The Cosmos in a Carrot: A Zen Guide to Eating Well

The Cosmos in a Carrot distills the best of Buddhist wisdom, nutritional information, and health advice and puts it together in a lively guide that challenges conventional thinking. Aimed at a broad audience, the book is divided into three main parts: What Would Buddha Eat, A Mindful Diet, and A Mindful Diet in Action. Author Carmen Yuen offers authoritative discussion of nutritional science, such as calories, antioxidants, and the different types of fats, and gives practical suggestions on consumption strategies, mindful grocery lists, and recipes. In clear, informed prose she helps readers understand their relationship to food, weight, and health by using a “whole systems” approach of mindfulness techniques to break the patterns of unhealthy eating. The Cosmos in a Carrot explains how to integrate foundational Buddhist ideas, such as non-violence and no-self, and practices like the tea ceremony into the reader’s everyday experiences with food. Profiles of four “mindful eaters” help personalize the process.