to me!)
Five Spice Pickled Carrots
When Did Eating Become a Task?

I am really looking forward to spending more time with this book and this website. I'll let the author take the closing of this post, which will hopefully inspire you for a whole life of living well:

"A bike ride can take you around the block or across the country. A meal can do the same. Now put the two together? Now that's a formula for living well."